SINGAPORE — It has been a while since we last heard from theatre director Jeff Chen.

Ten long years, to be exact, since the enfant terrible of the ’90s and early Noughties has done something for the stage.

Well, he’s now back with the enigmatically titled LIFT: Love Is Flower The. The TheatreWorks production opens on Sept 17 and will touch on notions of happiness. And as a kind of teaser to this main event, a free show featuring some of LIFT’s performers will be held this Saturday at Gardens By The Bay. It has people performing pieces based on happiness in their lives and it’s called, you guessed it, The Happiness Event.

Chen, however, isn’t all smiles when it comes to the state of avant garde or “cutting edge” theatre, including here in Singapore.

“Generally speaking, when I see the big picture, it’s kind of sad. The marginalised has become even more marginalised,” he said in a phone interview.

It’s an observation the 38-year-old had after playing theatre catch-up since returning from his PhD studies in Cambridge in 2011.

Currently teaching arts policy and theatre at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Chen said: “It seems like the cutting edge and the avant garde is sort of fighting a losing battle. Nowadays it’s about mass culture. You get this not just in terms of the arts, you get it in entertainment, education, consumer habits ... It’s not about exquisite things or objects nowadays but about appealing to the masses. It has to be consumed very easily and accessible. It doesn’t really pay to innovate anymore.”

EXPERIMENTAL SEEN

Chen knows a thing or two about innovation and questions about accessibility. As the former resident director of The Necessary Stage from 1998 to 2004, during the company’s so-called “experimental” phase, his works included sex.violence.blood.gore, Asian Boys Vol 1, BOTE: The Beginning Of The End. He was also in charge of TNS’ experimental platform [names changed to protect the innocent].

“His works were always a breath of fresh air — unpredictable, unapologetic and sometimes even unclassifiable,” recalled TNS’ resident playwright Haresh Sharma when we asked him.

Indeed, words like “risk”, “controversial”, “irreverent” and “difficult” would invariably crop up when people talk about his works. And it would seem Chen is perfectly fine with that.

“It was much more frustrating before than now, when there’s a certain sense of maturity. I know what my works are so I would be able to just tell you - some people will never get it. And if they don’t, I can’t possibly package it in a way for them to (get it),” he said.

“I don’t’ want to cheat them into watching a performance. I don’t want to tell you ‘it’s a very entertaining and accessible piece of work’ when it isn’t. It’s just a piece of work that’s not easy,” he said.

We’ll reserve our judgement for LIFT when it’s finally staged, but on paper, the project seems like a pretty clear proposition about happiness — albeit somewhat daunting. The entire endeavor includes an ongoing blog that tracks the entire process as well as the aforementioned family-friendly, community outreach show The Happiness Event.

LIFT itself will present short scenes in the realist, absurdist and satirical styles, and will involve 100 non-professional performers as well as his collaborators Jean Ng, Loo Zihan, Noorlinah Mohamed, Nora Samosir and Peter Sau. Playwright Robin Loon is also chipping in some additional text. The press release mentions “bodily pleasures”, “fetuses”, “babies” and “death”.

A PROMISE KEPT

The title itself is a kind of throwback to a piece the he was working on before he left theatre in 2004.

“I was working on a piece of work titled Love Is The Flower And Life Is The Leaf. The work was never completed but I thought it may be fitting to use the title again,” he said.

The first part alludes to the Buddhist concept of impermanence, he explained, and the slight tweak makes it more poetic. “This leaves the meaning hanging, delayed and full of possibilities. LIFT is also a more pronounceable acronym than LITF,” he quipped.

Why take on happiness? “I’m sort of chronic depressive so happiness is always a concern,” he laughed.

It all sounds so grand — which makes the abrupt jump from doing no theatre for that long to something like this all the more fascinating.

“Why come back? I’m doing this piece because I had a creative impetus. When I left, people always asked if I ever felt the impulse to do something. But I was away doing various thing that sort of took up my time and brain space,” he said.

“I was also getting sort of dissatisfied with the medium, sort of questioning what is the extent of how theatre can influence people or whether the audience really cares. I wasn’t running out of ideas, but I wasn’t satisfied with the ideas.”

There was, he revealed, a simple, more practical (and rather sweet) reason — he had promised friend and LIFT collaborator Noorlinah Mohamed.

“She was also doing her PhD in (University of) Warwick and she would always take the really long bus journey to Cambridge to come visit me. She would tell me that she would really like to work with me again. It was very tough while I was doing my PhD and I was comforted by her constant visits so I told her, if I got out of this alive, I’d do a little play for her. I stuck to my promise,” he joked.

The Happiness Event is on Sept 7, 6pm, Supertree Grove, Gardens By The Bay. Free admission.

LIFT: Love Is Flower The is from Sept 17 to 22, 8pm (4pm on the 22nd), 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road. Tickets at S$30 from 6737 7213 or tworks [at] singnet.com.sg. For more information, visit http://lift2013.wordpress.com.