The Vault: Sau(dara) is a contemporary response to Leow Puay Tin’s Three Children created by young theatre company Bhumi Collective. Sau(dara) draws from Leow’s text, the performer’s childhood memories, and traditional Indonesian Pakarena dance.
Thirty years ago, a remarkable English-language theatre production was staged in Singapore. Three Children, written by Malaysian playwright Leow Puay Tin, is a story about three grown-up siblings who return to their childhood home to confront their past.
The 1988 production of Three Children by TheatreWorks took many bold steps at a time when professional Singapore theatre was in its infancy. It brought together theatre powerhouses from both sides of the Causeway – Krishen Jit and Ong Keng Sen – who shared directing duties. Together with the cast, they created a boundary-pushing, multicultural work that challenged both local theatre and its audiences.
In 2018, young theatre company Bhumi Collective revisits Three Children. In homage to the 1988 production, the creative team draws from the original text and the performers’ childhood memories. Sau(dara) is an original work based on play and traditional Indonesian Pakarena dance, and features newly-composed music. Performed in English and Malay, English translation provided.
REGISTRATION
Friday, 5 October 2018, 8PM
Saturday, 6 October 2018, 5PM & 8PM
@ Centre 42
Admission: Give-What-You-Can
(Cash only, at the door)
SOULTARI AMIN FARID, Artist Facilitator
I feel like my whole existence is about the arts. I got my pseudonym, Soultari, in a dream, a portmanteau of soul and “tari”, which is dance in Malay. I guess a side of me wishes to dig deeper into our humanity. Hence, tapping into one’s soul could help in answering that predicament. I hope through my works, I continue to be critical of our existence and bring others along into this exciting journey. Oh, hi. My name is Soultari Amin Farid.
LYN HANIS REZUAN, Performer
Hi! I’m Lyn and I think I started my involvement with the arts since I was 13 in secondary school with Malay dance as a CCA. Polytechnic didn’t quite fit my M.O., so I jumped ship from there to pursue performing arts in Jakarta. After graduating in December last year, I’ve been more involved with the local performing arts scene. During my free time I’m pretty laid back and try to catch up on my Netflix and Anime. I am also a pretty big Cat person 
SYAFIQAH ‘ADHA SALLEHIN, Performer
Hey, I’m Syafiqah. You can call me Syaf. I have an affinity with music and keyboards since young. I started playing classical piano as a little child, and then became curious about traditional Malay music and picked up the accordion in my late teens. Music composition became one of my musical strengths, so as I grew into a young adult, I attempted to refine it at a local music conservatory. Now I play, create, teach, direct, live and breathe music. But once in a while, I get bored so I love taking on challenges to try out new things. Sometime soon, I’d love to travel out more into the world with all that I can offer.
SURYANA NORDDIN, Performer
“When I grow up, I want to be a Malay teacher…or a singer. No, no, no…I want to be a teacher.”
That was my childhood dream. But as I grew older, I eventually gave up becoming a teacher because I got rejected so many times. So I just continued to study and (barely) got myself a Degree.
When I was in tertiary level, I took up theatre as my CCA, although I don’t really know why I did it. But I enjoyed it anyways. Then in 2013, somehow, I became a wedding singer. Five years on, I’m still singing and doing theatre. I teach too, occasionally. I guess I’m destined to be a performer. I just got to believe.
SYAFIQAH SHAHARUDDIN, Performer
Hello i’m Syafiqah, almost everyone i know calls me Syafiq. This name has been with me since my Poly days so yes, Syafiq it is…
Still a student in SIM doing Accounting.
I entered the Malay Arts in primary school where i joined Malay Dance as a CCA and since then I knew it was something i wanted to do for a long time. Twelve years later, I’m still here doing it. Not to be dramatic, but I cannot remember how it feels like to not have Dance as a part of my life. I was given the opportunity to groom and choreograph the Malay Dance students in Temasek Polytechnic recently but I’m still getting the hang of it.
MOHAMAD SHAIFULBAHRI, Executive Producer/Co-Artistic Director, Bhumi Collective
Hi, I’m Shai but I’m not that shy except for when I was a child. My parents wanted to bring me to drama class but I would only do so if I could wear sunglasses…because I was urm, shy. For the record, I ended up not going for any. When I was in primary school, I wanted to be an author when I grow up. I actually wrote my own horror stories (I loved the Goosebumps series) and would print and collate them into a file and my friends in school would take turns to read them. I don’t watch horror movies anymore because I’m an adult now and I can choose not to!
Film was my first love but when the theatre bug bit me, I was infected. It’s become a part of me, coarsing through my bloodstream and I’m unable to imagine a life without the performing arts. I ran my own community theatre group for 10 years and have now co-started an actual company, which is a rollercoaster ride. The world can still be a big and scary place from time-to-time but I’m so blessed to be able to do what I do with an amazing bunch of people.
IFFAH IDI, Production Stage Manager
Oh, hello. I don’t know why everyone is introducing themselves when their name is right there *roll eyes*. I am a newbie in the industry but my love for the arts started at 9, playing the Angklung for my school’s ensemble. It shifted into playing the saxophone and trumpet for my school’s Military Band and even learning a little bit of Malay Dance along the way. I fell in love with theatre at a later age, 16 going on 17, being a part of Titisan Temasek when I was in Temasek Polytechnic. I graduated, placed my Engineering Diploma aside, took a gap year and now, I am a fresh graduate of LASALLE’s Bachelors of Arts in Arts Management. I entered LASALLE with a goal to give back my service to the industry once I completed my education, so here’s me leaving my little mark, enjoy!
Reading Material
#1: ABOUT THREE CHILDREN
#2: SINGAPORE THEATRE IN THE 1980s
#3: INTERVIEW WITH CREATIVE TEAM
Programme Handout
