My Love Affair with Theatre

Before I wrote and edited fiction and told stories, I was very passionate about theatre. It was very exciting to start out in Singapore theatre during the late 1980s and early 1990s when the contemporary theatre scene began to bloom. I learnt much of my craft as a performer/director/playwright on the job and through taking part in numerous workshops. I began creating solo performances while working with The Necessary Stage as an actor-facilitator (1996–98) and found that it was an ideal mode for me to express the themes and issues I felt compelled to explore through theatre. Between 1997 and 2009, I steadily experimented with the form, mostly self-directed and produced.

Some of My Performance Projects

• Bumiputra Cina (collaboration with Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Shahril Wahid & Rizman Putra; The Substation Theatre, 14–16 May 2009)

• Between Woman and Man: The Erasure of Verena Tay; 1) Male Instincts, 2) Women Wise (The Substation/The Little Red Shop, 20–21 Apr 2007)

• 3 Women (comprising three short monologues: Good Girls Don’t Wait; Jiving on Java, The Perfect Shoe)
  • Union College, Schenectady, NY, USA (22 Aug 2007); beGallery, High Falls, NY, USA (18 Aug 2007); The Republic Cultural Centre, Republic Polytechnic (2 Aug 2007)
  • Magdalena USA, International Festival of Women in Contemporary Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island, USA (2 Aug 2005)
  • The Substation (30 Jun–1 Jul 2005)
  • Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (22 Apr 2005)
• Medea: One on One
  • Magdalena Australia’s International Festival of Women in Contemporary Theatre-Theme: ‘Theatre-Women-Travelling’-Brisbane, Australia (9–10 April 2003)
  • The Substation (11–14 Jul 2002)
• Cotton & Jade
  • Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Denmark (28 Jan 2001), as part of 'Transit III: Theatre, Women, Generation: International Theatre Festival & Meeting' (18-28 Jan 2001); organised by Odin Teatret and the Magdalena Project
  • Grenland Friteater, Porsgrunn, Norway (15 Nov 2000)
  • The Guinness Theatre, The Substation (21–24 Sep 2000) as part of Septfest 2000

_{[Production photo credits from top to bottom: a) Bumiputra Cina ~ Irfan Kasban; b) 3 Women ~ Jori Ketten, courtesy of Magdalena USA; c) Medea: One on One ~ Sherman Ong]}

Please click the following if you wish to find out more:
What critics have said about some of the above productions

Key Productions of My Written Plays

• Right & Left (Short+Sweet Singapore 2010 Top 40; Play Den, The Arts House; 14–18 Jul 2010)

• Bumiputra Cina (collaboration with Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Shahril Wahid & Rizman Putra; The Substation Theatre, 14–16 May 2009)

• Prosperity, as part of ENCORE: An Evening of Ageless Theatre (The Necessary Stage's Theatre for Seniors Programme, 13–15 Mar 2009)

• The Lunar Interviews (produced as part of Magdalena (Singapore)/The Substation's production of Blood Binds; part of W!ld Rice's Singapore Theatre Festival 2008; Drama Centre Black Box, 23–24 Aug 2008)

• Imperfect Family Recipes (Short+Sweet Singapore 2008 Gala; Esplanade Theatre Studio; 27–29 Jun 2008)

• Imperfect Family Recipes (Short+Sweet Singapore 2008 Top 30; Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Campus 3; 19–22 Jun 2008)

• The Car, full staging at The Esplanade Theatre Studio as part of double-bill, The Car and 41 Hours (ACTION Theatre, 27–30 Jul 2006)

• The Car, second public reading at the Esplanade Concert Hall as part of the final of Theatre Idols 2005, awarded Jury Prize: Best New Play and Audience Choice Award: Best New Play (ACTION Theatre, 1 Jun 2005)

_{Production photo credits from top to bottom: a) Bumiputra Cina: Irfan Kasban; b) The Lunar Interviews: courtesy of Magdalena (Singapore); c) The Car: courtesy of ACTION Theatre}