Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) invites you to celebrate this National Day with an original, devised-in-Singapore play, Cloud Messenger. Helmed by guest director Alvin Tan and playwright Haresh Sharma from The Necessary Stage. Cloud Messenger is a multilingual, inter-disciplinary collaboration with some of Singapore’s leading artists such as Bani Haykal, Brian Gothong Tan, Jaclyn Tan, Steve Kwek and design collective Neon Tights.

Cloud Messenger is inspired by Megha Duta, a Sanskrit poem by Kalidasa and is devised with ITI’s 2014 graduating cohort, featuring students from countries as diverse as India, Italy, Bolivia, The Philippines and Singapore. The original lyric poem tells the tale of a yaksha [nature-spirit], who after being exiled for a year, convinces a cloud to take a message to his wife, that will carry with it descriptive scenes of the beauty and scenery which the cloud passes and encounters.

In our version, our multicultural cast share stories of their living experiences in Singapore – their struggles, joys and challenges, as well as the messages they wish to convey to their loved ones. Cloud Messenger distils their experiences and feelings into an intimate and evocative performance.

Final year (third year) students at ITI present three plays in their graduating year as part of their curriculum. Cloud Messenger is the second graduation show for 2014.

Alvin Tan, director, shares his thoughts on working with ITI’s students for Cloud Messenger, “For practitioners like ourselves who are in intercultural practice, it has been especially rewarding to work with the trained bodies of ITI’s actor-students. All their years of training together has given them an ensemble spirit that is evident from the very first day of rehearsal. The cast are open to one another’s ideas and build on them – and this inclusiveness has been a pleasure to facilitate … I look forward to encountering more of these qualities as we move towards the show’s opening.”

Show And Ticketing Details

Play: Cloud Messenger

Date: 8 – 9 August 2014 (Fri – Sat)

Show Timings: 8 August (Fri) 8pm

9 August (Sat) 3pm & 8pm

 Venue: Drama Centre Black Box

100 Victoria Street

#05-01, National Library Building

Singapore 188064

 Cast: Denise Mordeno Aguilar, Giorgia Tsolaki Ciampi, Kalaiselvi Grace, Jyothirmayi Kurup, Lina Yu, Pedro Simoni Talavera, Shakeel Ahmmad

Tickets:S$25 (Standard), S$20 (Concession)

Tickets available at http://www.ticketmash.sg/cloudm