Four Horse Road
See an unlikely friendship blossom through two sides of a prison fence.
Solve the mysterious age-old disappearance of a priceless stained glass window.
Take a chance on tikam wheel and see what tales our Tuckshop owners can spin.
Unmask a spy hidden in plain sight and uncover a shocking conspiracy.
Travel across time and space and inhabit the worlds of Four Horse Road.
This year, we remain true to the Practice spirit of good play, taking a bigger, bolder look at identity and our sense of belonging. Inspired by real historical events that once took place on Waterloo Street, Four Horse Road peels away the layers of one of Singapore’s oldest streets to uncover decades of buried stories and forgotten people. Conceptualised by The Theatre Practice’s Artistic Director Kuo Jian Hong and playwright Jonathan Lim, Four Horse Road is an intimate experience on an epic scale.
2 Centuries. 10 Locations. 3 Heritage Buildings. 50 artists. 1 unique theatrical adventure. This is an awe-inspiring theatrical event you need to be part of.
Welcome to Four Horse Road.
Date: 4 – 28 April 2018
Venue: The Theatre Practice
Rating: Advisory 16 (Some Mature Content and Coarse Language)
Director: Kuo Jian Hong
Playwright: Jonathan Lim
Composers & Arrangers: August Lum, Jamie Lee
Set Designers: Ong Guat Teng, Jobelle Mok Weng Yi
Costume Designer: Ian Wang
Lighting & Projection Designer: Genevieve Peck
Sound Designer: Sandra Tay
Hair Designer: Ashley Lim
Makeup Designer: The Make Up Room
Props Designer & Set Dressing: Chan Lee Lee
Cast: Andrew James Mowatt, Al-Matin Yatim, Ang Xiao Ting, Elizabeth Sergeant, Ethel Yap, Frances Lee, Igor Kovic, Jodi Chan, Johnny Ng, Jo Tan, Lim Poey Huang, Lisa Marie Henderson, Ng Mun Poh, Petrina Kow, Ric Liu, Shafie, Sharon Sum, Sugie Phua, Yazid Jalil, Yeo Lyle
When The Theatre Practice (Practice) first moved to Waterloo Street almost 30 years ago, we were captivated by the palpable character emanating from the street. Nestled in Stamford Arts Centre, we immersed ourselves in all its chaotic glory, rehearsing and performing alongside the flower-sellers, school children, devotees, buskers and pigeons.
In 2016, we moved up the street and into our new home on 54 Waterloo Street. These three former shophouses have housed everything from family homes to a myriad of businesses including an envelope company, a watchmakers association and a car finance plan establishment. And now, we have the unique opportunity to once again
redefine its identity, this time as an arts centre. What better way to start than with a production that not only explores the identity of the area in the past, but also examines its present!
As our playwright Jonathan Lim so aptly puts it, this year we embark on a new adventure: Theatre as Memory, Theatre as Archaeology.
Aside from our personal connection with the road, Waterloo Street has the distinction of being one of the oldest streets in Singapore. In Four Horse Road, we excavate over 170 years of Singapore history and bring back to life forgotten stories, marginalized communities and lost spaces. With a cast of over 20 actors speaking more than 10 languages and accents, it paints of colourful and complex tapestry of Singapore’s cultures, thus enriching our understanding of the past and allowing us to reflect on what it truly means to belong to a place.
Fittingly, the group of artists gathered for this project are as diverse as the myriad of themes, perspectives, genres and languages inside the production. As we navigate the script’s various dialects and languages, it is a reflection of the complexities of our multilingual society. As we research and excavate our past, we embark on a personal journey of discovery. As we stand here in contemporary Singapore, we are constantly reminded by how these historical fictional stories have real present-day resonance.
While we have often welcomed audiences in our home, it is rarely on this scale. We look forward to having you shape the identity of this new space with us. Thank you for being a part of this story.
With that, I hope to see you again on Four Horse Road.
– Kuo Jian Hong
Artistic Director of The Theatre Practice/Director of Four Horse Road
“Some of The Theatre Practice’s most alluring works come from its site-specific plays, and this production does not disappoint…history has never seemed so fun.”
– The Straits Times
“this ambitious show (is) The Theatre Practice’s biggest and possibly most intricate attempt to date”
– Alvinology.com
“Four Horse Road successfully presents the complexities of historical narratives, and the tensions that arise from excavating the disparate spatial memories of Waterloo Street.”
– Centre 42