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Being in Singapore
Being a model citizen in Singapore
Being a dementia patient in Singapore
Being censored in Singapore
Being a political detainee in Singapore
Being off centre in Singapore
Being Malay in Singapore
Being a teacher in Singapore
Being an Indonesian Maid in Singapore
Being in a hospice in Singapore
Being fundamentally happy in Singapore
Being a Chinese MP in Singapore
Being a young person in Singapore
Being a suicide victim in Singapore
Being an artist in Singapore

Over three decades, The Necessary Stage and actors-collaborators who have been partners in the making of the company’s devised plays have revealed to us over and over again—in profound, heartbreaking and funny ways—what it means to ‘be’ in Singapore.

Vinod | Radha Krishnan | Eric Sim | Noorhayati Yusof | Sergeant Mok | Jali Bin Mohd Fariz | Mrs. Chua | Mrs. Phua | Alisha | Melly | Saloma and many more

Away from the buzz of the rehearsal room and in the alone space where a playwright for a time dwells, Haresh Sharma forms up direct, powerful, honest, smart, funny words that enable these characters to speak into the very soul of our city.

Being Haresh Sharma is a work that looks at Haresh’s body of writing over 30 years. It makes bold, unexpected links and associations, mapping stories and characters in ways that surface the social, political and spiritual aspects of life here; bringing it all together with unexpected and exciting performance energy, sparking new ways of looking at his words and of experiencing performance and theatre.

In 2013, award-winning actress Siti Khalijah Zainal brought The Necessary Stage's Best Of to life, playing the role of a young Malay Muslim woman going through divorce.

Now, accomplished TV and stage actor Sani Hussin takes the stage as the husband to share his side of the story in Best Of (His Story), written by Haresh Sharma and directed by Alvin Tan.

What happens when the estranged couple reunite at the Syariah court? What does he say to a wife seeking divorce? What can he say?

How would this change his view of what “home” means?

Just as his wife had shared her day with the audience, he offers us a glimpse into a day in his life, his past, his dreams... and his beliefs.

He too is not a stereotype. But after today, he may well be a statistic.

Award-winning actress Siti Khalijah takes centre-stage in this brand new one-woman show specially created for her by Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma, two of Singapore's finest theatre practitioners.

She is a young Malay-Muslim Woman going through a divorce.She starts her day at the prison.
She ends her day at the hospital.
In between, she meets strangers,
she encounters prejudice.she encounters prejudice.

Sometimes she hates what she sees around her, sometimes she is moved.
She shares her day with the audience;
her life, her past, her dreams…
and her fears.

She is not a stereotype.
She is not a statistic.
She just wants to get on with her life.

First performed in 2013 and staged four times in Singapore and Malaysia to popular and critical acclaim, Best Of combines social critique with intimate revelation and offers an enthralling insight into modern Singapore.

Award-winning actress Siti Khalijah takes centre-stage in this brand new one-woman show specially created for her by Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma, two of Singapore's finest theatre practitioners.

She is a young Malay-Muslim Woman going through a divorce.She starts her day at the prison.
She ends her day at the hospital.
In between, she meets strangers,
she encounters prejudice.she encounters prejudice.

Sometimes she hates what she sees around her, sometimes she is moved.
She shares her day with the audience;
her life, her past, her dreams…
and her fears.

She is not a stereotype.
She is not a statistic.
She just wants to get on with her life.

First performed in 2013 and staged four times in Singapore and Malaysia to popular and critical acclaim, Best Of combines social critique with intimate revelation and offers an enthralling insight into modern Singapore.

Award-winning actress Siti Khalijah 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.

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.

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.