This October, get ready as The Necessary Stage (TNS) presents White, All White, a new play by TNS Associate Artist Deonn Yang, who also directs. Marking TNS’ first main season production helmed entirely by Deonn, White, All White is a life-affirming play that delves into the joys and tensions of family and personal dreams, giving audiences a glimpse into the quiet lives of a family of women across three generations.

Starring Coco Wang, Goh Guat Kian, Jodi Chan, and Koh Wan Ching, watch as these women grapple with their individual struggles, dreams and desires whilst living under the same leaky roof, with one thing uniting them – the deep love and concern they have for one another. However, an unexpected financial misadventure challenges the household. Can their relationships endure when tested by adversity, especially when these women’s lives are intrinsically linked?

The work is developed from a script that saw its genesis during TNS’ Playwrights’ Cove workshops in 2022, which Deonn was also a part of. For a while now, Deonn has been interested in creating a work about a family of ordinary, everyday women. On the characters she created for White, All White, she adds, “I particularly wanted to focus on the sandwich generation, and the sacrifices one would make both as a mother and as a daughter. I am especially drawn to female relationships— parental, generational, friendships—and am keen to celebrate, highlight, and give space for these stories to be shared and heard.”

White, All White offers an intimate look into a family of women across three generations, all bound by their devotion and love for one another, but face complexities when a wrench is thrown into their quiet lives. “Most of us have complex relationships with our families. They may be the only people who will be there for us. They may also hurt us the most,” cast member Koh Wan Ching shares. “I often think about Ursula Le Guin’s novel The Dispossessed where one of the characters make a speech: ‘It is our suffering that brings us together. It is not love.’”

Veteran actress Goh Guat Kian will be playing a dementia-stricken mother in White, All White, and has been preparing for the role by collecting the stories of those who live with the condition, in the hopes that she can juxtapose their emotional complexities and everyday lives with her character’s trajectory. Meanwhile, Coco Wang, the youngest member of the cast, is embarking on her maiden production with TNS and is thrilled to be working with the company and experiencing its devising process. On how White, All White will resonate with younger audiences, she says: “I think this work will invite young people to check their privileges and reflect on how they interact with this world. It’ll be a little reminder to be grateful for the people and things in our lives.”

Slated to be both poignant and humorous, White, All White strikes is set to hit all the right chords as a family drama that audiences will resonate with strongly. Don’t miss this chance to have your heart moved by its realism and relatability, and see what Associate Artist Deonn Yang is capable of in leading this stellar cast to present all the shades of white that make up family.

Featured Image: Tuckys Photography

White, All White plays at the Esplanade Theatre Studio from 24th to 26th October 2024. Tickets available from BookMyShow