A mysterious tiger who runs a bar in limbo. Guan Yin caught in a loop of death and rebirth. A man whose memory fails him while being taken care of by an AI. Post-traumatic boredom, and uncontrollable life within a hotel room. These are just some of the strange characters and phenomena that inhabit The Necessary Stage’s latest play, Hi, Can You Hear Me?
Written by TNS’ Associate Artist A Yagnya and co-directed with Alvin Tan, Hi, Can You Hear Me? premieres at the Esplanade Theatre Studio this March, and follows various characters whose normalcies have been fractured due to events and experiences beyond their control. On the inspiration behind the play, Yagnya shares that she was struck by the multitude of unprecedented phenomena in recent times, from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to the 2020 Covid pandemic; from the climate emergency to the accelerated rise of AI, and the tragedy unfolding in the Middle East as we speak.
First written as part of the company’s Devising Platform’s Playwrights’ Cove in 2020, Hi, Can You Hear Me? began as a Zoom reading that took place at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic where theatre spaces were shuttered and performances had to adopt a digital form. The upcoming play has been rewritten for stage and peers into the lives of the surreal, motley crew of characters who exist somewhere between fiction and reality.
The interweaving of the myriad characters’ paths begs the question of what should or should not be held onto amidst the ever-changing sense of normalcy. When asked what she hopes for audience members to take away from the play, Yagnya responds, “I hope this work allows for all of us to sit with ourselves, our lives, and the lives of millions of others. I hope the work can be a window both inward looking and outward looking— to contemplate our own humanity.”
On the subject of collaborative theatre-making, Tan shares, “Together with a rich imagination, Yagnya is clearly one of the few collaborators I have worked with who has a voice amongst today’s emerging theatre practitioners. From the rigour of her research, the application of her findings to her creative innovations in the devices and artistic strategies she employs in her works have been nothing short of amazing.”
Hi, Can You Hear Me? plays from 21st to 31st March 2024 at the Esplanade Theatre Studio. Tickets available from BookMyShow
Bakchormeeboy 