原著 Original Novel by Yeng Pway Ngon 英培安
翻译/导演：谢燊杰
Translated/Directed by Nelson Chia
17 Aug (Thu) - 19 Aug (Sat) 2017, 8pm
Victoria Theatre
华语演出，附英文字幕
Performed in Mandarin, with English surtitles
Ticket price: $35, $50, $65
Available through SISTIC - call 6348 5555 or visit www.sistic.com.sg
受委约为2017新加坡国际艺术节掀开序幕的是一出附英文字幕的本地华语舞台演出《画室》。此剧以1960年代至新世纪来临前，经历无数变化的新加坡为背景。故事则从一个被友人游说去给一群画家当写生模特儿，名叫方继宗的辍学少年开始。
随之，剧情从这些画家们不同的生命历程展开，在50至80年代动荡的本地时局下交织成一连串引人的故事。其中包括了一个放弃一切只身到印度去学习古典印度声乐的歌者、一个永远消失在马来亚森林里的共产战士、一个自我放逐了三十年后回到从前的住所，看着自己所爱的人渐渐死去的中年妇人。
《画室》跨越数十年时空，却以细腻的笔触刻画角色的心境与内心欲望，呈现了平凡人之间既悲戚又带诗意美的动容画面。取材自本地2003年文化奖作家英培安的同名小说，此剧由谢燊杰编剧并执导。英培安是新加坡文学奖的三届得主，其中包括2012年获奖的《画室》。他的作品曾被翻译成多种语言，包括意大利文。这是英培安的小说第一次被搬上舞台。
1Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is proud to open its 2017 edition with Art Studio, a Singapore-Mandarin theatre commission performed with English surtitles. Set against the backdrop of Singapore's changing landscape from the 1960s to the new millennium, Art Studio begins with the story of a young school drop-out, Ji Zong, who is coerced by his friend to become a model for life drawing by a group of artists.
From that point on, the narrative branches out, weaving the lives of these wildly disparate artists into a web of intriguing stories during the tumultuous years of Singapore from the 1950s to the 1980s: An aspiring singer gives up everything she has to travel alone to India and pursue her love for Indian classical singing; a communist fighter disappears into the thick Malayan jungle for the rest of his life; an middle-aged woman returns to her old flat, which has remained unchanged after 30 years of self-exile, only to find the man she loved dying.
Epic in terms of time that spans across decades, deeply intricate in its portrayal of the characters' sentiments and of the heart's innermost desires, Art Studio is a moving rendition of the poetic beauty and sorrow of ordinary human relationships. The performance is adapted and directed by Nelson Chia from the Chinese novel of the same name, written by 2003 Cultural Medallion winner and Singaporean novelist Yeng Pway Ngon. Yeng won the Singapore Literature Prize no fewer than three times - most recently in 2012 for Art Studio. His books have been translated into many languages, including Italian, though this will be his first major translation onto stage.
— 《画室》是2017年新加坡国际艺术节委约新作。
— ART STUDIO is a new work commissioned by Singapore International Festival of Arts 2017.
九年剧场 Nine Years Theatre
www.nineyearstheatre.com
