Wild Rice (stylized W!LD RICE), founded in 2000 by Ivan Heng, is a professional theatre company in Singapore.[1] In 2019, the company established a permanent performance venue at Funan Mall.
The first show by Wild Rice was held at Jubilee Hall in Raffles Hotel.[2] Since then, the company has operated out of a studio space in Little India.[2] Productions have been held in rented venues such as the Victoria Theatre.[2]
In 2017, Wild Rice kickstarted the process to acquire a permanent venue to hold productions, after seven failed attempts.[2][3] The permanent venue would contain a theatre within the new Funan Mall and would cost S$15 million.[2] The construction was funded through a fundraising strategy that included calls for donations, a gala dinner, and government grant.[4][3] The 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) venue spans across three levels and comprises a 60-seat performance studio, rehearsal rooms, Wild Rice’s office, and its 358-seat Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre.[3] The theatre features Singapore's only thrust stage, where the performance space is in the middle of the auditorium with the audience seated on three sides, based on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan TheatreinStratford-Upon-Avon, England.[3] It has a stage and seating configuration that allows for minimum usage of microphones.[3] The theatre was officially opened on 8 August 2019 with Thomas Lim’s Supervision,[5] with a grand opening season of four productions between 4 September to 22 December.[6]
