The adventures of the mad Singaporean

SINGAPORE — In all of his illustrious 41 years in the music business, Dick Lee has never had a year quite like this one.

Thanks perhaps to SG50 and an increasing awareness and thirst for local content, the household name has been, in his own words, “in demand”.

“My biggest conflict is ageing — not having time to do everything I want to do,” Lee said in a recent phone interview on his 59th birthday. “Everything takes longer. It’s frustrating. I turn 60 next year and I realised if I were to live to the average age of 80, I would have only 20 years left. That is like nothing, you know! So I just want to make the most of it.”

It is perhaps why Lee, who was creative director for this year’s National Day Parade, has been packing his schedule with both massive and exciting projects.

He has begun working on directing the revival of Beauty World, which will be staged in November at the Victoria Theatre with a brand new cast of established theatre actors and young talent.

Next year, Lee will also direct a variety show for a corporate function in London, stage the second part in his trilogy of plays — the first of which was last year’s Rising Son — and direct his very first film.

Next week, however, Lee focuses his energies on the upsized version of his legendary show The Adventures Of The Mad Chinaman, which will be held at the Esplanade Concert Hall. The concert, which was last staged in 2011, will tell the story of Lee’s incredible musical journey from his childhood in the 1960s to the debut of his alter ego The Mad Chinaman in 1989, with the help of a nine-piece band led by Indra Ismail.

“If the ‘Mad’ applies to being confused, I am now less so, especially regarding my identity,” Lee mused, adding that he was considering writing a second autobiography about his years working in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore’s music industries. “That is what the ‘Mad’ actually refers to, wondering who I am and all that. Now I couldn’t be surer, with everybody singing Home together. That is a validation and a firm reminder that my instincts were right because I wrote Home about being Singaporean.”

Aside from stories from Lee’s music career, a significant portion of his show, which is almost completely sold out, will involve his memories about his mother, whom he calls his “biggest influence and inspiration”.

“She always encouraged and supported me when I was experimenting with music, when my father frowned on it as a career choice,” said Lee, whose mother passed away earlier this year. “She was always there for me and I have featured her in so many of my projects. I guess I will be making a little tribute to her in the concert, and the next play I am writing now is about her growing up years. She was very key in allowing me to be who I am.”

And if there was one thing Lee’s mother had taught him, it was to make full use of whatever time he has left on his planet — evidently a lesson Lee is taking very seriously.

“We are good at being negative about ourselves and other people, (but) it just gets in the way of everything. My mother’s passing also taught me that you have to make every moment count. You encounter death and you feel, oh my goodness, every second is so precious. Don’t waste time procrastinating or let negative influences hold you back. I think that is the big challenge.”

Dick Lee’s The Adventures Of The Mad Chinaman Upsized will be held on Sept 3 at The Esplanade Concert Hall. Limited tickets from S$38 to S$78 still available from SISTIC.