Pangdemonium founder and actor Adrian Pang is having a busy year. His company’s latest play Circle Mirror Transformation opens Jan 29, and he’s being directed by his wife Tracie in The Weight of Silk on Skin, part of Esplanade’s upcoming SG50 celebrations in April and his first stab at a one-man show. Here, he talks about being what it’s like having actors in your family and the time he almost got exiled.
There was nothing to see in Singapore in the ’70 and ’80s. I don’t recall seeing a single theater production. I don’t know what motivated me to audition for a school production of Oliver Twist.
I was not good at sports and a bit of a geek, so [theater was] a mild distraction. And then I had that “oh wow” moment and that stayed with me.
It’s the anticipation of going on stage; it’s a heightened euphoria, delirium almost. The challenge is to do it night after night and still be able to say those words as though you’re telling the story for the first time. It is hard but I absolutely love it, which is why theater is my first love.
I consider myself quite lucky. Through the nine years that I was working as an actor in the UK, I never had to wait any tables. I know people who didn’t work for years after they finished an acting job.
The offer to come back and work for Mediaworks came out of the blue. I was in Oxford playing an undercover CIA agent with Brad Pitt [in Spy Games] and I got this call. And I was just like “What are you talking about? I’m working with Brad Pitt, don’t you know?” And then three months later, we were back in Singapore.
It was a major upheaval for a couple of years. The work culture is very different and it was all very alien to me. The whole time I was working for Mediaworks [later Mediacorp], I was pretty much a misfit.
Singapore has been struggling with our identity for years now and will continue to do so for years. And the way we speak is very much entrenched in this struggle.
I’ve had to play characters who speak in a “very Singlish” kind of way. But the producers will say, “Don’t use la on TV.” That’s why English language films in Singapore are so hard to do. You’re reaching huge masses and to find a comfortable band of the way we speak here is really tricky.
I remember hosting for a solemn, sober state event where Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was the Guest of Honor and as I was thanking everybody, I referred to him as President Lee Hsien Loong.
The moment it came out of my mouth, I said, “Of course I meant Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong…but then he should be the President.” Talk about horrendous faux pas and then trying to cover it up with the lamest cover up which made it even worse. I thought I was going to get exiled.
14 years after moving back, we’re still here. Tracie and I have talked about it many times and we agree that if we were back in the UK, we certainly wouldn’t be running our own theater company.
On the opening night of [Pangdemonium’s debut production] The Full Monty, both my boys, who were supposed to take turns being in the show, fell ill and were losing their voices. My older boy, Zack, was chosen to open the show and it was his first time on stage too.
Before the show, Zack’s face was white and he started to cry. So I told him “I know you’re nervous, I’m nervous as hell as well. If you tell me you can’t do it, I guess we won’t. But I swear to you, if you go and do this, you will feel so good about yourself.”
After the first scene, as we went off stage, he looked at me and he said “Oh my god! That was fantastic!” That was such a moment for me, as a producer and as a dad.
When we started rehearsals for Circle Mirror Transformation and Tracie was commanding the room, I sat back and was just in awe. My god, I’m married to this really awesome woman. I am so put in my place.
She is my boss in the company and she’s the boss at home. Even right down to the nitty gritty mundane everyday stuff, she will take care of it. My life would fall apart without Tracie.
