June 22, 2022
Image caption: A multi-award winning executive producer, writer, script doctor and creative consultant, NUS alumnus Remesh Panicker (above) is one of the most sought-after voice talents and narrator in the region with over 1000 voice credits to his name.
Last seen in NUS Arts Festival 2019: A Disappearing Number alongside NUS Stage, alumnus Remesh Panicker returns to the stage with Gibran – a collection of poems by Kahlil Gibran presented in an ambience reminiscent of the Middle East desert and accompanied live by the soothing Arabian oud. Conceptualised and narrated by Remesh himself, this intimate production hopes to inspire its viewers to cherish life and take on life more positively after two tough years of pandemic restrictions.
Keep scrolling as Remesh shares with us more about how his artistic journey began (including how he loved being part of then NUS theatre group Varsity Playhouse), and how his show Gibran came about.
CFA: You’ve been actively involved in the arts scene in Singapore for over 45 years. That’s a pretty long time! How did you get started in the arts, and how have you kept that passion burning all these decades?
Remesh: I was hooked on theatre after watching my first play. It was part of Raffles Institution’s annual drama festival. It was 1973 and I was in secondary 1. The next year, I participated in the festival. I wrote, directed and acted in a play called Student’s Dilemma. It was exhilarating. Fortunately, my parents were very encouraging, something unusual for the day.
Forty-five years on, I’m still hooked. It is, as you say, a passion. Although I am considered a professional actor, I am not a full-time professional actor. I have a ”day job.” So each opportunity to be in a production is precious. The degree of excitement I feel when creating something with a community of theatre-makers now, is just like it was when I was in school. Also, unlike most of my peers, who are involved in several productions a year, I do one or two then there’s a hiatus. I guess that’s why the passion is still there – I get my fix of the theatre in small doses.
CFA: You’ve definitely had quite a distinguished run these past few decades as well – including 5 LIFE! Theatre Award nominations, 3 wins for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, an Asian Television Awards Best Actor nomination to your name. Amidst these accolades, what would you consider the most significant memory in your artistic journey?
Remesh: I appreciate the nominations and awards. They look good on one’s acting CV. But they are…and should…be forgotten. I believe in that old adage about being as good as your last production. My significant memories aren’t the awards, but the work that led to them…and the work that did not lead to neither nomination nor award. It is the work, the creation that is paramount. And the process of creating it. My memories of these are many, too many to mention. But almost all of them have to do with the people I have encountered. I have made good friends. I have learnt from the best – receiving valuable lessons from directors, actors, producers, stage managers, etc. I’ve been blessed to have worked with amazing directors and actors from around the world. When I am asked where I went to drama school, my response is I attended Kuo Pao Kun, Krishen Jit, Tony Petito, Max le Blond. And several more who influenced me and helped me hone my craft.
CFA: When you began your journey in the arts 45 years ago, what was the arts scene like? Was there a permissive and conducive environment for creative arts back then? How have things changed – for better or worse? And given all this, what has fueled you to continue contributing to the local arts scene all these years?
Remesh: I was lucky to have been in Raffles (Institution). They had an active theatre CCA. I’m not sure what was available in other schools in the early 70s. There was no professional theatre to speak of. I don’t know what the scene was for other areas of the Arts. I imagine there was activity in visual arts – I recall some local galleries. There was, of course, theatre offerings from University of Singapore, the Stage Club, Experimental Theatre and some others. But these weren’t professional companies. What they had in common was an absolute love for what they were doing. If they could put up a production and not lose their shirts, they’d do it. I guess they were amateur-professionals, if that’s a thing. There is something pure about that.
The atmosphere now is vastly different. Theatre practitioners still do what they do because they are passionate. But now, many make a living at it. The stakes are higher. Better production values, more consideration given to commercial viability…things are slicker, more “produced” and certainly there are more offerings available. But, like the Arts everywhere else, there could always be more support – either from the private sector, individuals and the government. There will, I suspect, always be more needed to keep the Arts vibrant, viable, relevant and accessible to more.
As for my contribution to the scene, I cannot with good conscience say I am contributing more than being part of a production every now and then. The real contributors are, in my mind, those who have put everything on the line to help the Arts in Singapore blossom. They work 24/7 to keep theatre alive. So, I’d say my contributions are episodic and occasional, rather than sustained.
CFA: We understand that the pandemic served as a trigger and inspiration for Gibran. In what way did the pandemic spark the genesis of this production? What were some of the challenges you faced in bringing Gibran to life?
Remesh: One of the producers of the Gibran project is a dear old university friend, Audrey Perera. She’d asked me to be involved in a Gibran-related production in 2014. I couldn’t at the time as I was preparing to play Shylock in SRT’s Merchant of Venice. But when she and fellow producer Aravinth Kumarasamy (Artistic Director of Apsaras Arts) asked if I’d be keen to do this, I said yes without hesitation.
We felt the encouraging messages in Gibran’s writing would be well-received and perhaps even necessary. The 2 years or so of lockdowns, social distancing, isolation, loss of life, loss of livelihoods…all of it has been challenging to say the least. But Gibran’s universal, non-moralistic or judgemental spirituality suggests a reframing of the way we look at Life. He says…
