ChildAid to welcome guests with musical dinner this year

CHILDAID 2023 is on track to deliver big, original entertainment come Dec 4. Costumes, music, sets, action and choreography have all been meticulously conceived and crafted for an immersive experience unlike anything seen in its previous iterations. 

The signature charity fundraiser, a collaboration between The Business Times and The Straits Times, usually takes the form of a concert. But this year’s edition has been reimagined as a musical dinner theatre production set in captivating 1930s Singapore. 

The invited guests will be served Peranakan fusion food prepared by caterer Purple Sage, while they watch a period musical whodunit about a missing singer whose disappearance must be solved with their help.

The cast of 49 comprises talented children aged between 6 and 19. Many have been trained to play multiple parts, and sometimes go off-script when they interact with the audience at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre hall.

A full-dress rehearsal over the weekend was attended by Wong Wei Kong, SPH Media’s editor-in-chief of English/Malay/Tamil Media group, and The Straits Times editor Jaime Ho. Wong said: “What we saw at the rehearsals just leaves me looking forward to a really wonderful performance on show night. It’s really uplifting to see the young performers not just brimming with talent but enthusiasm for a worthy cause. We wanted to try a new format for ChildAid this year, and I think they will pull it off splendidly.”

Now in its 19th year, ChildAid raises funds for The Business Times Budding Artists Fund and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. The former empowers artistically gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue the arts without financial constraints. The latter helps pay for the lunch and transport fare of children from low-income homes. 

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The upcoming event is made possible by long-time sponsors UOB, Citi Singapore, Mohammed Abdul Jaleel of MES Group and production partner The Ebenex Group. From 2005 to 2022, ChildAid has raised S$28,628,371 for underprivileged children.

Previous editions were helmed by creative luminaries such as Iskandar Ismail, Jeremiah Choy, Dick Lee and Jeremy Monteiro. But in a departure from tradition, this year’s edition is led by ChildAid’s first female creative team, Melissa Sim and Ross Nasir, of the theatre company How Drama. 

Sim said: “The kids are so energetic and creative. They come up with little touches to the script and choreography all the time, which we then try to incorporate into their performances so they have a sense of ownership over the show.

“On a production level, ChildAid 2023 is challenging, because we have a 360-degree audio scape, and a cast performing on three stages and around 32 dining tables – on top of wait staff moving about to serve food and attend to guests’ requests… But we’re certain we’ll deliver a memorable show come Dec 4.” 

Former ChildAid performer in separate fundraiser

On Nov 30, former ChildAid performer Dr Azariah Tan will perform alongside pop and jazz songbird Joanna Dong and other artistes to raise funds for palliative care patients. Organised by National University Cancer Institute Singapore (NCIS) in aid of the NCIS Cancer Fund, The Last Mile Concert will be held at School Of The Arts’ concert hall.

Dr Tan has a hearing ability of 15 per cent but has overcome his difficulties to complete a degree in music with first class honours from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music along with two masters degrees in music and a doctorate in piano performance from the University of Michigan. He performed in the 2007 ChildAid concert when he was 16.

Other performers of the concert include local bands Lorong Boys and M’Ode Wind Quintet. They will be joined by NCIS senior pharmacist Teo Poh Yin who plays the guitar. Tickets to The Last Mile Concert are available from Sistic.