In May 1999, Paddy Chew took to the stage at the Drama Centre on Fort Canning Hill to perform a monologue entitled Completely With/Out Character. In this docu-theatre piece, Chew recounted his experiences as the first person in Singapore to go public about their HIV-positive status. He would die just a few months later.
15 years on, Loo Zihan will bring Chew’s performance to a new audience at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2015 with the help of multi-media, video documentation and archival footage. We spoke with the performance and moving image artist to find out more about his work, With/Out.
Tell us about your personal connection with Paddy Chew and the original production of Completely With/Out Character.
I did not hear about the production or Paddy Chew until 2001, when I was interning at The Necessary Stage. I joined the company as a technical intern while waiting for my enlistment into the Army. It was a moment of political awakening – that was when I realised I had been living in a bubble for most of the 19 years of my life. It was also the same time I learnt about Josef Ng’s Brother Cane. Little did I know back then how Brother Cane, Paddy Chew and The Necessary Stage would come to impact my practice ten years on in the present.
Why do you think it's the right time to revisit the piece?
Revisiting this work has been on the back of my mind for a long time, and it seemed appropriate with the Fringe’s theme this year – Art and Loss – to seize the opportunity to work on this. I cannot imagine it being presented in any other context. It would not have been possible to do this production without the support of The Necessary Stage, the Fringe team and the team at Centre 42.
Describe the experience of "working" with a performer who is no longer with us.
The working process becomes focused on listening since it is impossible to have a conversation with Paddy. It becomes about listening to the documentation and carefully observing how it should be represented. In Completely With/Out Character, it is the moments of silence that speak the loudest.
What role will you play in the performance?
I will have multiple roles in the performance itself. I am the stagehand and the attendant to the play, present in the performance space and moving and placing props for a performer who is absent. I will also be moderating the live-stream online chat and webcast camera – in other words, I will be performing for a virtual audience.
What would Paddy Chew say about the way Singaporeans see people living with AIDS today? How much have things changed since 1999?
I really do not know Paddy well enough to speak for him, but I would say he would be very happy to witness how HIV medication has advanced. AIDS is no longer perceived as a terminal disease because of these advancements in medication. Unfortunately, this also means there is less urgency to talk about HIV/AIDS and it gets less coverage in the local media. However, misperceptions and prejudices towards individuals living with HIV/AIDS are still strong, precisely because of ignorance and the lack of conversation.
With/Out takes place from Jan. 14 to 18 at the Black Box/Rehearsal Studio, Centre 42. Tickets are available at $22 from Sistic. For more information, visit the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2015 website.
In May 1999, Paddy Chew took to the stage at the Drama Centre on Fort Canning Hill to perform a monologue entitled Completely With/Out Character. In this docu-theatre piece, Chew recounted his experiences as the first person in Singapore to go public about their HIV-positive status. He would die just a few months later.
15 years on, Loo Zihan will bring Chew’s performance to a new audience at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2015 with the help of multi-media, video documentation and archival footage. We spoke with the performance and moving image artist to find out more about his work, With/Out.
Tell us about your personal connection with Paddy Chew and the original production of Completely With/Out Character.
I did not hear about the production or Paddy Chew until 2001, when I was interning at The Necessary Stage. I joined the company as a technical intern while waiting for my enlistment into the Army. It was a moment of political awakening – that was when I realised I had been living in a bubble for most of the 19 years of my life. It was also the same time I learnt about Josef Ng’s Brother Cane. Little did I know back then how Brother Cane, Paddy Chew and The Necessary Stage would come to impact my practice ten years on in the present.
Why do you think it's the right time to revisit the piece?
Revisiting this work has been on the back of my mind for a long time, and it seemed appropriate with the Fringe’s theme this year – Art and Loss – to seize the opportunity to work on this. I cannot imagine it being presented in any other context. It would not have been possible to do this production without the support of The Necessary Stage, the Fringe team and the team at Centre 42.
Describe the experience of "working" with a performer who is no longer with us.
The working process becomes focused on listening since it is impossible to have a conversation with Paddy. It becomes about listening to the documentation and carefully observing how it should be represented. In Completely With/Out Character, it is the moments of silence that speak the loudest.
What role will you play in the performance?
I will have multiple roles in the performance itself. I am the stagehand and the attendant to the play, present in the performance space and moving and placing props for a performer who is absent. I will also be moderating the live-stream online chat and webcast camera – in other words, I will be performing for a virtual audience.
What would Paddy Chew say about the way Singaporeans see people living with AIDS today? How much have things changed since 1999?
I really do not know Paddy well enough to speak for him, but I would say he would be very happy to witness how HIV medication has advanced. AIDS is no longer perceived as a terminal disease because of these advancements in medication. Unfortunately, this also means there is less urgency to talk about HIV/AIDS and it gets less coverage in the local media. However, misperceptions and prejudices towards individuals living with HIV/AIDS are still strong, precisely because of ignorance and the lack of conversation.
With/Out takes place from Jan. 14 to 18 at the Black Box/Rehearsal Studio, Centre 42. Tickets are available at $22 from Sistic. For more information, visit the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2015 website.