Great Expectations Izyan Nadzirah
Dr Richard Tan ( RI , 1976 ) help they gave us we valued greatly , but looking back it was an opportunity to step forward and take charge ,’ said Dr Richard Tan ( RI , 1976 ), currently an aeromedical doctor with the Singapore Aeromedical Centre , and the director of the 1975 musical .
‘ Initially , one of the teachers did not welcome the idea of scrapping the Shakespeare play . He questioned us a couple of times on our decision to break with tradition but we were clear — we were a batch that was inspired by the changes we saw over our years in RI .’
When asked to expand on these changes , Richard smiled and leaned forward . ‘ 1973 was a unique year for us . The cohort was very much
That was change to us . That incident showed us how we needn ’ t be bound unnecessarily by tradition , and how we could adapt to any situation . involved in the mass display for the opening ceremony of the National Stadium that July . We spent long hours practising in the hot sun to the extent that we were straggling behind in our studies . Can you guess what the teachers did ?’ He paused for dramatic effect before continuing conspiratorially , ‘ They gave us major hints on what was coming out for the exams ! Here we were furiously copying down notes , cramming last minute points into our heads in class before rushing off to the stadium for rehearsals , and there were the teachers at the blackboard writing and underlining key phrases and going through the same few topics over and over again .’
‘ That was change to us . That incident showed us how we needn ’ t be bound unnecessarily by tradition , and how we could adapt to any situation . After considering many factors , we “ readapted ” Great Expectations and didn ’ t look back .’
But the Raffles Players ( RP ) did not stop there . Not long after they decided to put aside Shakespeare for the year , they were determined to stage a musical instead of a play . This idea was the brainchild of the RP ’ s Executive Committee , of which Harold , Richard , and Gloria were members . Their explanation was simple — there were many hidden talents within RI and staging a musical would allow the school to unearth such talents .
Rafflesian Times
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