Race and religion. Love and death. Community and loneliness. These are just some of the thought-provoking themes explored in a series of bold and promising works-in-progress by the participants of The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) Playwrights’ Cove 2024, to be presented as dramatised readings from 21 to 24 November 2024.

This iteration of Playwrights’ Cove is the company’s third iteration of the much sought after playwriting training and mentorship programme that was first launched in 2020 as part of its Devising Platform. Helmed by Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma, the programme seeks to nurture, process and platform contemporary playwriting by emerging playwrights and theatremakers for Singapore theatre.

Over the course of six months, 10 participants have been undergoing weekly training sessions, discussing theatrical forms and works, while shaping their original scripts. Local theatre practitioners were also invited to share their insights through guest lectures on a variety of topics and lead script workshopping sessions throughout the period.

The culmination of Playwrights’ Cove 2024 will feature a showcase of the participants’ freshly developed works-in-progress directed by veteran and emerging Singapore directors, and read by various actors from the industry. Each performance slot between 21 to 24 November will feature two plays presented to a public audience at Drama Centre Black Box, followed by a post-show dialogue with the playwrights, facilitated by Haresh Sharma.

“Over the years, the programme has expanded to include a more diverse group of playwrights such as students and writers of different genres such as poets, spoken word and interdisciplinary artists,” Sharma says. “They have had opportunities to write their own plays, in a supportive space and with proper guidance. The playwrights have also worked with professional directors and actors as they develop their brand new plays.”

Associate Artists of TNS, A Yagnya, Deonn Yang and Lim Shien Hian, all alumni of previous Playwrights’ Cove editions, have returned to assist with the script workshops for the participants, with Lim and Yagnya also directing some of the presentations.

Reflecting on his own experience, Lim shares, “It always feels very welcoming to come back to Playwright’s Cove as it is such a nurturing space for playwrights.” He adds, “Having been through the programme myself, I know that writing can be a lonely endeavour, so to be able to come in, provide a directorial eye, and create a small community between the playwrights and cast members will hopefully help the playwrights blossom into confident artists in their own right.”

Yagnya agrees, “When I write, I’m always looking for opportunities to get dramaturgical feedback on my works-in-progress, or to just put it on the floor to see how it sounds outside my head.” She continues, “To be a part of the development process, and to have the time and opportunity to workshop the scripts with some of these playwrights as a former Cove-er is a great honour for me.”

Yang echoes Lim and Yagnya’s sentiments about benefitting from her training at Playwrights’ Cove. On her experience workshopping the scripts with the participants this year, she said, To be able to return to Cove this year in a different capacity feels like I am giving back in some way, and I appreciate the trust and responsibility afforded me.” She enthuses, “The participants this year have written some exciting plays, and I am happy to have contributed in any way.”

The playwrights and their plays are as follows:

In Shawn Chua’s This Bird Does Not Exist ,the play imagines a future where birds have gone extinct. The bird park has become a refuge for humans. A performing ensemble known as the Endlings gather to perform a remembrance ceremony, keeping alive the memory of birds through song and ritual. Directed by Adib Kosnan. Read by Jamil Schulze, Krish Natarajan, and Ants Chua.

Alia Alkaff’s Brown-Er Face follows Shivaani, a young budding writer, who dreams of finding her voice and her purpose as a storyteller. She believes in writing what you know – using life experience to inform your writing. However, she didn’t expect her life story to include her best friend showing up to her party in brown face… and her boyfriend “telling” her story for her. What stories can and should we tell? And will this one end in forgiveness? Directed by Lim Shien Hian. Read by Shivaane S, Kysha Ashreen Amir Singh, Elle Cheng, Audrey Teong, Jovan Ang, and Benjamin Koh.

Wan Nur Syafiqa Syurga itu Cinta [Just like Heaven] sees Melur taking a liking to her ‘work husband’, Nic. To secure the man of her dreams, she decides to take supernatural measures. Would their families approve of this budding relationship, or would something else get in the way? Performed in English and Malay. Directed by Serena Ho Read by Rusydina Afiqah, Dwayne Ng, Dalifah Shahril, Fazli Ahmad, Lok Meng Chue, Julius Foo, Tejas Hirah, and Hamidah Abdul Rahim.

Melizarani T. Selva’s [Kathi]: How to Dispose a Body in 60 Minutes takes place at 4.30am on a Tuesday morning at Tekka Market. Three women gather to dispose of a dead body. They have 60 minutes to figure out the best strategy to execute, before dawn breaks, before the Sembcorp trucks arrive, before daylight hits their shadowy quest to free themselves from the practices and perspectives that subdue them. This play seeks to unravel the roles we inherit, rituals that shackle us and the aching desire to shed all that no longer serve us. Performed in English and Malay. Directed by Adib Kosnan Read by Jean Ng, Moli Mohter, and Charlene Rajendran.

Sarah Zafirah Bte Noor Ashikin’s Good Grief follows Nadia, who flies back to visit home after news of her younger sister Diana’s death, only to discover that Diana has become a ghost. Over the next few days, as Nadia tries to get rid of Diana, she encounters old friends, a witch doctor, and a talking cat, eventually questioning whether she really wants to say goodbye to her sister forever. Directed by Rodney Oliveiro. Read by Alia Alkaff, Farah Haja N, Yami Yunus, Farah Ong, and Jada.

Edward Eng’s Talking to My Grandfather About Love sees an actor telling a story for the first time. It is the story of the protagonist’s grandfather, who worked in a hotel and could apparently talk to the dead. On another level, it is a rumination about theatre, spiritual experiences, and the hidden lives of our family members. Directed by Lim Shien Hian. Read by Ching Shu Yi.

Sindhura Kalidas’s 82 has you meeting Yuva. He feels trapped in a life filled with regret and grief. Torn between caring for his ailing mother and grappling with the unresolved pain of his father’s death, he despises his neighbourhood, which constantly reminds him of what he has lost, and what could have been. Even a budding relationship with Sandhya cannot shake his reliance on alcohol as a crutch. 82 unfolds entirely within Yuva’s neighbourhood, where a chorus of chatty Uncles and Aunties oFer unsolicited advice and a talking dragon acts as his sole confidante. 82 explores Yuva’s coming to terms with life and death in a world that does not always feel like it has your back. Directed by Rodney Oliveiro. Read by Padma Krishnan, Raguvvaran Naidu, Ruby Jayaseelan, Julius Foo, and Grace Kalaiselvi.

interlude by Rachael Ng takes place an hour before a woman’s 50th birthday, where she finds herself outside a budget hotel, alone and unsettled. In the dead of night, a young man, who has felt empty for most of his life, checks in an unexpected guest. Seemingly suspended in time, their encounter forces them to confront all the ways we remember and misremember, and all the ways our memory disarms and deceives us. Directed by Serena Ho. Read by Julius Foo, Serene Chen, and Deonn Yang.

Stuffed With Feelings by Angela Kong sees 10 year old Emily gets diagnosed with ADHD, after struggling to complete her assignments in school. Through the help of Sharity the Elephant, she learns to cope and embrace her neurodiversity. Directed by A Yagnya. Read by Cheryl Lee, Gloria Tan, Nicholas Bloodworth, Yulin Ng, and Lim Kay Siu.

Finally, The Union by Jovan Ang sees police detective Elizabeth Scott and schoolteacher Catherine Lee , partners-in-crime responsible for a recent spate of coldblooded murders, in a modern day Singapore where the British never left. After an unexpected witness threatens to expose them, the two are thrust into a spiralling web of deceit involving the forefront of the anti-colonial movement, the Singapore Independence Party (SIP). Directed by Lim Shien Hian. Read by Ching Shu Yi, Reginal Allyn, Eric Larrea, Uday Duggal, Timothy Yeo, and Misha Paule Tan.

Playwrights’ Cove runs across various sessions from 21st to 24th November 2024 at the Drama Centre Black Box. Tickets available from BookMyShow

Sessions:
Thursday 21 November, 7.30pm: This Bird Does Not Exist by Shawn Chua & Brown-er Face by Alia Alkaff
Friday 22 November, 2.30pm: Syurga itu Cinta [Just like Heaven] & [Kathi]: How to Dispose a Body in 60 Minutes by Melizarani T. Selva
Saturday 23 November, 2.30pm: Good Grief by Sarah Zafirah Bte Noor Ashikin and Talking to My Grandfather About Love by Edward Eng
Saturday 23 November, 7.30pm: 82 by Sindhura Kalidas & Call to Mind by Rachael Ng
Sunday 24 November, 2.30pm: Stuffed with Feelings by Angela Kong & The Union by Jovan Ang