[stephenkhoo]

I chanced upon this article while reading channelnews asia online, Hossan is spot on about the perception of locals and the ever daunting tasks those in the arts face in terms of sponsorship and funding. It will probably take another generation to reap the work done by our pioneers in this area and i hope govt will put in resources to beef up the arts amongst our young especially school going age.

Bharati: But if that is the case, can we ever expect to be excellent artists? Can we ever expect to be a real arts hub?

Hossan: No. I think it all depends on the individual, if they really want to excel in their craft, to push themselves to go and do courses. I think sometimes you’ve got to go away and come back, because in other countries, for example, if I get a tour of Miss Saigon, that’s two years. That's a living. I can buy a house, coming home from that, because that's money. We don't have that here. How long does a play last here? Beauty World is going for one month. People say “Wow that’s one month, very long already.” But one month ain't going to buy you a house.

Bharati: What do you think needs to happen to make that kind of thing happen here?

Hossan Leong: I don't think the population can support that anyway. The theatre-going crowd is not big enough. You know, three-weeks in, we're already struggling with tickets sales.

Bharati: What's the problem, you think?

Hossan: I think there's theatre-fatigue. Maybe this year is special because with so many things going on with SG50, people are tired. And people's wallets are shrinking, so if I need to go and see a show, and I have a family of four, or if it’s just me and my partner, it entails dinner, transport, tickets and it can come up to a couple hundred dollars on a night out. That's a lot of money. So if I want to see show A, show B, show C, musical D, as an average person, I can't afford it, so I choose. I will save money to watch Les Miserables. "But what about 'Crazy Christmas?'" “Oh, no lah, I can see them next year. Les Mis comes once in a while.”

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