103911 We keep getting figures like “10 million people attended arts shows last year”.
103912 It’s not so much about the numbers increasing – if you consider some European countries which have the same population or are even smaller than Singapore, they have like five Esplanades which sell-out every night; four ballet companies; repertory and Shakespeare theatres that do all kinds of classical and contemporary stuff; and they can do an entire season on subscriptions.
103913 This is a good yardstick because when you have a subscription base it means that going to the theatre is an ingrained thing.
103914 Sometimes we think: we have CATS in town for two months, wow, we’re world class!
103915 But if you look at other cities to see what world class means, it’s definitely not about one-offs and increasing audience numbers.
103916 For this kind of thing to happen, arts education has to start from young.
103917 You need to get students immersed in all things arts.
103918 As a parent, if you’re very happy that your child knows what 2 + 2 is or that Tokyo is the capital of Japan, you should also teach them about culture and have the same level of happiness when they not only know about international acts but also local artists, musicians.
103919 Once that is there, we can say that the arts is just like another element of the air we breathe.
103920 Those Who Can’t, Teach was a seminal play of sorts in the 1990s, what then are your thoughts as it’s being re-staged?
103921 Teaching wise, one of the things I had to do was interview teachers and students.
103922 There are a lot of similarities in the way teachers teach and the way students feel, compared to 22 years ago.
103923 A lot of things have also changed and students feel a lot of pressure these days.
103924 Some say that education has become very corporatized because there are certain benchmarks in terms of what is successful and what is not.
103925 How have you changed as a playwright; do the same issues still bother you?