When Sands Theatre opened with Disney's 'The Lion King' in 2011, I was performing with the London cast of the same show and was, thus, unable to be part of the Singapore company. The Singapore company comprised of some of my long time colleagues and friends, so naturally I came all the way back home to support them. The same thing happened when Disney's 'Aladdin' played in Singapore in the same theatre in 2017. I was part of the original London cast and continued with the company of 'Aladdin' for over 3 years until 2019. Whilst I was performing for the audiences in London, I often reflected on these concurrent productions running in the Sands Theatre. There was such a sense of pride in being on the London stage, being a representation for the Asian and Singaporean community, knowing that the same production was playing in my home country. 

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I was on the Prince Edward Theatre stage, with the cast of 'Miss Saigon' in London, when I found out the SM Lee had past. It was a really strange moment of disbelief. We live and we lose legends. We learn to tell their stories and hold that torch aloft for the next generation to pass along. Somehow that piece of news reminded me that I was so far from home, and so distant from stories that I wanted, and needed, to share with my people. 

 

The Universe had other plans for me besides Disney blockbusters and epic war stories in the guise of Boublil-Schonberg musicals.

 

It feels like the right way to return to the stage - collaborating with Singapore Repertory Theatre to bring a Singaporean musical back onto the stage in 2022. In many ways, this musical is the story of our founding fathers fighting for this little country's independence - it is our very own "Hamilton". It is written, sung and performed in a vocabulary close to our culture and our hearts. Above all else, it is a story about love - love for the nation, love for a people, and love for those in your life. 

As I continue onward on my journey, holding this torch aloft, I want to create and produce more work that speak to our collective consciousness, and our identity as a people who are striving to find our unique voice in the world.