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Essays/Writings

The Performance of Censorship

This essay/writing was reproduced courtesy of Alfian Sa'at.

Project Serial Number: AA200401
2004
 

Publications

Ask Not

Can Singapore - a nation driven by the politics of economic development - see the Arts as more than just cultural enterprise contributing to the country's GDP? With the new focus on theatre as business, what is the impact on socially-engaged and experimental theatre?

This volume of commentaries and critical essays, contributed by renowned practitioners and critics, tracks the achievements of social theatre in the past two decades through a detailed study of The Necessary Stage. Dealing with censorship, cultural bureaucracy, and evolving arts policies, they propose alternatives to the prevailing official discourse, and call for a re-thinking of art and culture as an enterprise that encompasses both social conscience and profitability.
2004
 

Productions

Survivor Singapore

A group of students have been assigned a project on the theme of National Education. They wrack their brains to find out what they can do that will really make a difference. Instead of going on field trips to the Parliament House or performing a multiracial dance, they decide to create a project that will make all young Singaporeans value life and not take their comforts for granted. They decide to create Survivor Singapore. But...have they gone too far to prove a point? 
2003
 -
Singapore
 

Staging

Survivor Singapore

A group of students have been assigned a project on the theme of National Education. They wrack their brains to find out what they can do that will really make a difference. Instead of going on field trips to the Parliament House or performing a multiracial dance, they decide to create a project that will make all young Singaporeans value life and not take their comforts for granted. They decide to create Survivor Singapore. But...have they gone too far to prove a point? 
2003
 -
Singapore

Productions

Happy Family

Set within a typical HDB setting, Happy Family offers an honest look at a Singaporean family on the verge of falling apart. At the centre of the turmoil is a teenage girl, instead of a carefree life where she can spend time with friends and focus on her studies, she experiences domestic violence, financial problems, fear and uncertainty on a daily basis. To escape, she turns to vice and self-destruction. Finally, she sinks to a point where she decides enough is enough. She realises that she can either sink under her overwhelming circumstances or make positive decisions and take active steps to stay afloat.
2003
 -
Singapore

Staging

Happy Family

Set within a typical HDB setting, Happy Family offers an honest look at a Singaporean family on the verge of falling apart. At the centre of the turmoil is a teenage girl, instead of a carefree life where she can spend time with friends and focus on her studies, she experiences domestic violence, financial problems, fear and uncertainty on a daily basis. To escape, she turns to vice and self-destruction. Finally, she sinks to a point where she decides enough is enough. She realises that she can either sink under her overwhelming circumstances or make positive decisions and take active steps to stay afloat.
2003
 -
Singapore
 

Workshops

Theatre for Youth and Community 2004

In September 1992, Alvin Tan, Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage, established the Theatre For Youth Branch. The Branch was re-named Theatre for Youth and Community in 2002, our 10th anniversary year.

The aims of our Youth Drama programmes are to:


expose young people to theatre
create a space for artistic expression by and for young people
cultivate the aesthetic sensibilities of young people
explore themes and issues relevant to young people in Singapore


We believe that theatre must grow out of the community and therefore pay close attention to issues that concern young people and educators. Our programmes develop from research, careful planning and consultation. The concern that students should benefit fully has led us to develop programmes that are relevant to the needs, and are issues faced by students, involve theoretical and hands-on learning; and cultivate students' life-skills and contribute towards their personal development.

We also believe strongly in, and welcome, partnerships with other sectors in society to achieve holistic outcomes for our programmes. The school's curriculum and directions in education are also taken into consideration when planning our programmes.

We believe strongly that Theatre is not meant to be simply a high-brow affair for the wealthy and intellectual. It is a language that each of us have the right to learn and speak, in order to find release, and to make meaning of our world.
2003

Productions

Koan

Drawing inspiration from Hesse's Siddhartha, Gibran's The Prophet and other stories of journey and search, Haresh Sharma employs techniques of storytelling, magic realism and narrative framing to create a theatrical and lyrical exploration of perspective and truth. the production also features interview footages with a 78-year-old Singaporean widow who talks about her husband, her son and herself growing up in Singapore.
2003
 -
South Korea

Staging

Koan

Drawing inspiration from Hesse's Siddhartha, Gibran's The Prophet and other stories of journey and search, Haresh Sharma employs techniques of storytelling, magic realism and narrative framing to create a theatrical and lyrical exploration of perspective and truth. the production also features interview footages with a 78-year-old Singaporean widow who talks about her husband, her son and herself growing up in Singapore.
2003
 -
South Korea

Productions

3

Someone fails her chemistry test but her mother is not nagging.
She is not happy.
She protests and her mother nags.
She is not happy still.

Someone is going away to study
Her father pays for her fees.
She lets him.
He cannot let go.
She lets him.
He asks her to stay.
She says 'no'.

Someone is a two-timer.
She breaks something.
But she doesn't want to lose a friend.

3 girls tell 3 stories about 3 choices they have to make when there is only 1 life to live.
2003
 -
Singapore

Staging

3

Someone fails her chemistry test but her mother is not nagging.
She is not happy.
She protests and her mother nags.
She is not happy still.

Someone is going away to study
Her father pays for her fees.
She lets him.
He cannot let go.
She lets him.
He asks her to stay.
She says 'no'.

Someone is a two-timer.
She breaks something.
But she doesn't want to lose a friend.

3 girls tell 3 stories about 3 choices they have to make when there is only 1 life to live.
2003
 -
Singapore
 

Productions

Oh Man!

Macho, macho man! I gotta be. . . a macho man? OH MAN! What are men like in Singapore? Powerful? Confused? Boring? Sexy? the Necessary Stage grabs the issues by the balls, and probes deep into Singapore's MANHOOD. Are men in Singapore getting the short end of the stick? Are they losing their marbles? Are they still on top?
2003
 -
Singapore
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