We don't lack imagination in Singapore, says Session Zero director Huzir Sulaiman
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo, the director shared how his Dungeons & Dragons experience 'feeds into making theatre'.
Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) relies heavily on the theatre of the mind. After all, when one describes a fantasy world filled with elves, dwarves, and magic, that’s not what reality is.
Despite both being very similar in its use for storytelling, D&D seems to be seldom used as a stage device.
Session Zero, written by local actress Jo Tan, sees estranged couple (played by Tan and actor Brendon Fernandez) attempting to reconnect over a game of D&D.
“I believe, to the best of my knowledge, that this is the first play [in Singapore] to have done so,” said 50-year-old director Huzir Sulaiman in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Southeast Asia earlier this month.
Huzir is no stranger to the game as he used to play the second edition and D&D is a “formative part” of his life growing up.
As someone used to be a Dungeon Master (DM), the person who runs the game and narrates the world to players, he finds that there is a “natural correspondence” as the world building as a DM “actually feeds into making theatre”.
And, he also pointed out the phenomenon of “performative D&D campaigns” that has shaped the scene heavily across the last couple of years.
Of course, some of the biggest shows are Critical Role (a livestreamed D&D campaign played by some of the biggest voice actors in LA) and Dimension 20.
The power of imagination
The setting for Session Zero does provide food for thought about relationships, but Tan previously shared that the play was inspired by the gatekeeping of suffering and communication.
When asked what he hopes the audience will take away from the play, Huzir replied thoughtfully, “What I hope audiences will think about is the possibilities and power of the imagination. The potential of storytelling to allow us to make meaning in our lives, to get ourselves out of unpleasant situations, to maybe heal, to re-establish ties, to deepen bonds of love.”
That’s not to say that people in Singapore lack imagination, though.
“We have been told to use our imagination in certain ways, like professional ambition is a certain kind of ambition,” he shared.
“But it's about can we agree as a society and as individuals to open up the potential of our imagination to tell alternate stories, to tell different stories, to tell stories that are more inclusive and diverse, that are not so quantifiable, that are not so numerical - I think that's the great task for us.Huzir Sulaiman, Session Zero director
Session Zero ends its run on 29 Oct and you can get your tickets here.
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