BITTEN | by Thong Pei Qin & Nidya Shanthini Manokara

Bitten is an intimate conversation on personal accounts and morbid Kafkaesque imaginings of fear and death, erupting into hilarious spewings of superstitious beliefs based on traditional remedies and cures, leading to an adapted strange folklore of a man reincarnated as a blood-sucking mosquito feverishly in search of his lover. Both poignant and itch-inducing, Bitten aims to bring the audience into a world abuzz with rich Singaporean cultures, the supernatural, and multiple truths.

Inspired by the common experience of having fallen prey to the dreaded Aedes mosquito and dengue fever, Pei Qin and Shanthini share their vivid musings of the journey undertaken by the relentless virus inside their bodies, the heightened state of paranoia that came with the disease, and the love and care showered on them as the battle raged on beneath the skin, through devised text and physical movement with a spin on classical Bharata Natyam dance.

This piece borrows from the external physical effects on the body, and delves deeper beneath the skin into the inner human psyche and root of the performers, as they uncover experiences of communicating across generations, different languages, and medical terms, as well as the rich cultures, traditions and beliefs their families have to offer.

Thong Pei Qin trained in theatre directing and physical theatre at GITIS Russian University of Theatre Arts (Moscow), and holds two theatre degrees from the University of Essex (M.A. Distinctions in Theatre Directing) and the National University of Singapore (B.A. Honours in Theatre Studies). Recently, she joined the newly formed Saga Seed Theatre as Associate Director, and is one of the directors on board The Finger Players’ “Watch This Space” programme (Directors’ Cycle, 2014-16). She most recently directed TheatreWorks’ Between Consciousness (Feb-Mar 2016). Some other directing credits include Natalie Hennedige’s Nothing, Esplanade The Studios: fifty’s Family Relations in Singapore Theatre, David Schneider’s London premiere of Making Stalin Laugh, and a fully devised site-specific work Re: Almost Left Behind on the Singapore Arts Festival 2011.

Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara obtained her PhD in 2014 from Theatre Studies Program on the NUS Research Scholarship. She is also a classically trained Bharata Natyam practitioner who has received a Diploma and “Natya Visharad” Award for excellence in the dance from Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society in 2003. She currently teaches with the Theatre Studies Programme at National University of Singapore and the Dance Department at Lasalle College of the Arts. Her primary research interests include evolving Asian performance practices and changing affective registers. Shanthini is currently an Apprentice Dramaturg with Centre 42 and has foresight in dance dramaturgy.

Bitten was presented at Esplanade Rehearsal Studio as part of the Fresh Fringe category under M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2017.

• Production Facebook Page
• Interview with The Fringe Team
• Tickets to the performance
• Other performances at M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2017

Bitten: Return to Our Roots will be re-imagined as a site-specific performance and presented at Kampong Bugis Event Site under Our Singapore Fund in 2018.

• Our Singapore Fund project page