Reading the Room: A Playwright's Devising Journey

Over the past three decades, award-winning playwright Haresh Sharma has written more than 120 plays, many of them created with The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) unique devising methodology. Reading the Room: A Playwright’s Devising Journey offers unprecedented access into the devising process, with keen insights and intimate reflections gleaned from Haresh’s artistic journey.

"Extensively illustrated by rehearsal notes and dramaturgical discussions, the book foregrounds questions of why and how to make theatre."
–Peter Eckersall, PhD Program in Theatre & Performance, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Edited by theatre practitioner and researcher Shawn Chua, this book describes Haresh’s devising process in meticulous detail, illustrated by production case studies and incorporating numerous archival artefacts, including photographs, early drafts of scripts and personal correspondences. It also features in-depth interviews with some of TNS’ most notable artist-collaborators.

The chapters highlight different aspects of devising such as:
          Devising with Communities
          Devising and Verbatim Theatre
          Devising and International Collaboration
          Devising and Interdisciplinary Theatre

Written as an accessible how-to guide, Reading the Room: A Playwright’s Devising Journey promises to be an invaluable resource for playwrights, directors, students, teachers and collaborative artists, as well as anyone curious about Singapore theatre history.

Reading the Room: A Playwright’s Devising Journey is made possible with the support of the National Arts Council’s Cultural Medallion Grant.