Time taken : <5mins
Krish is an actor who trained at School of the Arts, LASALLE, and Wild Rice’s actors training programme Young & Wild. He is also Artistic Director of Patch and Punnet, a theatre collective he co-founded in 2017. While Krish shared co-directing duties in early Patch and Punnet productions like 2042 (2017) and The Adventures of Abhijeet (2019), he is credited as the sole director of Fika & Fishy (2020). Krish is also Director of the Patch and Punnet’s sister theatrical events company Strawberries Inc, under which he wrote and directed the walking tour-performance The Secret Life of Haw Par Villa (2022).
Collaborative and fun. I think if everyone contributes to the work, the work shines more. But of course it’s the director's job to trim those contributions.
Krish Natarajan addresses the audience at curtain call for Fika & Fishy. Image credit: Patch and Punnet
young & W!LD got me really into devising and from there I think directing came next—shout out to Serena Ho (Programme Director of young & W!LD), who was the biggest inspiration in making me feel like my voice was worth listening to.
Fika & Fishy. It was the first Patch and Punnet show that didn’t have more than one director, so it was my first experience really making every call, and I loved the outcome.
Fika & Fishy (2020). Image credit: Patch and Punnet
Yes, I write, produce and act. As creative director of a theatre collective and a theatrical creative agency of sorts you have to do everything.
A good sense of pace. I think that’s what can make or break a show and the director has to be in charge of that metronome.
I think sometimes audiences think that the director comes up with every single choice. But the actors are sometimes the ones responsible for some of the best moments in a show!
“
”
Contributed by:
Daniel Teo is a freelance writer. Previously, he worked at Centre 42, a theatre development centre, as a researcher, archivist and documenter.