Ambitious attempt at tackling issues of xenophobia and the ever-growing refugee crisis.

When we last saw Birds Migrant Theatre at the 2023 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, the team of migrants and theatre enthusiasts had put on a deeply personal show about their lived experiences as foreign workers in Singapore. Since then, the group has continued to pursue their passion for the arts, and in 2025, return to the Fringe once again to perform a brand new show, this time centering on the refugee crisis.

Co-directed by Serena Ho and Haresh Sharma, The Troupe opens with the ensemble setting up the performance space, with a large swathe of white cloth hung at the back, acting as both a projection screen and makeshift backstage for the cast to do quick changes. There is something roughshod and improvised about the entire set-up, which makes sense when it is explained how the entire play takes place in a refugee camp, in an unnamed country, in a world beset by war and conflict. The titular troupe open by cracking dark jokes about refugees dying on the way to shore or their difficult circumstances, making for a rather grim start, before explaining how they are a theatre troupe preparing to put on a show.

The remainder of the play follows their rehearsal process, as they perform different scenes based on real life refugee experiences. There’s a group on a perilous journey helped across the sea by an abusive human trafficker; a refugee camp who begins rubbing the locals the wrong way when their presence disrupts their way of life; and the story of Khadijah, female refugee in a camp struggling to make ends meet to support her son, told through puppetry. Along the way, the troupe’s own personal lives and concerns are interspersed between these scenes when they break character and pass commentary on the significance of what they’re doing, alongside Instagram live snippets from an Indonesian domestic helper who reflects on how lucky she is, and how much her heart goes out to these refugees.

If anything, The Troupe is a massively ambitious piece that stretches Birds Migrant Theatre in many ways, leading them to try new dramatic techniques, take on a plethora of characters, and throw in some urgent social commentary into the mix as well. As a result, there really is a lot going on, and it can often be hard to tell what all of it is meant to ultimately add up to, or what it contributes to the ongoing conversation. In particular, the portrayal of refugees is complicated by its manifold approach to it, where they are at times problematic with their values, at others self-sacrificing and valiant, perhaps meant to show us that refugees are just like us – fallible and with their own sets of complexities where no one is a model.

These are scenes that certainly give us pause and food for thought, often due to how harrowing the experiences depicted are. On the boat, the trafficker subjects the refugees to cruel games as he lords over them with his food and water supply, while Khadijah’s woes and experiences of rape and unsanitary camp conditions are described in graphic detail. The latter is also told through puppetry, with some innovative depictions, such as police officers with CCTV cameras for heads, while in other scenes, we see paper plates with faces drawn on to represent large crowds. During scene transitions, we also see distressing photos of refugees in crisis, or nasty social media comments dismissing refugees, showcasing how Birds Migrant Theatre has also attempted new styles and visuals to stretch their visuals throughout the show.

Perhaps out of all the scenes though, the greatest source of drama comes from the metatheatrical moments, when tensions arise between the refugees (Zilani, Deni Apriyani and Wiwi Tri) and local troupe members (Phone, Farah Hajan), due to the clear differences in purpose and stakes putting on such a show. In a scene where they are to portray a minister, there is heated debate over whether he should be satirised or played seriously, with the locals afraid of facing punishment should it be taken the wrong way, while the refugees feel that it is only worth making art when there is risk. Elsewhere, we see the refugees taking on romantic entanglements, or even facing potentially having to evacuate once again due to being pursued by gangsters. It is these backstories and actual characters we feel most concern for, the ones that are given actual backstories as opposed to those defined by their trauma, and the ones we wish could have been expounded on more and given more time.

While it does all end up being a bit much, with the message ending up lost amidst the noise, it is nonetheless a fascinating follow-up to Foreign Bodies that sees Birds Migrant Theatre stretch their artistry even further in terms of writing and staging. You can’t help but root for this motley crew amidst the issues – what really ties the show as a whole together is the team’s onstage chemistry, and how close they feel despite their limited rehearsal time, making them believable as a makeshift theatre troupe in times of conflict, and a topic that is close to its creators hearts, paralleling their own experiences of xenophobia and struggles as migrants. Certainly, we are left with more questions than answers by its end, but if anything, it emits a cry to see the whole picture before making a value judgment, and to act with compassion rather than prejudice.

Photo credit: Birds Migrant Theatre

Read our interview with Birds Migrant Theatre here

The Troupe plays from 12th to 19th 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.

Production Credits:

Playwrights Zilani, Deni Apriyani, Wiwi Tri, Sugiarti Mustiarjo Co-Directors Serena Ho, Haresh Sharma Performers Zilani, Deni Apriyani, Wiwi Tri, Rina Hakim, Phone, Farah Hajan, Indica Oliveiro Multimedia Designer Rodney Oliveiro Lighting Designer Emanorwatty Saleh Puppetry Consultant Ang Hui Bin Stage Manager Linette Chan Assistant Stage Manager Anis Lyana Putri, Muhammad Hafizh Sound Assistant Nurfatin Binte Shahrizal Captions Operator Fiona Tan Si Qi Multimedia Operator Jazleena Binte Johari Lighting Assistant Ira Nur Erina Binte Mohd Khairul Lighting Associates Chan Xuan Hui Val, Chua Xuewei Shernise, Geraldine Jesslyn, Justin Wong Zen Loong