The story of Little Voice in S'pore setting

YOU might be familiar with the story of Laura Hoff, aka Little Voice, because of the 1998 British musical film of the same title by Mark Herman, or the 1992 play The Rise & Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright. The latter won a Laurence Olivier Award for best comedy in 1993, and the Evening Standard Award for best comedy in 1992.

But be prepared to see it in a new light when Pangdemonium Theatre Company presents its own version of The Rise & Fall of Little Voice, where it will be set in Singapore in the year 1974.

Explains the show's director, Tracie Pang: "We have always loved this timeless story of Little Voice. . . This shy young girl trying to find her own voice is a perfect personification of Singapore's own journey as a young nation finding our own place in the global landscape." And though she insists on keeping the details of the adaptation to herself so audiences will stay spoiler-free, Pang elaborates that "there will certainly be time, place, and name references that Singaporeans will remember fondly".