Collaboration and Social Commitment in The Necessary Stage
Audrey Wong

The coincidence of the dramatic and the social realms has become a feature of TNS's recent collaborative work, as demonstrated in the group's attempts to develop a community-based theatre, beginning with Lelong Lelong and There Is A Tree in Tampines (1995). Here, collaboration no longer means working with actors to create a play; it also meant working with an entire community, with no tradition of theatre-going and which functioned in various different languages. Working with the audience of residents, with grassroots organisations to produce something which would be relevant to all.