Singapore Theatre Company to undergo another name change following feedback from peers

On Thursday (Feb 8), the Singapore Theatre Company (STC) announced that the group will be undergoing yet another name change in the near future. The decision comes about a week after STC rebranded from the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) – a decision which drew flak from certain segments of the local theatre industry.

One of the critics of the decision was R Chandran, founding director of theatre company ACT 3 Theatrics. In a Facebook post on Jan 31, R Chandran wrote: "I am sorry, SRT, but you are showing disrespect to all the rest of us working in 'Singapore theatre' by modifying your organisation's name to 'Singapore Theatre' Company.

"To wear the name of 'Singapore', one has to incorporate the diverse elements of this beautiful nation."

In a separate post, Kuo Jian Hong from The Theatre Practice added: "In July 1965, Singapore Performing Arts School was founded. Shortly after, Singapore became a nation and the use of the word Singapore to prefix any non-governmental organisation could no longer be accepted. Hence we have been (The Theatre Practice) for the next 59 years. 

"All this time, we have not once attempted to apply for our original name. Why? Because it is not just a name. With that name comes a tremendous responsibility to represent Singapore. It is a responsibility we are unable to shoulder because Singapore theatre is too diverse. Language, culture, heritage, art forms, aesthetics, purposes, perspectives… it is as 'rojak' as it gets, and that is what’s most unique about us. That is what we celebrate."

In a post explaining the group's decision for the second rebrand, STC said: "We recently went through a rebrand to drop 'Repertory' from our previous name Singapore Repertory Theatre to become Singapore Theatre Company. This was meant to reflect our journey as a theatre production company in Singapore. 

"Since then, we have received feedback from our peers in the community about the rebrand. These views greatly matter to us as we recognise the contributions and works of all artists and theatre companies in Singapore. We believe a united community is necessary for the theatre scene to thrive and therefore will be changing our name from STC."

STC added that the name change would take effect before their next show in August. The new name has yet to be announced.

STC's new decision appears to be drawing a more positive response with R Chandran writing in a separate post at around 3pm on Thursday: "Dear SRT...I respect you for publicly announcing your decision to change your company name from STC. I appreciate your move. As promised, I applaud you."