We band of brothers: S'pore Theatre Company's second name change reflects how tight-knit the arts scene is, members say

SINGAPORE — A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but the same, apparently, cannot be said for theatre companies.

The local arts community was in an uproar over the past week after the 30-year-old Singapore Repertory Theatre said it would rename itself the Singapore Theatre Company (STC).

Given how small the theatre community is, most Singaporeans outside of the arts scene were likely unaware of all the sound and fury.

But because the theatre community is so small and tight-knit, STC walked back its decision just over a week later, announcing on Thursday (Feb 8) that it would change its name again, to one that will be announced at a later date.

The episode reflects how intimate and interdependent the arts community is, local practitioners told TODAY, such that members would hardly feel comfortable making big moves without the blessings of their fellow theatre troupers. 

Just as importantly, they said the incident has been an opportunity for the community to reflect upon the identity of Singapore theatre.

EVERYONE OWNS ‘SINGAPORE THEATRE’

Announcing its initial rebrand on Jan 31, STC said that it had never actually been a repertory theatre “in the true sense of the word”.

Dropping the word from its name and changing it to STC “captures our essence and identity as a theatre company that is rooted in Singapore”, it said.

Practitioners who spoke to TODAY said they fully understood why the company wanted to change its name. They just did not like what the new name signified.

Playwright-director A Yagnya noted how the company has had "Singapore" attached to its name since 1993.

“However, their move to change it to Singapore Theatre Company without the buffer of the word ‘repertory’ unfortunately made it seem like they had suddenly renamed themselves as the national theatre of Singapore, with the approval of the state, which was concerning,” said Ms Yagnya.

The National Arts Council (NAC) on Thursday said it had earlier “supported the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s application to drop ‘Repertory’ from its name”. 

“In doing so, however, NAC does not view the organisation as becoming a national theatre company, nor akin to a national flagship company by reason of the name change,” the council added.

Some practitioners who aired their concerns online and who spoke to TODAY said they were surprised that NAC did not see the reactions coming.

Former arts manager and administrator Juliana Lim, who helped build Singapore's arts scene from 1978 to 1997, said it puzzled her ”how the meaning and significance of the name could have eluded the authorities”.

She noted the numerous theatre companies that have staged original Singapore works over several decades, such as Act 3 Theatrics, theatreworks, Theatre Practice and The Necessary Stage.

“The use of the term 'Singapore Theatre Company' as a proper noun negates the identity of these companies founded by Singaporeans and their decades-old track records of nurturing and staging original Singapore works,” said Ms Lim.

Founding director of Act 3 Theatrics Rama Chandran said that "Singapore theatre" is a common noun that all companies, groups and artistes regardless of language or practice level belong to.

“We all own the term together. No one company should use it as a proper noun all by itself,” he added. 

ONLINE MISREPRESENTATION?

The theatre practitioners also noted that if one were to search “Singapore theatre” online, STC’s name would be the first to pop up in the results.

This was concerning to them, especially if the person looking up the term online was coming from outside of the arts community, or outside of the country entirely, they said.

Playwright and artist Hazwan Norly said: “(STC’s) repertoire of work mirrors more of Western experiences. It’s not enough to just be making work in Singapore. There’s a lot of weight in a name.”

Mr Alvin Tan, founder and artistic director of The Necessary Stage, said: “One can easily misconstrue that Singapore theatre seems rather colonised. This then becomes a national issue and needed to be redressed.”

Mr Krish Natarajan, artistic director of Strawberries Inc and theatre collective Patch and Punnet, said it would be a “very smart move” for a company to take advantage of search engine optimisation and pick a name that would make it more prominent online.

“But for sure it does feel like then you are the champion of Singapore theatre, by calling yourself the Singapore Theatre Company,” said Mr Krish, though he said that the inadvertent effect was probably something that STC had not intended.

A SMALL ‘SCENE’, NOT A BIG INDUSTRY

Long-time theatre practitioner Saiful Amri Ahmad Elahi said while some might refer to the theatre community as an “industry”, in reality “it's just a ‘scene’, very small”.

Actors, technical specialists and designers work across different companies all the time, and sometimes the different companies even work collaboratively despite creative differences, he said.

“So we wouldn’t want to burn bridges,” he said.

Ms Lim agreed: “I surmise that they realised it was the right, best or pragmatic thing to do, to ensure acceptance of SRT among its peers, for the longer term."

Mr Tan of The Necessary Stage imagined it must have been stressful “not obtaining the arts community’s blessings”.

“Especially when the responses have been rather strong and uncoordinated — spontaneously mushrooming on social media,” he added.

In a statement on Thursday, STC acknowledged that the criticisms it had garnered had led it to decide to change its name again.

“These views greatly matter to us as we recognise the contributions and works of all artists and theatre companies in Singapore,” it said in a statement. “We believe a united community is necessary for the theatre scene to thrive and therefore will be changing our name from STC.”

Mr Krish said that while a brand is personal to the entity that it belongs to, “when you fly the Singapore name, it’s no longer personal”.

“So I think they understood that and reacted with grace,” he said.

“Also the community is small, actors and creators all collaborate and work for each other all time so I think there’s a sensitivity towards what the community feels.”

As the curtains draw to a close on the SRT/STC name drama, members of the arts community said there were some positive takeaways from the past week.

Mr Hazwan noted the “strong sense of nationalism” shown amongst some practitioners, while Ms Lim observed how people in the scene had expressed their views independently yet were “united in a single vision and voice”.

“I think the theatre community demonstrated a strong sense of its own identity and a sense of empowerment," she said.

Ms Yagnya, meanwhile, added: “I believe this has provided a rare opportunity for the larger community to have a conversation about what exactly ‘Singapore theatre’ means."