What makes the spectacle that is Shakespeare In The Park tick

It is always tricky business doing outdoor plays when the tropical weather might take an unexpected turn. But for the past seven years that Shakespeare In The Park has held court at Fort Canning Park, organisers Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) has only had to cancel once out of around 140 shows.

“I think I probably do five to seven superstitious things every night to make sure it doesn’t rain. I don’t know which one of these work but I just do them all!” quipped artistic director Gaurav Kripalani.

However much impact these little quirks many have had, it’s undeniable that the event itself has grown to be a popular annual fixture on the arts calendar, drawing a nightly audience of 1,500 and around 30,000 for every production. This year, SRT is staging The Tempest, and Kripalani promises yet another theatre spectacle worthy of the Bard — for one, it has got a set in the shape of an enormous book that’s 14m high.

“Every year, we sit down and go, ‘How do we make it even better?’” Kripalani said.

To think that when SRT first decided to embark on it back in 1997 with Hamlet, everything that could go wrong did.

“It was one of the most enjoyable but painful experiences of my life,” recounted Kripalani.

“Our production manager told our lighting designer, ‘I don’t think you should use those lights.’ And she’s like, ‘Excuse me, I’ve done Shakespeare In The Park in New York for over 15 years. Don’t tell me what lights to use.’ This lady’s never been in a tropical downpour before and as soon as we had one of our thunderstorms, every light blew.”

The director, too, insisted that the play should be watched in a specific way. “He said, ‘This is Hamlet, not A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I don’t want people sitting back or lying down watching Shakespeare. So we ended up building bleachers and our seating capacity went from 20,000 to 6,000!” shared Kripalani, before adding: “But it was magical.”

The director had concocted a slam-bang ending that saw Fortinbras’ army gunning down everyone — a poignant moment considering that was the same exact year that Hong Kong was handed over to China. “Suddenly, it took on a whole different resonance. And I was like, that’s what we should be doing,” he said before a pause.

“Of course, it took us 10 years to recover from the massive financial loss. We basically lost half a million dollars.”

Kripalani admits that even after deciding to give it another go in 2007, the series hasn’t exactly been a money-maker. “We lose money on Shakespeare In The Park every year, but I keep persevering with it because I think the audiences will grow, the sponsorship will grow and one day, it will become profitable.”

Kripalani’s passion for the Bard is obvious (during our interview, he reminded me that the following day was Shakespeare’s death anniversary). But it wasn’t always that way.

“Growing up, I hated Shakespeare. I thought the literature teacher that I had butchered him and made it incredibly boring. Dull, drab, too cheem. And you’d watch those black-and-white BBC productions in class and they’d put you to sleep in five minutes.”

A family trip to Stratford-upon-Avon made him change his mind (“I realised they were plays meant to be performed, not read to death in a classroom”) and the ultimate epiphany came as a college student, when he checked out the now-defunct Shakespeare Santa Cruz festival in California. “It was by the ocean, you’re in this beautiful park amongst the most gorgeous giant redwood trees and the fog rolls in from the ocean ...”

It was an experience that has stayed with him and something he has been translating to Singapore audiences. For 2007’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, SRT created walkways throughout the entire park and the actors would perform around the audience. And it has kept upping the ante: It has built a pool for Much Ado About Nothing, and brought in a helicopter for Othello.

The idea of Shakespeare as a spectacle has been part of the plan all along, especially for the younger generation who would hesitate to get into Shakespeare. “I think one of the best ways to win that audience over is to have the magic of a phenomenal set. You need dynamic music. And because so many people aren’t comfortable with (Shakespeare’s) language yet, we make sure it’s so visually exciting that they are engrossed in the show,” he said.

But more importantly, Kripalani wants his Shakespeare shows to resonate with audiences — the 1997 Hamlet’s nod to the Hong Kong handover and the uncertainty back then was one of these moments. Much later, Othello was transplanted into a war zone and The Merchant Of Venice saw its infamous moneylender Shylock portrayed as a chettiar and “instead of the ship sinking, it was the stock market crashing”.

Kripalani dismisses any talk of Shakespeare fatigue in Singapore, despite the semi-constant stagings of Shakespeare’s works here, such as those by Shakespeare’s Globe and SRT’s very own gargantuan effort, The Bridge Project, which saw the likes of Kevin Spacey and Ethan Hawke perform and which also included The Tempest in its line-up. He pointed out how, during the years when SRT was doing The Bridge Project, it was also presenting Shakespeare In The Park. “I was very, very worried,” he admitted. “But actually, what happened was our sales for Shakespeare In The Park shot up. It ended up helping, rather than detracting.”

And so they continue. After The Tempest, the next three years will see SRT stage Julius Caesar, The Taming Of The Shrew and Romeo And Juliet (in no particular order) and, at some point, another Hamlet.

The aim, of course, is to eventually stage an outdoor theatre festival, said Kripalani, but in the meantime, it’s baby steps — if you consider a play held at Marina Bay baby steps.

He revealed that SRT is looking at doing a production there next year. Not necessarily Shakespeare, but you never know. “We’re thinking of building a set on water next year. I think that’d be stunning. What would be very cool is to actually put the audience and the set on the floating platform.”

Shakespeare On The Bay, anyone?

The Tempest runs until May 24, 7.30pm, at Fort Canning Park (located at Gothic Gate at Carpark A). Tickets from S$45 at SISTIC.