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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