Photo: The Theatre Practice
The Theatre Practice (Practice) behind Four Horse Road is back with another show, The Bride Always Knocks Twice — Killer Secrets, an interactive murder mystery. Albeit the onset of tighter Covid-19 restrictions with the announcement of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) on 14 May 2021, Practice decided that their show must go on.
The production will proceed fully digitally, in a bid to adapt to the unpredictable and constantly changing landscape in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Photo: The Theatre Practice
The production is set in a house outside time and space and revolves around seven women from different eras. One of the seven women is murdered, and it is up to the audience to crack the case, find the murderer and stand a chance to win $1000 cash and a 3D2N stay in Hotel Soloha!
Birth of The Bride Always Knocks Twice -- Killer Secrets
For this unique, one of a kind production, director Kuo Jian Hong enlisted the help of scriptwriters Jonathan Lim and Liu Xiaoyi for the birth of this suspenseful murder mystery.
Jonathan says, “So much had to be new because of the digital and interactive aspects of this version, but once we re-entered the house, we were on familiar ground. We had such fun finding how to interlock our styles (in 2013), and it gave us a strong rapport to start with. We could tag-team the writing with ease.”
Xiaoyi adds, “Writing a script requires a strict sense of structure, and writing a script in this genre requires an even more strict ability of logical thinking. We spent a lot of time on the process of conceptualization and discussion, which made the writing later very smooth.”
The conceptualization of the script aside, this multimodal production was something that not many of the crew were familiar with, and had to do a fair amount of research before commencing on this project.
Photo: The Theatre Practice/Facebook
Film veteran Kat Goh admitted that they were rather new to online murder-mystery games, and had to Google a few games to familiarise themselves with what the audience would be expecting.
“This project allows me to BE part of it by doing what I do for a living. I see the shoot as the same as any normal short film shoot. What I bring to the table is my familiarity with film crew and creatives, and I hope I brought together a team that suits the project,” Kat says. With a wealth of film expertise under their belt, Kat is sure to have produced an exciting blend between film, theatre and gaming.
Of course, there is no production without a cast. Actors Isabella Chiam, Jun Ying Su, Jodi Chan, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Suhaili Safari, MP Ng and Gloria Ang Xiao Ting started an intensive rehearsal schedule that would allow them to brave through performances as if in a real theatre, work with a camera and stay in character during the “live” interrogation.
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
The Bride Always Knocks Twice — Killer Secrets is not Practice’s first production to have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Last April, the production of Four Horse Road 2020 faced an early closure as well.
But this year, the team behind this production is determined not to let this show go down without a fight.
Initially an innovative and revolutionary multi-platform production that involved the audience’s participation to solve the mystery, safety restrictions have called for the decision to make this a fully online experience.
Photo: The Theatre Practice/Facebook
“We’re disappointed but the show must go on. We’ve created over 40 online works in the past year, so we are ready to adapt without compromising on artistic quality,” director Kuo Jian Hong says.
“In-person or online, rain or shine, this pandemic has shown how innovative and resilient our Singapore artists are.”
The initial onsite inspection for Chapter 3: Crime Scene has moved to a virtual crime-scene investigation, and an extra viewing date for Chapter 4: Revelations has been added to provide audiences with more flexibility. The original Tea Time Tales segment has also been fully cancelled.
The New Hangout Spot
The new tightened restrictions make it almost impossible for us to hang out with our friends as we usually did.
While the switch to a fully online experience may not be an exact replacement for physical meetups with friends, this production provides the opportunity for audiences to congregate online, instead of the usual video calls which may be rather bland after a while.
The Bride Always Knocks Twice — Killer Secrets is part theatre, part game, and this unique experience allows participants to be as active and passive as they want - to go all-in and analyse all the clues and evidence in detail to build a credible case and solve the crime, or simply sit back and enjoy it as a show.
Playing this with friends by discussing and sharing information can increase your chances of winning an attractive grand prize of $1,000 cash and a two-night stay at Hotel Soloha.
The catch, however, is that the winner has to correctly identify the killer AND present a credible case.
Photo: The Theatre Practice
A $48 ticket package entitles audiences to 1 device, the $58 packet entitles audiences to 2 devices, and the $68 ticket entitles audiences to 3 devices.
Each device allows audiences to interrogate 2 out of 5 of their suspects, so be sure to team up to make the most of your experience and stand a better chance to win the grand prize!
Those Who Suffer In Silence
While Practice decided to push ahead with the release of their production despite being badly hit by the pandemic restrictions, they are not the only ones who are enduring this difficult period.
Practice has not left Chinatown in the lurch for this launch, and extended a helping hand to their F&B partners.
“The Chinatown community has been incredibly supportive of this project,” said Daniel Goh,
Practice’s Executive Director and Partnerships Lead.
“Our F&B partners are probably the hardest hit by these new measures, and Practice is committed to supporting them in return.”
From 24 May onwards, revenue from tickets purchased through participating F&B partners
will be split between the restaurant and Practice. These include Bunker Bunker SG, Beng
Who Cooks, Moonstone Bar, Tong Heng, Tempura Oji and more.
Photo: The Theatre Practice/Facebook
Photo: The Theatre Practice/Facebook
The Covid-19 pandemic has crippled a large number of local businesses, causing them to have to fight harder than any of us for their livelihoods and not shut down.
This production is not just a chance for Singaporeans to indulge and appreciate the local arts scene, but also for us to step up and lend a helping hand to struggling businesses that have fed us with affordable and delicious food, and kept us entertained all these years.
Practice is committed to their community-based values which pledge to nurture and empower people who care about humanity, and it is up to us to help struggling businesses and institutions which have nurtured our growth as Singaporeans.
More information for this production can be found below:
Dates: 31 May - 7 June 2021 (GMT+8)
Venue: Online - brideknockstwice.com
Language: Multilingual including English, Mandarin, Malay and Cantonese (with closed captions in English and Chinese for Chapter 1: Conflicts and Chapter 4: Revelations)
Ticket Prices: SGD$48 (1 player) / $58 (2 players) / $68 (3 players) (excl. booking fees)
Official Website: brideknockstwice.com