Review: The Little Company's "The Ugly Duckling" 丑小鸭

The kiddo and I have been attending productions by Singapore Repertory Theatre for years. When I started taking on the onus of guiding her in the Chinese language in the earlier years, I had problems looking for meaningful Chinese theatrical plays for children. I lamented to my buddies that such productions are so rare and it was such a pity because bilingualism is something really close to my heart.

We then caught our first Chinese play with SRT 2 years ago with The Three Little Pigs 三只小猪 and we loved it. So it was with great excitement when Dumpling and I met up with our buddies for a morning of fun with SRT’s Chinese production of The Ugly Duckling 丑小鸭.

We first watched the English production of The Ugly Duckling in 2011 and the kiddo enjoyed it. The Little Company (TLC) incorporated small elements of audience interaction in the 50 mins production and it was the same in the Chinese version.

The play starts with a narrator in Fairy-tale Kingdom 童话王国 interacting with the children, telling the story. Isabelle Chiam as the narrator certainly brought the play to ‘live’. She was lively and humorous, providing some comic relief in the play. The entire production was told through puppetry with colourful props and backdrop.

The story of The Little Duckling unfolds as a mother duck waited patiently for her eggs to hatch where one out of the four eggs was none other than The Ugly Duckling. Much larger and 'uglier' as compared to the other siblings, he was mocked and ostracised from young. The duckling later ran away from home where he embarked on an adventure, met a myriad of characters and later learnt the truth about himself and his identity.

For me, the objective of bringing the kiddo to a Mandarin production is such that she gets exposed to Mandarin, useful expressions and phrases. For that, The Ugly Duckling 丑小鸭 did not disappoint. Comparing this to the Mandarin production of Nightingale 夜莺 (also by TLC), The Ugly Duckling 丑小鸭 was produced with younger children in mind.

Children were introduced to counting in Mandarin as well as simple idioms.The puppets used (friendly sheepdog, fat hen and the vain cat in the barn) were adorable and well liked by the young audience. At one point, there were wild geese “flying” from the back of the auditorium towards the stage where “Ooohs and Ahhs” filled the auditorium.

Of course, in this famous story by Hans Christian Andersen, the issues on bullying and being different were discussed. Values such as teamwork and compassion were also demonstrated when autumn leaves floated down from the ceiling and the audience was encouraged to pick them up to “cover” the poor ugly duckling and protect him from cold.

The Ugly Duckling 丑小鸭 is certainly a great production to bring your children to where they can soak up (almost) an hour of fun learning Mandarin! The Ugly Duckling 丑小鸭 will run until 1 August at DBS Arts Centre. Tickets are available through SISTIC.

Event Dates

Fri, 10 Jul to Sat, 1 Aug 2015
Mon - Fri : 10am
Fri(17 Jul):11am & 2pm
Sat: 11am, 2pm

Venue

DBS Arts Centre - Home of SRT

Disclaimer: We were invited by SRT to watch the play in order to give our opinions about it. All opinions are strictly ours. 

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A visit to SOSD Shelter

A cacophony of high pitched barks and whimpers greeted us as we stepped into the SOSD’s Shelter a few weeks back. The friendlier dogs were jumping while others (those on rehabilitation) were wary as we walked past. (We were told not to stick our fingers into the cages or stand too close to the gates.) The family was there that morning to understand a bit more of the work that SOSD does as we recently became a fosterer to a puppy which we picked up from SOSD.

They say that the eyes are windows to the souls and I can’t agree more. A walk through the shelter and you can sense the struggles and confusion some of these dogs have gone through.

 As we walked from pen to pen and peered into their eyes, each dog seems to have a story to tell.

Maddox (above) has a fantastic temperament. Rescued from AVA last year, Maddox has proven to be really gentle and friendly and he is now a regular fixture of SOSD’s outreach team. The team also brings him to schools to show the children just how friendly and gentle street dogs can be. Having done so much for educating the public and to give a “voice” on behalf of his other friends in the shelter, ironically he has remained, till this day, not adopted.

Beancurd (above left) was rescued in from AVA when she was just 3 months old and has since been waiting for a home.

Hers is a bittersweet story:  she was one of the few lucky ones that escaped unscathed when she was quarantined with a dog that later came down with the Pavorvirus. Though lively and loving, the irony is that she was the only one left of the whole batch to have yet found a home.  There were a few times where was nearly adopted, but it has not quite worked out.

And essentially that’s what SOSD aims to do – to give these dogs a second chance in life by rescuing these street dogs and educating the public. This is where a few of SOSD’s teams come into the picture with its re-homing team and the outreach team.

This tour we registered for started with a talk by Tony and Ashlee (below) who were our shelter tour guides that morning. Tours typically start at 1130am and because SOSD is managed by volunteers, so email confirmation may only be sent out 2 – 3 days prior to the tour. 

Above pic: Tony with Ashlee

While waiting, we saw volunteers taking the dogs out and walking them. Tony shared that the dogs are walked 4 times a week by volunteers who head to the shelters on weekdays too. 

Above: Moomi with her ‘handler’ for that morning. She is part of the Ubin Trap and Neuter project which you can more about here.) After the talk, we were brought into the shelter. 

Above: Inside Unit 15/16 (There are another 2 units 13/14 which we visited for a short while too)

The operating expenses to run a shelter are very high and the highest the shelter has ever incurred in a month is $30,000! That was for medical cost and includes vaccination and sterilization. Because of these high costs, money is spent carefully and repairs made, only when necessary. 

(Above pic: painting work done only on the lower half of the gate which comes into contact with the dogs to manage expenses)

From a parental standpoint, it was a really good exposure for Dumpling. She did not quite grasp what SOSD does and the scale of the work involved and the tour made it more ‘legit’. As Tony shared with us some of the dogs’ stories, I could see Dumpling ‘taking it all in’.  

I could also tell that Dumpling was really surprised at how “basic” the shelter is. At its best, the shelter is “functional” but of course that can’t be compared to the comfort that of a permanent / foster home. The shelter tour brought across a message that is certainly more concrete in the little one’s mind – Adopt, Don’t Shop. 

What I was happy to see was a dog run that is outside the shelter where the puppies and dogs have a chance to roam and run a bit. Additionally, it is also a ‘neutral’ meeting ground for a potential fosterer / adopter to meet and observe the new addition to the family. 

Above: SOSD’s dog run

It was an hour well spent for us and definitely for the kiddo. In fact, she was sharing with me that if there’s a chance, she would talk about the shelter visit and our fostering experience for her school’s “Show and Tell”.

As SOSD is a registered charity (founded in July 2011, it is funded solely by donations. Here’s some numbers and ways you can help:

(Information provided by SOSD Singapore)

SOSD does not attend to ad-hoc visits as based on my understanding; they are often busy over the weekends with adoption drives. If you should be keen to register your interest for the next shelter tour on 26 July, you can click here.

To understand more about the work and events that SOSD does, you can follow their Facebook page.

Disclaimer: This is neither a sponsored post nor were we compensated for it. All opinions expressed are entirely ours though the dogs that you see on their website and at the adoption drives can be yours. :) You can visit the adoption page here. 

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The Little Company's "The Ugly Duckling" 丑小鸭 Giveaway !

Originally presented in English in 2005 to sold-out audiences, The Ugly Duckling has returned for another run but in Mandarin! The Little Company’s (TLC) second Mandarin production of the year, this classic tale is told through the magic of song and puppetry.

The Ugly Duckling is retold based on the Hans Christian Anderson classic about a duckling which looks different and was ostracized. Teased and bullied, the duckling ran away from the farmyard and embarked on an adventure where he meets a myriad of characters and learns the truth about himself and his identity.

A story that has been passed on for many generations, this is one tale that is still relevant in this day and age. It is also one of the earliest stories that I read with Dumpling when she was younger as I love the morals discussed in that show – that it is alright to be different and we are all made differently. This play also provides a good platform to discuss these issues with your children, and how acceptance is important and that bullying is never ‘right’.

I am pleased to share that I have a pair of tickets to give away!

Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win a pair of tickets! 

NOTE: Winner’s tickets are for Saturday 11 July, 2pm. The date cannot be changed.

Tickets are to be collected from the box office prior to the start of the play. Please collect at least an hour in advance.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments are compulsory so do remember to leave a comment on "Who is the author for the original story of The Ugly Duckling"?

Event Dates

Fri, 10 Jul to Sat, 1 Aug 2015
Mon - Fri : 10am
Fri(17 Jul):11am & 2pm
Sat: 11am, 2pm

Venue

DBS Arts Centre - Home of SRT

To buy your tickets at SISTIC, please click here 

Disclaimer: The giveaway is kindly sponsored by Singapore Repertory Theatre. We are not compensated for the post. All opinions expressed are entirely ours.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!