Singapore Theatre Company returns to Singapore Repertory Theatre name after contentious rebrand
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Singapore Theatre Company will return to its old name, Singapore Repertory Theatre, after members of the theatre community objected to its new name.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE THEATRE COMPANY
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SINGAPORE – The Singapore Theatre Company (STC) will be called the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) again, the company announced in a July 31 statement on its website.
The post reads: “For the past 30 years, we’ve been known as Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) – a name recognised and loved by many. We have decided to continue using our SRT name, given the legacy and foundation of our brand.”
In response to The Straits Times’ queries, SRT’s artistic director Gaurav Kripalani says the company had been engaging with colleagues, peers, sponsors, patrons and its audiences on the matter. He adds: “The overwhelming response was to go back to a name everyone knows and loves.”
SRT’s rebrand as STC on Jan 31 swiftly objected to the new name,
On Feb 8, following outcry from its peers, STC announced on its website that it would be walking back its name change
The National Arts Council, which supported the name change, said in a statement then that it accepted the community’s “valid concerns which ought to have been considered when discussing the name change with SRT”.
Members of the theatre community welcomed the latest announcement.
Ivan Heng, founding artistic director of Wild Rice and a former artistic director of SRT from 1998 to 1999, says: “This could not have been easy. I applaud Gaurav, (SRT’s managing director) Charlotte Nors and SRT’s board for listening and taking the feelings of our theatre community to heart, and in so doing, demonstrating that SRT is, and wants to be, a part of Singapore theatre.”
Multilingual theatre company The Theatre Practice’s artistic director Kuo Jian Hong adds: “There have been many voices on the ground, and I’m sure there are many who appreciate that the team of SRT was open to the concerns of different voices and had the courage to reverse their decision.”
She earlier told ST that the Singapore theatre scene is “too diverse, too multi-faceted, too colourful” for any one company to claim the name of STC.
Rama Chandran, founder and director of children’s theatre company Act 3 Theatrics, who earlier told ST that no company should have the right to call itself “Singapore Theatre Company”, says he is very happy about SRT’s latest decision. He applauds the company for “taking in a cross-section of opinions and comments”.
He hopes, however, that this incident will not cause the community to practise “complete self-censorship”. He adds: “Every one of us, from time to time, chooses less-acceptable options and are capable of misjudgment. We are better people when we are prepared to listen to opposing views and are ready to take a different opinion.”
Over 30 years, SRT has made a name for itself staging quality blockbusters from the West End and Broadway, which has earned it a reputation for being Westernised. But it also produced home-grown blockbuster original productions such as Forbidden City: Portrait Of An Empress (2002) and The LKY Musical (2015), as well as the well-loved Shakespeare In The Park series at Fort Canning.
Even as SRT reverts to its old name, its sign will sport a new look. The signage on SRT’s building will be updated by mid-August.
Even as the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) reverts to its old name, its sign will sport a new look.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE REPERTORY THEATRE
SRT’s upcoming season includes a staging of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced from Aug 13 to Sept 7. SRT will also be taking Singaporean works overseas. Its dinner theatre show Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding
Kripalani says: “SRT has played a part in the growth of our arts scene and has entertained countless people over the past 30 years. We look forward to working with and alongside our peers to continue to learn and grow over the next 30 years and beyond.”
