Over the years, The Necessary Stage (TNS) has made a name for itself with some of the most gripping, hard-hitting plays to come out of Singapore, primarily thanks to Resident Playwright and Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma. Among these plays is Eclipse, which looks at three generations of men struggling with their dreams and their journeys, as a young Singaporean man makes a journey to his father’s birthplace in Hyderabad, Pakistan.

First presented as a short play to critical acclaim by Scotland’s 7:84 Theatre at Traverse Theatre, Eclipse was developed into a full-length production for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2008, and now, 17 years on, is returning to the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival once again next January. The difference? TNS is ushering in a brand new creative team to helm the production, including direction by Associate Artist A Yagnya (Hi, Can You Hear Me?), starring award-winning Singapore actor Shrey Bhargava, and featuring Indian classical vocalist Sveta Kilpady. We spoke to the team behind Eclipse (2025) to find out more about the decision behind the restaging, the origins behind the play, and the new spin on it audiences can expect:

Bakchormeeboy: What was the decision process behind bringing back Eclipse for M1SFF 2025?

Melissa Lim (M1SFF Executive Producer): Eclipse has been a TNS production that I’d dearly loved and felt was underrated for the longest time. Its first Singapore full-length staging at the Fringe in 2008 played to a relatively small audience as well. I’ve mentioned restaging it to Haresh several times in the past, but saw the prime opportunity to do that for Fringe 2025 because for one, the socio-political situations across various conflict zones as well as upheavals in elections in various countries made Eclipse and its treatment of division, community fissures and reconciliation (personal, historical, community) all the more timely.

For another, it was totally resonant with our overarching focus on the theme of displacement for Fringe 2025. In addition, it would be exciting to introduce the work to a brand new audience, reinterpreted through fresh eyes by way of Yagnya’s directorial vision and Shrey’s performance as the protagonist, alongside Sveta, our Hindustani vocalist performing live.

Bakchormeeboy: How did Eclipse initially begin as a play – what was the original inspiration behind it and the decision to treat it as such? For Yagnya, how much research went into preparation for this piece? 

Haresh Sharma: (Playwright) Eclipse was originally commissioned by Scottish theatre company 7:84 in 2007. I wrote a 20-minute piece which was performed alongside other short plays on the theme of separation. The production premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh and subsequently toured Scotland. After the success of the play, I decided to develop it into a full length. TNS staged that version at the 2008 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. This version has been reworked slightly, but I still retained the spirit of the original.

Eclipse is a work of fiction that started as a true story. In the early 2000s, I was involved in a project produced by Setagaya Public Theatre which required me to go to Tokyo several times. One day, out of the blue, my father told me that his father used to work in Japan. I also knew that my parents were involved in the India/Pakistan Partition of 1947 where they were forced to flee their home and move to Bombay. These became my inspiration for Eclipse. 

A Yagnya (Director): Partition is a topic that personally came into my life only after my brother got together with a north Indian girl a few years ago- suddenly I began hearing about an India that was so foreign from the second generation, one foot in India, one foot in Singapore kind of Indian identity that I identified with. Partition isn’t part of my family history, growing up, I heard a lot about “Independence” but not “Partition”. But the North Indian understanding of “Independence” often comes hand in hand with “Partition”. Stories of loss, stories of violence, stories of displacement, fear… it really shook me.

So even before I was asked to come onboard Eclipse, I had sort of taken a personal interest in understanding this India I’d never really known for around 30 years of my life. And you know how it goes, I went down this rabbit hole of youtube videos, interviews, Instagram reels, hearing out personal stories.

For this play in particular, I also went to look up music from partition era too. We’re collaborating with Sveta Kilpady who is a Hindustani vocalist. I’m more familiar with South Indian Carnatic music, so even before the start of the rehearsal process, I’ve been having discussions with Sveta, and she has really been introducing me to a LOT of musical knowledge for this work- complete with translated lyrics, context explanation, and genre explanation.

And during the rehearsal process, Shrey has also been bringing his knowledge about partition history and beyond into this work- he’s very diligent and he’s gone and listened and read up the speeches referenced in this play. So when we were working out the timeline of the characters- ALL that reading up falls into place! Very magical to watch. 

Do I know everything there is to know about Partition and Indian history? Maybe not. But all the collaborators bring our knowledge to the table and we are in the process of forming a tapestry.

Bakchormeeboy: There’s probably only a few people who caught the previous runs, but how much pressure is there to ensure that this new production feels very different from the original? For Yagnya especially, how does it feel like it has your stamp of creativity and directorship on it?

Yagnya: I mean, we still stage Shakespeare today, right? We do that because there are resonant themes. And I think people re-stage plays because it means those plays still hold true to today’s world. I feel similarly about Eclipse too. Eclipse holds themes resonant with the current climate of the world. Colonial imposition of violent boarders that disrupt and displace millions of lives for generations- I’m seeing that play out before my eyes with the genocide in Palestine.

Eclipse is such a detailed, and sensitive work set in the early 2000s. I suppose it’s just…sad? tragic? aggravating? …that the play is still so relevant today. I almost wish it didn’t resonate, but here we are. Same shit, different people. I’m grateful for this opportunity to work on Eclipse for this fringe, and I think it’s a great play for audience to sit with history on a personal level, and to really think about the future we wish for our world.

Bakchormeeboy: Shrey, this is the second play in 3 months that you’ll be performing in about Partition, after HuM Theatre’s Train to Pakistan. Could you tell us more about how different your mindset and preparation process is for Eclipse in comparison, especially when it comes to characterisation and perspectives of Partition? 

Shrey Bhargava (Actor): Partition is a historical and emotional landscape that has profoundly shaped the subcontinent and its diaspora, so approaching it from different perspectives requires both sensitivity and depth. Train to Pakistan and Eclipse are two very different stories about Partition, and this has naturally influenced my mindset and preparation for each.

In Train to Pakistan, the narrative is rooted in a specific village during 1947, portraying the communal harmony that was shattered by Partition’s violence. My character, Jagga, is a man of action—impulsive and larger-than-life. His arc is about sacrifice, and I leaned into the raw, primal emotions of love, rage, and redemption. My preparation involved exploring the physicality of a character like Jagga—a Robin Hood-esque figure—and understanding the visceral stakes of his world. It was a story of external conflicts—between communities, ideologies, and the self.

Eclipse, by contrast, is an intimate and introspective story set in a contemporary time. It follows a man retracing his family’s journey across borders, confronting the inherited trauma of Partition. This role required me to dive inward—to think about how Partition’s echoes manifest in identity, memory, and even the silences between generations. Unlike Jagga, this character is not a man of action but one of reflection, searching for meaning in loss and belonging.

As a one-man show, I also bring to life multiple characters in Eclipse – in particular the Son, Father & Grandfather – each with distinct voices and physicality. Finding the truth in these characters—how they speak, move, and exist in the world—has been a fascinating challenge. This performance demands a lot of precision, as each character needs to feel alive and distinct for the audience.

Another unique aspect of Eclipse is working with a live singer. The interplay between movement and song has been an incredible part of the process, allowing me to explore how music underscores and amplifies the emotional landscape of the play. Partition in Eclipse isn’t just a historical event; it’s a lingering shadow that shapes identity and relationships. The connection between my movements and the singer’s voice has been key to capturing that resonance.

These two plays have offered me the opportunity to explore Partition from very different angles. Train to Pakistan is about the immediate, visceral experience of loss, while Eclipse is about reflection, memory, the stories we inherit and how these stories continue – or not – to shape our relationships today. 

I hope audiences feel the resonance of both performances and critically engage with the material to see what is similarly happening around the world today. As an actor at least, these projects have made me acutely aware that the pains of Partition are not exclusive to the subcontinent alone.

Bakchormeeboy: While the Partition took place almost 80 years ago, its effects can still be felt even today. For each of you, how do those echoes still present themselves in your own lives or those around you? 

Haresh: When my parents moved to Singapore in the 1950s, they left behind their families in India. I grew up feeling disconnected from India and its history. My parents also didn’t want to burden their children with any India baggage. They used to tell us, you are Singaporeans. Don’t look back at India. So, Partition to me was always unfamiliar. My parents also never talked about it. That’s why I wanted to write about it in 2007. It forced me to talk to my father and question him about it. It also got me to do more research about Partition. 

Shrey: I grew up acutely aware of the Partition and how it shaped my family’s perspectives. From growing up seeing the conflicts between India-Pakistan on the news – such as the Kargil War, to watching Bollywood epics set in Partition times like Gadar (2001). The lingering pain of Partition, I’ve observed at least, manifests as a profound sense of national pride, at least in my extended family who live in India. Every India – Pakistan cricket match for instance is always infused with a fervour that no other sporting rivalry can match. But as a Singaporean – I do feel distant from it all. For me perhaps Partition is that piece of history that informed my family’s sense of cultural understanding, but not necessarily mine? But again…I do love a good India-Pakistan cricket match though…and while for other national fixtures I might root for any underdog against India, when it comes to India-Pakistan, I always bleed blue (that’s Team India).

Yagnya: Like I mentioned earlier, Partition barged itself into my life just about 5 years ago? It’s so interesting isn’t it, that on this team, in this interview, Haresh, Shrey, Sveta, and I are all Indians on our ICs…but our personal connection to our Indian-ness, it’s so different. Frankly, Partition didn’t affect me or my immediate family at all- I asked my grandmas about it, one here, one in India. Both had pretty much nothing to say on the topic.

But clearly, millions of people still recon with the aftermath of it. Just because my family didn’t live through it, doesn’t erase the event. It just makes me re-comprehend Indian Independence from a completely different lens, it makes me take a moment to remember those who couldn’t celebrate it. 

Bakchormeeboy: With new collaborators and the Associate Artist programme, TNS seems to be gaining plenty of new talent from the next generation of theatre makers, which of course includes both Shrey and Yagnya. How do both of you feel your approaches towards art and art making align with TNS’ goals and philosophy?

Shrey: My approach to art is rooted in exploring complex, often untold stories that resonate on a personal and cultural level. Roles that challenge the existing narrative, that push the boundary of how we think about certain characters excite me. Theatre, for me, is about sparking conversation and reflection, much like TNS aims to do with its work. I’m drawn to their commitment to innovation—pushing boundaries, not just in terms of form, but in how we engage with history, identity, and contemporary issues. This aligns perfectly with my belief that theatre should not only entertain but provoke and connect us to something larger than ourselves, and make us critically engage not just with the work of art, but its place in the world of today.

Yagnya: TNS has always been quite clear about making works that are socially conscious, and I think that’s what has always pulled me to watch their shows and work with them. Recently, after becoming an Associate Artist at TNS, I’ve really been wondering what kind of theatre work “Necessary” for this world that is so scarred.

How do we heal as a society? How can art contribute to those spaces of pain, to urge our audience to ask questions and act? I feel an urgency to address this increasingly polarised world. To be honest, I am still searching. The way I worked on Hi, Can You Hear Me? (HCYHM) and the way I’m approaching Eclipse…it’s very different. HCYHM? was dizzying maximalism of the world, this is a quiet burn. Of course, every play I do will have a different treatment, no two children can be raised the same way. But I think there’s been an internal shift in how I wish to tell/stage stories post-HCYHM?

What does it mean to do theatre in the midst of a climate crisis? What does it mean to be an artist while genocide is happening? I think a lot about the fact that while we do art about displacement, there are actual displaced people out there. It affects my attitude towards design choices, and staging choices. 

Bakchormeeboy: How do you personally relate to the theme of displacement, and how do you hope audiences might consider that, or the kinds of issues and questions they might think about after watching this production?

Haresh: It’s purely co-incidental, but I’m also involved in another production for Fringe 2025. I’m the co-director [with Serena Ho] of The Troupe by Birds Migrant Theatre. I’ve been mentoring them since their inception. A couple of years ago, some of the members were displaced because they had to move out of Singapore with their employers, either short or long term. That experience became the starting point for The Troupe. Another important event that affected us deeply is the genocide in Palestine, that is worsening by the day. I hope that the audience will see that we are all connected in some way – that events happening across the world do impact us, whether we realise it or not. Whether we choose to see it or not. History is able to repeat itself when the masses are lulled into obedience and subservience. 

Shrey: As a first-generation Singaporean (my parents moved from India), I dealt with a sense of displacement a lot. Growing up, I always questioned what ‘home’ for me meant. For me, that home was deeply both Singaporean and Indian and I couldn’t necessarily reconcile that. In Singapore I often felt ‘not Singaporean enough’, and when I did visit my relatives in India, I remember distinctly feeling ‘not Indian enough’ either. The whole Ah Boys To Men saga in 2017, being asked to ‘be more Indian’ didn’t help either. So this sense of being a cultural floater has always been in me. I think for Singaporean audiences – whether from an Indian/Pakistani background or not – the questions/issues to consider, at least on a personal level are perhaps about how such a traumatic event in history can continue to create subtle senses of displacement in our different communities in Singapore today. For those of us fortunate enough not to experience that here in Singapore, how else can we continue to foster a community that helps others feel equally at home? Also – it is important to look outside of Singapore too – and ask ourselves, how are these traumatic histories repeating themselves around the world, and what does that mean for the world of tomorrow?

Yagnya: I have never been displaced. It’s a topic that appeared on the news – across time, across space. But do I have to be displaced to empathise with the theme of displacement? As humans, who share this planet, should we not care? Regardless of race, language, religion, nationality, sexuality, gender, the list is endless. I hope people come to Eclipse, and leave better connected to the world around us all. 

Photo credit: Tuckys Photography

Eclipse plays from 15th to 18th January 2025 at The Theatre Practice Black Box. Tickets available from Book My Show

The 2025 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival will run from 8th to 19th January 2025. More information and full line-up available here

To contribute towards the Fringe Festival Fund, visit donate.necessary.org or Giving.sg.