The Pitch

Watched The Pitch and had to laugh at how well the actors acted out the new normal in theatre and the arts. The 2020 season is pretty much in the bin, for everyone. Theatre companies are all struggling to survive the year with no income. I’ve missed going to the theatre, and I’ve missed watching quality shows by Singapore theatre companies.

Written by Ken Kwek and Adrian Pang, the twenty-minute short snippet starred Ivan Heng, Gaurav Kripalani and Adrian Pang. They are hilarious. They played, well, themselves in their chosen day jobs, and their lines were witty. Gaurav, as producer, had to manage the egos of Ivan as director, and Adrian as the actor in a one-man musical. A foundation had offered to sponsor the one-man musical about mask-wearing and hand-washing, and The National Arts Council laid out rules for this show with live audience. This line spoken by Ivan in the middle of a tirade stood out, “how we as a nation try to sanitize everything”. Well. BUT, the play was canceled in favor of the foundation choosing to sponsor a telemovie directed by Jack Neo, starring Gurmit Singh. I DIED.

The names and references were hilarious. Loved the knowing winks. Wah, the audio and resolution of the play hosted on Vimeo are clear and very sharp. I was extremely distracted by Adrian’s hair. I really liked Humpback Oak’s ‘Circling Square’ sung by Adrian. I forgot he could sing. That was a good song Leslie Low wrote. (If you know this song, then we belong to the same generation. Hahaha. From Humpback Oak's 1994 album 'Pain-stained Morning'.) It was a lovely way to end the show. 

After the show, we donated again to the fundraiser hosted on Ray of Hope by Pangdemonium, Singapore Repertory Theatre and WILD RICE. We plonked in a small amount before the show. That’s what we would normally have paid to secure standard tickets anyway, SISTIC fees and all. Then we donated a second time after watching it; to top up to front-row ticket prices and a little more because it was excellent. The free live stream lasts till end September. If we're able to, we should all donate the amount we would pay for a Netflix or HBO subscription.