Cartoonist Sonny Liew goes from page to stage

SINGAPORE – Sonny Liew, the cartoonist behind the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, has taken his talents to the stage for the first time.

In a collaboration with Australian theatre veteran Edith Podesta, Becoming Graphic saw Liew working on an all-new graphic novel for the stage, which was commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2017 (Sifa).

The play centres on the process of creating a comic titled Black Oyster, which features a protagonist named Green Bolt, and addresses the complex themes of ageing and mortality using the superhero genre.

The production, which runs from today to Sunday, is his first project since returning from his win at the prestigious Eisner Awards at the 2017 Comic Convention International: San Diego where he became the first Singaporean to win the comic industry’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Two extra shows were added this weekend due to overwhelming response, which Liew, 42, called “gratifying”.

Speaking with TODAY, Liew said “life itself” inspired him to come up with the new graphic novel.

“It’s basically that even superpowers can’t really solve problems or issues of mortality.”

“It’s a topic that I am interested in, both personally and on a theoretical level, so I’m trying to understand it from different angles. For me, creating a comic is part of the process of understanding those things myself,” he added.

Podesta, 37, described the production as having three layers — the comic, the process of going from page to stage for Liew and the actors, and Liew himself. This layered theatre experience will be presented to the audience through a series of live drawings, projections, film pieces, sounds and lights, as well as other theatrical elements.

Liew hopes that through the production, “audiences recognise the pain and problems of ageing, but feel less alone in the experience because we all have to face those problems”.

“I think that the more morbid or dark things that are explored in the play give light to the other side of life and living — they help us to appreciate what we have,” added Podesta.

Sifa festival director Ong Keng Sen wanted the production to be an all-new work by Liew because he was “interested in live stage and live performances being exploratory and experimental”.

“I saw the collaboration with Sonny as something that could explore new boundaries,” he said.

“Initially, he (Liew) was surprised that I did not want to do a production on his award-winning graphic novel, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, and I told him frankly that he should make that into (a) film, because it is already a success(ful) formula, and is best made into a film to reach more people.”

On his first experience working on a major theatre production, Liew said: “It’s been eye-opening to see the process — how they come up with the language, the props, everything. Everything about it is sort of new to me, and I found that interesting,” he added.

Becoming Graphic runs from today to Sunday at Theatreworks, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road. Tickets are available from Sistic.