The Void Left By Them...

These actors were once prolific stage performers who left an indelible impression on the audience during their respective heydays. For various reasons, they have faded away and retreated behind the curtains to tackle new roles in their lives. The Programme catches up with these much missed actors.

The Necessary Community Festival

Do you feel it's incongruent for a foreigner such as yourself to be heading a festival that has a strong local flavour?

Sean Tobin: As a foreigner who is very much part of every day Singapore, I spend most of my time with Singaporeans, soak myself in many Singaporean concerns. it's a culture which I now call my own ever since I lived her for the past 7 years. But I shall not pretend to be a true blue Singaporean. My perspective will always be that of an alien who has settled here. But I can learn more about the culture by asking, by listening, by watching, by trying not to judge too fast. I'm just as 'uprooted and searching' as many Singaporeans. I come from Australia, another 'British colony' which has struggled for a long time for independence and identity. I'm Irish in descent but am quite orphaned from it. In that sense, I just uprooted myself again and came searching in Singapore.

And Theatre For All

As part of The Necessary Stage's aim of involving different communities in theatre, it recently invited about 300 people from various underprivileged homes and centres to Still Building which was staged at The Substation from 22 May - 6 June this year. Here's some feedback.

When the Bough Breaks
Haresh Sharma

As playwright, my first impulse was to be able to identify with the issues. Not being married or a woman or having had a child, I had to internalise the depths of the issues, the complexities and the emotions by speaking to women who had experienced, or were experiencing, perinatal depression.

Don't Forget to Remember Me
Haresh Sharma

After each performance, there would be a question and answer segment with a panel comprising professionals in the field. It was heartwarming to see so many people taking the microphone to share their own stories about caring for someone with dementia. Several people broke down as they recalled their struggles.

What's the festival about?

We want you to discuss and voice your disagreements, suggestions and comments with other audience-members artists and other participants after each performance during our talk-back sessions. We want you to go away thinking about how you, too, can communicate issues close to your heart to other young people.

Portraits—Of Youth
Charmaine Tan

Our first performance was at Marine Parade Library. We were understandably anxious; a lighting gel that wouldn't stick to the light frame didn't really help matters. Midway through BLOOD CAGES, the first play, the gel detached itself and hung precariously by its side. As there was no interval, nothing could be done except to hold our breath.

Our Vision for Drama In and Across the Curriculum in Singapore

It is therefore important and urgent for us to advocate for an increased presence of drama in school life. It is vital that people's mindsets change in greater recognition of the scope and benefits of drama as a teaching tool and a subject in its own right. It is necessary to raise the value and status of drama and we beleive this can be done by placing it securely within the frame of S21 and within the new direction towards holistic, creative and ability-driven education in Singapore.

Note—Vision:

Singaporeans are still too shy to bring on stage how they speak in daily life. There is a need to explore and experiment with more common issues and scenarios where an average Singaporean can see himself/herself on stage. Think about it!

Quah Sy Ren:
A playwright out of respite

Sy Ren: I think people tend to confuse language politics with literature, especially in the Chinese theatre scene. That scene has a certain demand on their artists to not just come up with works of art but also raise the Mandarin standard in Singapore. So I usually prefer ethnically Chinese but English-speaking actors in my plays because I feel that my works will be freed of this baggage in such a way.