It's Pangdemonium at the Life! Theatre Awards

SINGAPORE - Pangdemonium reigned at the Life! Theatre Awards ceremony yesterday afternoon.

The four-year-old theatre company led by theatre power couple Adrian and Tracie Pang proved the biggest winner. Their musical about dealing with mental illness, Next To Normal, bagged the Production of the Year and Production of the Year (Readers' Choice) awards.

Veteran thespian Adrian Pang also picked up the Best Actor prize for Rabbit Hole, a heartrending drama about a family coming to terms with the loss of a child.

In a touching acceptance speech, he thanked his wife Tracie - who directed both Next To Normal and Rabbit Hole - and his sons Zachary and Xander, both students at the School of the Arts.

In a nod to Rabbit Hole's subject matter of a recently bereaved family, he said: "A big shout-out to every family who is going through any kind of adversity. It's not easy, we all know this, and we all, in one way or another, go through s*** in our lives, but we pull through, we all pull through."

Another theatre company which had a good run at the 14th annual Life! Theatre Awards, held at The St Regis Singapore, was Nine Years Theatre, formed just two years ago. Its Mandarin adaptation of the US courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men won four of the 13 awards, including Best Director for Nelson Chia, and Best Supporting Actor for Johnny Ng.

For Chia, the award was an affirmation that his "crazy idea" worked. "I'm extremely happy because it wasn't easy trying to put the production together," he said.

"At the initial stages, it seemed like a crazy idea, trying to get 12 actors together, and it took a lot of trying to convince people. I must really thank the people around me, and commend them for their courage in believing in us."

The event honours the best of Singapore theatre in the previous year. This year's dress code was "Bankers, Backstabbers and B******s", inspired by the recent Martin Scorsese movie The Wolf Of Wall Street. So, sharp suits and fitted dresses were the look of the day as about 120 invited guests, including luminaries of the local theatre scene, gathered at the hotel in Tanglin Road for the award luncheon.

Twelve out of the 13 awards were judged by a six-member panel. The judges were Lasalle College of the Arts provost Venka Purushothaman, independent theatre practitioner Low Kee Hong, co-editor of online arts journal The Flying Inkpot Matthew Lyon, and arts reviewers from The Straits Times, The Business Times and Lianhe Zaobao: Ms Corrie Tan, Mr Helmi Yusof and Ms Tang Hwa Kwee, respectively.

The Production of the Year (Readers' Choice) award, sponsored by OCBC Bank, was decided by an online poll. Readers who voted could win a night's stay at The St Regis Singapore, as well as dinner for two at the hotel's restaurant, Brasserie Les Saveurs.

The total value of the prize was $1,330. It was won by full-time national serviceman Marcus Lee, 22.

14th Life! Theatre Awards winners

Production of the Year: Next To Normal by Pangdemonium

Production of the Year (Readers' Choice): Next To Normal by Pangdemonium

Best Director: Nelson Chia for Twelve Angry Men (Nine Years Theatre)

Best Actor: Adrian Pang for Rabbit Hole (Pangdemonium)

Best Actress: Edith Podesta for Illogic (Cake Theatrical Productions)

Best Supporting Actor: Johnny Ng for Twelve Angry Men (Nine Years Theatre)

Best Supporting Actress: Serene Chen for 8 Women (Sing'theatre)

Best Ensemble: Twelve Angry Men (Nine Years Theatre)

Best Original Script: Alfian Sa'at for Kakak Kau Punya Laki (Teater Ekamatra)

Best Set Design: Wong Chee Wai for Twelve Angry Men (Nine Years Theatre)

Best Sound Design: Zai Kuning for Family Duet (spell#7)

Best Lighting Design: Andy Lim for Illogic (Cake Theatrical Productions)

Best Costume Design: David Lee for Illogic (Cake Theatrical Productions)

 

 

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