Lucas Ho
File:Lucas Headshottt.jpg
Born(1984-08-10)August 10, 1984
OccupationPlaywright
LanguageEnglish
NationalitySingapore

Lucas Ho (born 10 August 1984) is a Singaporean playwright.

Biography

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Lucas Ho was educated at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He spent one semester abroad at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and completed a summer session at Yale University. He is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for the Stage and Broadcast Media at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama[1].

Literary career

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During his time at NUS, he was mentored by Huzir Sulaiman. He joined Checkpoint Theatre as an Associate Artist in 2013.[2]

His debut full-length play FRAGO, about army reservists in Singapore, was presented by Checkpoint Theatre in 2017. In a review in the Business Times, Helmi Yusof noted that “[Lucas] manages to achieve a new kind of NS (National Service) play - a cool, existential and inescapably real depiction of the army experience … FRAGO is plain, honest, gently humorous … it's possibly the most realistic portrait of the NS experience to ever take to the stage.” [3] Naeem Kapadia, writing for ArtsEquator, praised how Lucas' writing was "both rich and immersive. Its authentic, lived-in dialogue – from earthy banter to existential musings – vividly conjures up the world of ICT (in-camp training) … FRAGO is at its most searing in excavating the unique nature of male friendship.” [4]

In 2020, his stage play The Heart Comes to Mind was to have premiered in April as a co-production by Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay and Checkpoint Theatre, for the 2020 season of The Studios. It explored the private struggles of an ageing writer and his scientist daughter as they each wrestle with the loss of their wife and mother respectively. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic[5], it was instead released as an audio experience online. Ong Sor Fern, reviewing the audio version for the Straits Times, praised Lucas' writing as "imagistic and larded with poetic turns of phrases"[6]. It has not yet been staged since.[7]

His third play, Tender Submission, premiered in 2023. The show was a two-hander set entirely in a church cry room. It was nominated for Best Original Script at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards 2024[8]. Charmaine Tan, in a review for Men's Folio, wrote that "is set to stand the test of time in its brilliantly complex depiction of a marriage weathered by it … this is an important work for Singapore.” [9]

Works

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Stage
Year Title Notes
2013 The Last Chief Minister of Singapore Selected for NAC's Watch This Space initiative; mentored by Eleanor Wong.
2014 The Historian's Tour /

The Cleaner's Account

Commissioned for The Arts House's 10th Anniversary; staged 27 to 30 March 2014. Directed by Chong Tze Chien.[10]
2017 FRAGO Produced by Checkpoint Theatre; staged 13 to 23 July 2017 at Drama Centre Black Box. Directed by Huzir Sulaiman.
2020 The Heart Comes To Mind Produced by Checkpoint Theatre and Esplanade. Directed by Claire Wong.
2023 Tender Submission Produced by Checkpoint Theatre; staged 17 to 27 August 2023 at Drama Centre Black Box. Directed by Huzir Sulaiman and Chen Yingxuan.


Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2024 Tender Submission Best Original Script, Life! Theatre Awards Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Tender Submission - Lucas Ho". The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  2. ^ "Associate Artists - Checkpoint Theatre". 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  3. ^ Yusof, Helmi (2017-07-20). "Unvarnished portrait of National Service". The Business Times. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  4. ^ Kapadia, Naeem (2017-07-18). "FRAGO: A tender meditation on our brothers in arms". ArtsEquator. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  5. ^ Weiliang, Ke (2020-06-29). "Emotional asymptotes in Checkpoint Theatre's The Heart Comes to Mind". ArtsEquator. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  6. ^ Ong, Sor Fern (June 8, 2020). "Review: Audio soundscape steals the show in Checkpoint Theatre's The Heart Comes To Mind". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  7. ^ "The Heart Comes to Mind". Xinwei Che. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  8. ^ Yong, Clement (Feb 22, 2024). "ST Life Theatre Awards 2024 nominees: Shakespeare, Doubt, Brown Boys and G*d Is A Woman". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  9. ^ Tan, Charmaine (2023-08-28). "In Praise of Growing Through Checkpoint Theatre's Tender Submission: A Review". Men's Folio. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  10. ^ "The Arts House's 10th anniversary disappearing act". TODAY. Retrieved 2024-12-03.