THE ACCIDENTAL ENTERTAINER

She brought French culture to Singapore. Now, Nathalie Durot Ribette, founder of Sing Theatre, is on a mission to pay it forward and give back to Singapore's arts scene.

It’s impossible to leave a Sing’Theatre performance without a smile on one’s face. Whether it’s the gutwrenching tale of ’30s French chanteuse Edith Piaf’s tragic life, or the realities of ageing in Forever Young, each musical is imbued with plenty of heart and soul. It’s a pleasure to see the likes of Hossan Leong and Robin Goh belt out iconic French tunes from the likes of Charles Aznavour and Jacques Brel, peppered with a dash of Singaporean humour.

It’s telling of the talents of Nathalie Durot Ribette, theatre director, producer, and founder of Sing’Theatre, who is able to handle weighty topics such as death and loss with wit, humour and liveliness – not too shabby for someone who had no prior experience in the performing arts.

Born in Paris and growing up as the daughter of a divorcee and single mum, Nathalie had the importance of having a job and being financially independent drilled into her as a child. So when the then 33-year-old moved to Singapore in 1996 with her husband – and having left her marketing job at Siemens Medical to care for their sickly twin sons – Nathalie felt unfulfilled. Spending days and nights at the hospital with her children didn’t help either.

But through the dark days came a sliver of light – she saw an open call for Starmania, one of France’s first-ever musicals, that cultural organisation Alliance Francaise was staging, and on a whim, decided to audition.