SINGAPORE: In its heyday, the Kallang Theatre was
the setting for the Prime Minister's annual National Day Rally
speech as well as original local works and world class musicals
such as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera.
But the curtain came down on the 1,800-seat theatre
on March 31, 2007, amid dwindling utilisation rates, as new venues
such as the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay moved into the
spotlight.
Come August, the Kallang Theatre will come alive
after a four-year hiatus with the ambitions of becoming a regional
arts and culture hub.
For starters, it will stage a 80-minute musical primarily targeted
at tourists and foreigners about the Republic's history from Sang
Nila Utama days to modern day, titled Singapura - The Lion City
Show.
Its operator, Asia Arts & Culture (AAC), which made the
announcement yesterday on the sidelines of performing arts trade
exhibition LIVE! Singapore, said it will also market its in-house
group of performers and shows for external events, both locally and
elsewhere in Asia.
The Singapore Land Authority offered the Kallang Theatre building
for tender in January. After a successful tender to operate and
manage the premise, AAC - a Singapore-China joint-venture with the
Yunnan Provincial Performing Arts Group - will be working with the
Singapore Tourism Board to turn Kallang Theatre into an "Asian Arts
and Culture hub", the operator said in a press release. It added
that it was also tasked to "strongly promote Kallang Theatre as a
preferred venue" for the arts and MICE events.
The theatre will also have facilities such as dance halls and
F&B outlets. Booking slots for the use of Kallang Theatre
auditorium and various other facilities will be available from next
month.
Arts groups here welcomed the re-opening. Said The Substation
artistic co-director Audrey Wong: "It will be a good alternative
venue that fills the gap left by Victoria Theatre while it
undergoes renovations."
But she felt the theatre's reopening would have "no big impact on
the local arts scene, in terms of creating original content"
otherwise.
Few local arts groups would be able to hold shows there as well
because the capacity was too large, she added.
The Necessary Stage's founder and artistic director Alvin Tan hoped
that the iconic theatre would go beyond being just a venue to hold
shows.
"If it can have an artistic vision of encouraging intercultural
work, such as showcasing the different cultural traditions we have
here, then it will be more meaningful," he told Today.
"We don't have a strong historical culture like Japan because we
are a migrant country but we have cultures like Peranakan and the
theatre can work towards supporting works showcasing a uniquely
Singapore identity."
The Kallang Theatre was built in the 1970s as a cinema but was
converted into a performing arts venue in 1986 to replace the
National Theatre, which was demolished in the same year.
The theatre's then-operator National Arts Council decided to shut
it down after its utilisation rate dropped from 80 per cent to only
33 per cent in 2005 - catering mostly to schools and
non-arts-related hirers.
-- TODAY