Pinocchio’s Complex

A lonely old man longs for a child so much he constructs him out of wood.The “child” however tries to convince his maker that he’s not real. Fearing that his child has been tainted by logic, the old man tries to rescue his child from reality by summoning a UFO to take them to fairyland.

Unlike the saccharine-sweet child in the Disney film, author Carlo Callodi (1826-90) had originally written Pinocchio as an impulsive, rude, selfish and violent individual who met his end hanging from an oak tree. 

Pinocchio’s Complex takes its inspiration from this darker original by Callodi. This reinvention of the Pinocchio story focuses on Gepetto (Pinocchio’s father) and the destructive relationship between creator and the created. 

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Director/Playwright/ Set-Costume Designer: Oliver Chong
Starring: Ong Kian Sin, Jo Kwek and Judy Ngo
Stage Manager: Joanna Goh
Assistant Stage Manager: Ang Hui Bin 
Puppet Designers/ Conceptualists: Oliver Chong, Ong Kian Sin and Tan Beng Tian
Lighting Designer: Lim Woan Wen
Sound Designer/Musician: Darren Ng
Technical Assistant: Jed Lim
Crew: Tan Beng Tian and Abra Chusid

AWARDS