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Still Building
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After two highly successful runs in Singapore and Cairo last year, The Necessary Sage presents Still Building at The Substation.
Still Building was voted by BiGO Magazine last year as "Best Offering" among the 13 plays staged for Theatre Carnival on the Hill [April 1992]. It was later selected by the National Arts Council to represent Singapore at the Cairon International Experimental Theatre Festival [September 1992].
In Still Building, two stories are juxtaposed in one play. The first is about two sisters, Kim and Cheng, and their good friend, Alan. Cheng, the younger of the two, cannot cope with the memories their house represents for her, and decides to move out. Alan, who is adopted, receives a letter from a couple in Manila claiming to be his real parents and decides to go there. Kim, who believes in stability and not rocking the boat, finds difficulty coping with Cheng and Alan's decisions. In the second story, three people [played by the same actors] are trapped when the building they are in collapses. Inspired by the Hotel New World collapse, this story shows the trauma of three people stuck in a mass of rubble, waiting to be rescued.
Still Building was voted by BiGO Magazine last year as "Best Offering" among the 13 plays staged for Theatre Carnival on the Hill [April 1992]. It was later selected by the National Arts Council to represent Singapore at the Cairon International Experimental Theatre Festival [September 1992].
In Still Building, two stories are juxtaposed in one play. The first is about two sisters, Kim and Cheng, and their good friend, Alan. Cheng, the younger of the two, cannot cope with the memories their house represents for her, and decides to move out. Alan, who is adopted, receives a letter from a couple in Manila claiming to be his real parents and decides to go there. Kim, who believes in stability and not rocking the boat, finds difficulty coping with Cheng and Alan's decisions. In the second story, three people [played by the same actors] are trapped when the building they are in collapses. Inspired by the Hotel New World collapse, this story shows the trauma of three people stuck in a mass of rubble, waiting to be rescued.
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1993
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Singapore
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Off Centre
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Off Centre traces the friendship of two ex-mental patients, Saloma and Vinod, and the problems and hurdles they have to overcome, including social stigmas, prejudices and personal conflicts. the play uses effective techniques of flashbacks; moving the character in and out of their schizophrenic and normal selves to elicit their rational and emotional experiences.
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1993
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Singapore
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Best Of
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Award-winning actress Siti Khalijah Zainal takes centre-stage in this brand new one-woman show specially created for her by Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma. Best Of looks at issues of the day through collective stories and personal reflection.
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2013
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Singapore
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untitled women number one
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How do we exorcise the pain of loss? The Necessary Stage revisits 2 early works from its repertoire to explore the ways we deal with loss and how we rise above it.
In untitled women number one, two women talk about their relationships, their past and future. Featuring Edith Podesta and Ethel Yap, the play looks at the notions of pain, death and interdependence, drawing from stories about gender, sexuality and womanhood.
untitled cow number one is about the journey of a widowed cow through 12 days of mourning. Performed by Sharda Harrison and Bani Haykal, the play is influenced by Hindu and Buddhist texts, images and myths, and incorporates physical movement and soundscape.
Both plays have toured successfully to the Macau International Fringe Festival (2000), the Asian Theatre Festival in Busan (2002) and the National Theatre Festival in New Delhi (2003).
In untitled women number one, two women talk about their relationships, their past and future. Featuring Edith Podesta and Ethel Yap, the play looks at the notions of pain, death and interdependence, drawing from stories about gender, sexuality and womanhood.
untitled cow number one is about the journey of a widowed cow through 12 days of mourning. Performed by Sharda Harrison and Bani Haykal, the play is influenced by Hindu and Buddhist texts, images and myths, and incorporates physical movement and soundscape.
Both plays have toured successfully to the Macau International Fringe Festival (2000), the Asian Theatre Festival in Busan (2002) and the National Theatre Festival in New Delhi (2003).
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2015
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Singapore
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Frozen Angels
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As the world advances its research on life sciences, stem cells and artificial intelligence, what impact is there on human life and relationships? What does the future hold? Can life be built from scratch? Directed by Alvin Tan, written by Haresh Sharma and first staged during the National University of Singapore Arts Festival in March 2008, Frozen Angels is a thought-provoking performance exploring current issues of science using digital media and theatrical performance.
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2009
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Singapore
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Eclipse
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Absorbingly told by [2008 staging's actor] Umar Ahmed, Eclipse suggests that ancestral memory is never as meaningful as the allegiances of everyday life.—The Guardian UK(Playwright Haresh Sharma) has demonstrated a deftness and maturity in scriptwriting, a deeper inquiry into life and humanity, as well as an evident progress in terms of his creations.—联合早报 Lianhe Zaobao [translated from Chinese] —————A young Singaporean man is making a journey to his father's birthplace in Hyderabad, Pakistan. With him are his father's ashes. As he makes the arduous trip, he retraces the original journey made by millions of people—including his parents and grandparents—in 1947, during the partition of India and Pakistan. Written by Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma, Eclipse is a play that looks at three generations of men struggling with their dreams and their journeys, offering an intimate look at personal stories affected by historical events.First presented as a short play to critical acclaim by Scotland’s 7:84 Theatre at Traverse Theatre, Eclipse was developed into a full-length production for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2008. Almost 80 years after the Partition, this staging with a fresh new direction by Associate Artist A Yagnya stars award-winning Singapore actor Shrey Bhargava. It also features Indian classical vocalist Sveta Kilpady.
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White, All White
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How white all the walls are. Even after all these years.White, All White offers a glimpse into the quiet lives of a family of women across three generations. As they grapple with their individual struggles, dreams and desires whilst living under the same leaky roof, what unites them is the deep love and concern they have for one another. However, an unexpected financial misadventure challenges the household. Can their relationships endure when tested by adversity, especially when these women’s lives are intrinsically linked?Written and directed by The Necessary Stage’s Associate Artist Deonn Yang, White, All White explores the joys and tensions of family and individual desires—and the sacrifices we make for the ones we love. Funny, charming and poignant, this life-affirming play hits all the right notes when it comes to family drama.
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Feed Your Imagination Series: International Friendship Day
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It’s International Friendship Day at MPSS but friendship seems to be the last thing on the students’ minds.While the foreign students Adi, Anton and Liqin are questioning what to showcase at their booths and why there isn’t one for the local students, the Drama Club boys are unhappy about them not putting any effort towards the much-anticipated Singapore Youth Festival (SYF).Meanwhile, Carys is facing pressure at home for losing her spot as the school’s top Maths student.Will she lose her top spot to an international scholar?Will the Drama Club boys get the foreigners to join in the chorus?Will Adi get the booth of his choice?Written by Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma and directed by TNS' Associate Artist Lim Shien Hian, International Friendship Day promises an invigorating and engaging interactive theatre experience for youths to explore and understand cross-cultural differences.International Friendship Day was first commissioned by Singapore Kindness Movement in 2015 and was restaged as part of Peer Pleasure 2016 and as an online interactive experience under Esplanade’s Feed Your Imagination 2021.It is supported by the National Arts Council as part of the NAC School Arts Excursion Programme.
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Workshops
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Workshops
Playwrights' Cove 2024
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In 2001, TNS launched Playwrights’ Cove, a development and mentorship programme aimed at nurturing, processing and platforming contemporary playwriting for Singapore theatre. Many of its participants are well-known practitioners and educators today, including Jean Tay, Ng Yi-sheng, Natalie Hennedige, Kenneth Kwok and Matthew Lyon.We re-launched Playwrights' Cove in 2020 and subsequently had a second iteration in 2022. Both years saw 10 selected participants undergo training and mentorship by Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma. To find out more about Playwrights' Cove 2020, click here. More information about Playwrights' Cove 2022 can be found here.2024's iteration of Playwrights' Cove saw 10 participants undergo training and mentorship once again with Haresh Sharma. The list of selected participants are as follows:Alia AlkaffAngela KongEdward EngJovan AngMelizarani T. SelvaRachael NgSarah Zafirah Bte Noor AshikinShawn ChuaSindhura KalidasWan Nur Syafiqa Binte Syed YusoffOver five shows from 21 to 24 November, the playwrights presented their newly developed works-in-progress via dramatised readings featuring a host of theatre actors, directed by veteran and emerging Singapore directors. Each performance featured two different works to the public, followed by a post-show dialogue with the playwrights, facilitated by Haresh Sharma and Deonn Yang.
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ANAK
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Adrian, a young teacher, faces a life-altering revelation when his homosexuality and relationship with Ben, an Asian-American documentary filmmaker, come to light. This disclosure sends ripples through the family, testing their attachments to societal norms and roles. The presence of the cheeky Peranakan matriarch adds depth and humour to this captivating two-act play set in Singapore and New York.Alvin Tan’s debut play weaves a compelling tale of love, acceptance, and family dynamics against the backdrop of ancestral worship. As the characters navigate their individual struggles, ANAK highlights the importance of ancestors in shaping their paths.For SIFA 2024, The Necessary Stage has opted for an innovative presentation of ANAK. During the performance, the actors will be improvising the scenes of the play based on a narrative structure. In this way, the actors will fully own their characters, instead of just presenting a staged reading. Such an approach reflects The Necessary Stage’s devising methodology and spirit of theatrical exploration.
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Hi, Can You Hear Me?
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Utama, a mysterious Tiger, runs a bar in limbo that seems to attract an odd mix of patrons.Guan Yin's life keeps ending prematurely and she seems eternally subscribed to this tragic loop of death and rebirth. Shimizu's memory is failing him as he grapples with the loss of his wife and tries to keep up with his AI (Artificial Intelligence) caretaker.Sindhu is struggling to regain a semblance of a "boring" life since experiencing an earthquake over video conference that resurfaces past trauma.John tries to find some control in his otherwise uncontrollable life as a broadcast journalist but is stuck in a hotel room.Written by A Yagnya and co-directed with Alvin Tan, Hi, Can You Hear Me? follows various characters whose normalcies have been fractured due to events and experiences beyond their control.How and why do their paths cross?When everything that was going smoothly gets disrupted, what is there left to cling to?
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Oo-woo
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Through tender storytelling, Oo-woo unravels the intricate web of caring for an elderly family member. As the story unfolds, deep secrets and hidden desires come to light, casting doubt on the strength of familial bonds. When their cherished family bird mysteriously disappears, a journey of unsettling discoveries begins, challenging the characters' understanding of duty and love.Written by Raimi Safari, directed by Mohd Fared Jainal, and starring Dalifah Shahril, Farah Lola, Isabella Chiam and Yazid Jalil, Oo-woo delves into the haunting realm of dementia, blurring the lines between reality and illusion. A single bird brings into question the sacrifices and choices we make when faced with the unknown.Oo-woo was developed at The Necessary Stage’s Playwrights’ Cove 2022 under the mentorship of Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma.
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Happy Indian Women
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Being a woman is tough. Being an Indian woman is even tougher. We must be independent, but not too independent that we tarnish the family name. We must be strong enough to withstand the constant scrutiny that our bodies, minds and personalities are subject to. We’re too dark, too short, too thin, too educated, too loud, too much. Our friends still ask us if we speak ‘Indian’. Or worse, they assume we are Indian just because we are a certain shade of brown. Written by The Necessary Stage’s Associate Artist Sindhura Kalidas, Happy Indian Women is a verbatim theatre production that questions the assumptions we make about the diverse South Asian diaspora in Singapore. Based on interviews with 20 women and non-binary people from various backgrounds, the play interweaves text, sound and multimedia to celebrate their honest and tender stories about faith, friendship and family.
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Essays/Writings
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Essays/Writings
Climate Justice through the Creative Lens of the Performing Arts
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Published here on ietm.org.Project Serial Number: AA202302.Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to reproduce the full essay/writing online. Please contact the resource owner directly for permissions if reproduction rights do not belong to The Necessary Stage Ltd. Otherwise, kindly contact us for access to the full resource. Do note that archival access and reproduction charges may apply.
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Three Years in the Life and Death of Land
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When Eric Lim returns home after studying abroad, he marries his long-time sweetheart and neighbour Shalini Mulchand. But a lot can happen in three years—especially when two families are united by love but divided by their pain.
First staged in 1994 as part of the Singapore Festival of Arts, Three Years in the Life and Death of Land is about the Lims, the Mulchands, a ghost, a cat and three mosquitoes—one big family, trying hard to be happy.
First staged in 1994 as part of the Singapore Festival of Arts, Three Years in the Life and Death of Land is about the Lims, the Mulchands, a ghost, a cat and three mosquitoes—one big family, trying hard to be happy.
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