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I first learned about this musical/concert through one of its cast members. 

Now on its 3rd year, ”A Nation in Concert” is a venue for differently-abled individuals to showcase their talent and enable them to realise their full potential. The show is put up by hundreds of volunteers who either work behind the scenes or perform onstage, with majority sharing personal time beyond their daytime jobs.

Synopsis (from the official production website)

Meet Shelby the slowpoke Sea Snail, Cornelius the Alaskan Crab and Priscilla the Drunken Prawn – a trio of headstrong sea-bottom dwellers who are sick of being looked down upon for having feet (or in Shelby’s case, being just one big foot) in a world of arrogant but oh-so-graceful swimming creatures. They long to express their uniqueness by taking part in a talentime hosted at Madam Manta’s undersea lounge The Ai Hum Club, but all their hopes are dashed when the ruthless Petula Pufferfish threatens to buy up and tear down the club, and even reports the trio to the censors who are out to prevent ‘footers’ from getting too vocal!

Will the trio win their right to be heard? Will the Ai Hum Club survive the invasion of the sea-vil servants? What will it take for the whole undersea community to learn that difference should be celebrated rather than stigmatized?

Some random personal sharing:

- While my experience of being part of a production is quite limited and dates back to secondary school, I can say that putting up a show with many performers is an incredible challenge. I’ve seen some of the photos uploaded by Pierre and I can just imagine how many hours have been spent memorising the script, familiarising the blocking/dance steps, and generally rehearsing with the rest of the cast.

- I particularly liked two (2) segments : the ballroom dance with selected members of the Handicaps Welfare Associations (ladies in wheelchairs with a male partner)

Used with permission from Lawrence Ang and Jerry Siah

Used with permission from Lawrence Ang and Jerry Siah

- There were also sign language interpreters who made sure that hearing impaired individuals who are part of the audience also enjoyed the show.

- I was touched by the final video where participants shared how “A Nation in Concert” has positively affected their lives and continues to give them hope. (Video had “You Raise Me Up” as its musical score — very emo… hear the song with lyrics).

A former cast member told me that this show has “a lot of heart”. It does and I’m glad that it has renewed my interest in becoming more involved in community building and sharing my blessings with other people here in Singapore.

For those who have seen it, hope you found the show worth every dollar you paid (and perhaps even more). For those who missed it (the third and last show ends at around 5pm today), let’s hope there will be another one next year. 

CAST

Chermaine Ang as Priscilla the Prawn
Pierre Goh as Cornelius the Crab
Darius Tan as Shelby the Sea Snail
Christina Sergeant as Madam Manta
Timothy Go as Tim-MER-thy the merman
Karen Tan as Hannah Hammerhead
Tony Quek as Petula Pufferfish
Scott Lei as AC the Electric Eel
Ben Xiao as DC the Electric Eei
Joakim Gomez as Mata Skipper the Police Chief
Terence Tay as Clarence the Clownfish

Levin Ng, Valenisha, Glenn Chow Zhen Wei, Nadiah btw Muhammad Salehuddin, Siti Annisa btw Md Kamsani, Ika Nita Nurrizkia, Jeremy Chui Jin Wei as Tetras

Ken Lim, Wei Lim, Kenneth Li Jun Hui, Jason Yip Yan Shen as Mussel Men

PRODUCTION

Jonathan Lim (Director), Jerry Siah Eng Kiat (Producer), Desmond Sim (Playwright)

And over a hundred differently-abled performers from:

Association for Persons with Special Needs
Handicaps Welfare Association
Singapore Association for the Deaf
Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped

Peiru and I gave a bouquet to Pierre (Cornelius the Crab). I'm sure Pierre will miss his costume. Haha.

Nikki with the AC and DC Electric Eels

With Mata Skipper the Police Chief (Joakim Gomez)

Ended the night with Kristy and Nikki at TCC