What does it mean to be whole? To be human? These are the fundamental questions lie at the heart of COLONY – a production that intertwines dance, music, film, and storytelling to explore themes of diversity, resistance, and human connection. Featuring dancers, performers and a creative team with diverse abilities, COLONY showcases a story of pain, transformation, and radical empathy, challenging societal ideals of perfection, normalcy, and worth.
Playing as part of the 2025 Singapore International Festival of Arts, the story of COLONY began years back, where after the hugely successful 2018 True Colors concert, the team had big dreams. “The plan after 2018 was to be a part of the 2020 Paralympics arts calendar in Tokyo, but then COVID happened. So we pivoted to online, released a couple of original MVs, produced some film festivals, held hybrid events and eventually produced a global concert in 2022, all of it made possible by The Nippon Foundation,” says executive producer Audrey Perera.
“But we knew that we had to take a break after that, it was so much that we ended up doing, she adds. “We knew that eventually, we would also want to bring it back to Singapore,” she adds. “There were a few false starts but with this dance-music-film production, it finally came together. It’s a huge honour to be given this opportunity, and this return recognises that the True Colors brand stands for something, and that there is trust in the integrity of what we do.”
The concept behind Colony revolves around the root word ‘colony’. But that is an often misunderstood turn of phrase. People tend to think of a colony as something hierarchical, but in reality, an ant colony operates in a much more fluid, interdependent and self-sufficient system. “For instance, every ant pitches in when there is a need; a forager ant might need to be a soldier ant tomorrow, a drone today might need to function as a worker tomorrow. The queen is central to the colony’s survival, not because she is the ‘head honcho’ but because her job is to make more ants, which is about survival of the colony,” says Audrey. “So this work itself was inspired by this idea…a colony that focuses on collaboration for the good of the whole, something which we found so beautiful as a metaphor.
In a similar vein, the label of ‘inclusivity’ can sometimes carry with it unsavoury connotations, where some companies have taken it as a form of tokenism and surface-level representation. “We still carry a bit of that pity narrative, even though it’s changed a lot in the last decade. Even after the huge 2018 concert, people asked, ‘How much money did you raise?’ That assumption that it’s a charity show, it can be so demeaning and disrespectful,” says Audrey.
But at True Colors, they are working hard to change that perception. “We’re breaking away from that idea of a one-off concert, and in fact, working together with other organisations to develop a three-year programme to normalise the presence of artists with disabilities on mainstream stages,” says Audrey. “We already live alongside one another in everyday life. So why not on stage? It’s not tokenism. It’s just reality.”
According to Audrey, the solution to changing perspectives is to put it into practice, where everything revolves around the concept of collaboration and co-creation. “If we want to be truly inclusive, we must first be truly collaborative,” says Audrey. “There’s no single author. It’s devised. Collaborative. Evolving. This isn’t about spotlighting anyone for one reason. Instead, it’s about inclusion without labels. Everything from shaping the music around our dancers’ responses, to the creative captioning, audio description, sign language, it’s about crafting art and finding poignancy in every aspect beyond doing it for the sake of accessibility alone.”
“Of course, all that takes a lot of effort, openness, empathy, and compromise, something we’ve been doing that since our inception in 2018. Back then, our focus was more about showcasing our artists’ talents, and we’re now building something deeply collaborative in 2025,” she continues. “We’re overlaying that idea of collaboration onto a dance production: a colony of people who are different, showing up with all their humanity, and accepting each other for who they are, not assimilating and trying to force them into the same mould. This isn’t about technical perfection, but about showcasing the way art can be multi-dimensional, multi-layered, and you can come at it from different entry points.”
On selecting the team, Audrey emphasises that there was a strict audition process the dancers went through, based on talent. “We didn’t pick the most available dancers. We chose the ones who would rise to the occasion of an international arts festival. It’s really not about showcasing as many as possible, but bout readiness, talent, and alignment,” says Audrey. “Of course, as a collaborative work, we need them to open up, and it takes time to build trust and to show vulnerability. But the more time they spent together, the easier it became to communicate, and the stronger the work becomes, and we’ll ensure that every dancer has a meaningful moment in the spotlight.”
If anything, Audrey is also thankful for the growing amount of support from the ever expanding community, with collaboration with other organisations such as Maya Dance Theatre and ART:DIS. “The help they’ve offered, in research and connections and consultation, is immeasurable. We’ve known each other a long time and remain friends and collaborators because we’re completely in alignment, and we’re always learning so much when we engage each other in conversation,” says Audrey. “They’ve provided knowledge and insight and we work as a team to choose the best dancers to showcase on this international festival stage, and get them ready for a show like this, something that doesn’t happen every day in Singapore.”
And as much as it’s an uphill climb, Audrey stays committed to this life choice, and is invigorated by how fulfilling it is. “We chose the arts as a career, and to focus on disability, we knew there would be so much discrimination against what goes against the norm. It’s just the way society is designed to serve the majority, from even physical structures, and it’s nobody’s fault that things are the way they are,” says Audrey. “That’s why we must do something to change it, and I feel encouraged by how much progress there’s been in the arts scene. We do this, and keep doing it, because it has the power to change people. I remember back at the 2018 concert, I met people leaving the venue in tears, not out of sadness or pity, but just how overwhelmed they were at the sheer amount of talent onstage, wondering what if it was them, or their own child onstage.”
“There is so much powerful pathos that only the arts offers, and more than ever, I believe that we need to put aside our differences and work together. People need to see that miracles can happen when people collaborate and embrace differences, and stop thinking of it as a burden, but as a strength. That is what I believe is the only way forward for society, if we are truly to find value in diversity and inclusion.”
COLONY – A True Colors Project plays from 30th May to 1st June 2025 at the Drama Centre Theatre.Tickets available from BookMyShow
The 2025 Singapore International Festival of Arts runs from 16th May to 1st June 2025. Tickets and more available here
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