This August, graduates from the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) will be staging an independent production of David Mamet’s controversial play, Oleanna. The production is the result of a collaboration between independent collectives Major Minor Encounters, co-founded by Singaporean theatre performer, playwright, and arts manager Choy Chee Yew, and The Windland Collective, co-founded by Swathilakshmi Perumal, actor and theatre-maker from Tamil Nadu, India. Both collectives strive to create opportunities and platforms for ITI graduates to practise and showcase their craft, while keeping true to the institute’s ethos of creating works that raise social and cultural awareness.

Both co-founders will be performing in the production, and will be directed by Grace Kalaiselvi, who herself is also an ITI graduate. The play, written in 1992, is a two-hander that illustrates the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual harassment. Carol, a college student, approaches her professor for help with her classwork. A seemingly innocuous consultation session explodes into a series of accusations and altercations about elitism, education, and sexual harassment.

Oleanna remains relevant even today, not only due to the continued prevalence of illicit teacher-student relationships and power play, but also how it fleshes out the complexities of issues related to societal movements today, such as the #MeToo Movement, feminism and political correctness. Come watch the drama unfold and the tensions rise, as Oleanna premieres this August.

Oleanna plays from 22nd to 25th August 2024 at 42 Waterloo Street. Tickets available from Peatix