Veteran actress Tian Shui, who co-stars with King Shih-chieh in Le Pere, teared up in rehearsals

SINGAPORE – Watching Taiwanese veteran actor King Shih-chieh embody her onstage ailing octogenarian father with dementia in rehearsal, actress Tian Shui felt like she was reliving the time she cared for her late mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and died in 2023.

Rehearsing for Le Pere, a show seen through the eyes of a swiftly deteriorating Andre, the actress thought that the script’s depiction of mental degeneration was uncannily familiar. “What I experienced in real life was eerily similar to what is portrayed in the script. Andre – like my mother – displayed a lot of paranoia that the people around them were stealing their possessions.”

French playwright Florian Zeller’s Moliere Award-winning play, which translates into The Father, is on at the Esplanade Theatre from March 6 to 8 as part of Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts 2026. This marks the overseas debut of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s (SDAC) Mandarin staging, which has toured across China since 2024. Tian is an SDAC graduate and ranked as a National First-Class Actor of China.

She plays Anne, a woman who struggles to balance caregiving for her father and leading her own life. Early on in rehearsal, during the death anniversary of a loved one, Tian got worked up and teared up. Despite the emotional intensity of the role, she tells The Straits Times in a Zoom call from China that she never hesitated about taking on the drama.

“A role that is closer to my life can help me creatively as an actress. Although at times it can feel cruel – one has to open up old wounds and see the fresh blood underneath – that, too, is the job of the actor. In this line of work, you absorb life experience in order to imbue your acting with a richer expression,” says Tian, who is secretary, chief producer, actor and director at SDAC.

Watching her mother, whom Tian describes as a strong-headed former soldier, deteriorate was particularly painful. In her last days, the only words she knew was “ah yi” to call the live-in helper. “Through this character, I want to convey to the audience that whatever decision you make – whether it is to care for your parents or to send them to a nursing home – that decision is a valid one. Life has to go on.”

Her most memorable experience of touring with this play was when a young audience member asked her if acting in this role helped her heal. “My response was: I’ll never heal from this loss. When you lose a loved one, you never heal from it. Conversely, this process can make you miss them even more and might even push you to confront the stark reality of losing them.”

Tian is hopeful the play will resonate with audiences in Singapore, citing the fact that Le Pere has been staged in multiple languages and even adapted into a 2020 English-language Oscar award-winning film of the same name starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman.

Her co-actor, King, also emphasises the universal qualities of the work. “Memory loss is a universal human anxiety. As time passes, people and things are lost to the past. Alzheimer’s disease can be seen as a kind of metaphor for how everyone is, in a sense, a patient having to battle against his or her disordered memories.”

King last performed in Singapore in August 2024 for Tuesdays With Morrie

, in which he played Morrie Schwartz, a professor afflicted with terminal Lou Gehrig’s disease. “One play deals with Lou Gehrig’s disease, the other with Alzheimer’s. While these illnesses may not affect the majority of people, the so-called minority is far larger than we imagine.”

While this emotionally fraught work might not be the standard festive fare, King makes a case for it. “After watching this play, you’ll find yourself wanting to get a little closer to your family and caring a little more about your health. That is the gift it offers this Chinese New Year.”

Book it/ Le Pere (The Father)

Where: Esplanade Theatre, 1 Esplanade Drive
When: March 6 and 7, 8pm; March 8, 3pm
Admission: From $40
Info:

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