In the Press

Welcome boost for the arts

'The Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) received $1 million from real estate company OUE's executive chairman Stephen Riady, which along with dollar-for-dollar matching from the Government's Cultural Matching Fund, means the performing arts school will have $2 million to fund its training programmes. Such donations are an encouraging sign of the broadening nature of arts appreciation in Singapore. Traditionally, the arts have been a poorer cousin in the donation stakes as patrons prefer more practical causes such as education, healthcare and the elderly.

That donors are starting to give more generously to build software for the arts industry is a welcome development, especially as the resources are evidently much needed. Lasalle's McNally campus, for example, was meant for 1,850 students, but the school population currently numbers about 2,700. The ITI, a much more specialised institution, has trained 64 graduates from 17 countries since 2000, including Golden Horse-nominated actress Yeo Yann Yann.

The growth of Lasalle's school population, and the demand for ITI's rigorous three-year course, is a reflection
of the growing sophistication and dynamism of Singapore's arts scene. The healthy enrolment is a sign that
home-grown students are more confident about pursuing a life in the arts. Students from the region, too, are
attracted by the arts education and training opportunities here. Hopefully, the virtuous circle will continue to
feed the scene. This is where the Ngee Ann Kongsi and Dr Riady have shown the way, as donors too are a
crucial part of the arts ecosystem.'

- The Straits Times

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Lie With Me: Commentary on ‘Swipe Right’ Culture

'Lie With Me is clever in its dialogue, and the layers of meaning it tries to unravel as the conversations wears on. Poetic and poignant, the language sits beautifully as subtitles, my eyes savouring every word and phrasing.'

- Popspoken

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[Review] Lie With Me - a powerful exploration of the longing for intimacy

'Written by Kaite O’Reilly and directed by Phillip Zarrilli, the Intercultural Theatre Institute presents the Asian premiere of Lie With Me - a play about human relationships, class struggles, and the quest for intimacy.

Led by a cast both Singaporean and international, the play was adapted by producers and actors alike to reflect Singaporean youth, and how we form meaningful relationships with each other. This is achieved by following eight characters, presented in pairs; one character of each pair overlaps and slips into the following couple on stage, threading a cyclical narrative of interconnectedness. The fact that each pair of characters feels lonely and isolated despite the wider connection to the entire cast speaks for itself: the sadness that envelops each character in its own way seeps out from the stage and makes this play relatable and breathtaking.'

- Arts Republic

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Property tycoon Stephen Riady donates S$1 million to independent theatre school in S’pore

'Executive chairman of property developer OUE, Stephen Riady, has donated S$1 million to an independent theatre school, the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI).'

- Mothership

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[Interview] Director Phillip Zarrilli and Playwright Kaite O’Reilly on Lie With Me, presented by ITI

'Come November, the graduating cohort of the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) will be presenting the Asian premiere of Kaite O’Reilly’s Lie with Me.

Originally set in London, this production will be localised to look at contemporary life in Singapore through glimpses into the lives of eight young people, exploring issues such as the evolving ‘rules’ of sexual encounters in a ‘swipe right’ culture, and the ways in which people survive and form genuine relationships in an increasingly unstable and consumerist society.

To find out more about the show and the creative process, I spoke to O’Reilly and director Phillip Zarrilli.'

- Isaac Tan

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Preview: Lie With Me by Intercultural Theatre Institute

'The latest batch of students from Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) is just about ready to graduate, but before they do, they’ll be presenting one last show, with the Asian premiere of Lie With Me by award-winning playwright Kaite O’Reilly this November at the Esplanade Theatre Studio.

Directed by internationally renowned director Phillip Zarrilli, Lie With Me looks at contemporary life in Singapore through glimpses into the lives of eight young people, exploring issues such as the evolving ‘rules’ of sexual encounters in a ‘swipe right’ culture, and the ways in which people survive and form genuine relationships in an increasingly unstable and consumerist society.

O’Reilly and Zarrilli are acclaimed, frequent collaborators, whose play richard III redux was one of three finalist scripts for the prestigious James Tait Black Prize in Drama, which celebrates groundbreaking theatre produced worldwide.'

- Bak Chor Mee Boy

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Intercultural Theatre Institute presents the Asian premiere of “Lie With Me” this November

'The Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), an independent theatre school for contemporary artists, will be presenting the Asian premiere of ‘Lie With Me’ by award-winning playwright Kaite O’Reilly, from 7–9 November at Esplanade Theatre Studio.

What’s more, this year’s graduating cohort will be directed by internationally renowned director Phillip Zarrilli.'

- The Online Citizen

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A patron's big gift to the arts

'The Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) is naming a chair after real estate company OUE executive chairman Dr Stephen Riady, who donated $1 million to the performing arts school.

The Stephen Riady Master Chair in Beijing Opera is an acknowledgement of the largest donation from an individual donor to an independent arts organisation in Singapore.

The National Arts Council said it has no records of an individual donor gifting this amount to a small arts organisation since it started tracking donations for its Patron of the Arts award in 1983.'

- The Straits Times

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Review: a line could be crossed and you would cease to be by Intercultural Theatre Institute

'In the Intercultural Theatre Institute’s (ITI) new production, the latest batch of graduating students tackle the ever-looming issue of climate change with Australian playwright Andrew Sutherland’s a line could be crossed and you would slowly cease to be. Directed by Koh Wan Ching (known for arresting, colourful visuals), the oblique, wandering text is given gorgeous form as the play throws us overboard into a world where climate change discourse is the only thing worth fearing and making conversation about.'

- Bak Chor Mee Boy

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Interview with Andrew Sutherland - erasing the line between climate change and social issues

'As much as this is a work involving climate futures and environmental issues, it's more so a work about how we relate our emotional lives - our relationship to hope or our personal futures - to those issues, whether knowingly or unknowingly.'

- Arts Republic

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