Dick Lee mines dad's war diaries for play

DICK LEE is a name synonymous with good home-grown music, such as the groundbreaking The Mad Chinaman album and that much-beloved National Day Parade song, Home. But as someone who hates to repeat anything he's done, he recently found himself penning something quite different from his oeuvre - the dramatic play.

Sure, he's written comedies (Beauty Kings, Death In Tuas) and musicals (Fried Rice Paradise, Sing To The Dawn) before. But a dramatic play poses quite unique challenges in that the success of the script lies entirely on its plot, characters and dialogue. In other words, no song or dance to cover up any weak patches.

The play is titled Rising Son, and is part of the Singapore Repertory Theatre's Made In Singapore series featuring local playwrights (See other story).