Working His Magic

A zest for engagement and connection has defined theatre veteran ONG KENG SEN’s artistic journey.

- Zara Zhuang

ONG KENG SEN was already a full fledged lawyer completing his pupillage at Lee & Lee when he decided a career in law just wasn’t for him. While working on case files, he was also at the time artistic director of independent theatre company TheatreWorks. In fact, he had been directing the beloved 1988 musical production Beauty World. “I think that was a strong turning point,” the 53-year-old recalls. “You have a foot in so many worlds and now it’s time to get serious about one.”

“I think the trajectory of being a lawyer in Singapore is very clear — pupil, legal assistant, partner, profit partner and so on — but the road map of being a theatre artist was less so, and to me it felt more idealistic that we were fighting for something more transformative and unknown.”

Though he was keenly interested in law, he discussed with the firm’s legal partners that there would come a time when he would have to pick one of two loves. “I’m quite singular focused in some ways,” Ong explains. “I believe in multiplicity, but I also believe you can only give your best if you actually commit yourself.” It didn’t help that disillusionment had set in while he was working on a civil law case involving medical negligence. “I saw how law could be manipulated [to the point] where there’s no justice,” he lets on. “It’s about who can afford the law, and I’d say I left the legal profession so I could remain enchanted.”