This June, Pangdemonium unveils the world premiere of Singapore, Michigan, a bold, genre-defying new work that weaves together forgotten history, emotional truth, and sharp humour. Written by emerging playwright Chong An Ong and developed under Pangdemonium’s New Works Lab, the play follows three friends (two Singaporeans and one American) as they travel to the ghost town of Singapore, Michigan, in search of stories buried under snow and time. Their road trip through the desolate Midwest becomes a meditation on identity, ambition, and the tension between personal dreams and cultural duty.

Inspired by a real 19th-century port town that once aspired to rival Chicago before vanishing into obscurity, Singapore, Michigan blends biting wit with emotional vulnerability. As secrets unravel and the past echoes into the present, the play challenges audiences to reflect on what it means to be Singaporean in a rapidly shifting world. Helmed by director Timothy Koh and brought to life by a talented cast including Shrey Bhargava, Shu Yi Ching, and Zane Haney, this debut production promises an evening of theatrical discovery that is as thought-provoking as it is heartfelt.

Singapore, Michigan was first presented to the public last year, as part of the Singapore International Festival of Arts’ (SIFA) Tomorrow and Tomorrow showcase of works-in-progress, whereby the team received useful feedback on how to further improve the script and staging. As Chong An reflects: “A very gratifying part of the read last year was being able to feel the audience lean in and react to the twists and turns as it was happening. And part of the conversation we’ve had since then is really dialling into that, figuring out the moments where, actually, this moment can go even further, how we can amp up that feeling.”

Both Chong An and Timothy describe the past year as a time of deepening and sharpening the play.“ I came out of the SIFA read being like, here’s what’s not working. Here’s the job ahead. Workshops are so crucial, because nothing comes out of the oven ready. That read really gave us the map for the next 12 months,” says director Tim. “I think the character that went through the most changes is the one that Shuyi plays. A lot of the work this year was figuring her out, her desires, her goals, her circumstances, and why we should root for this person.”

Chong An agrees. “We’ve added a new scene, and once rehearsals began, we also sanded it down as a whole, making it even more economical, making it even more alive, where not everything has to be spoken through dialogue. Certain things can just be one actor reacting to another, and we realise that oh actually, it’s more exciting to see the reaction play out.”

“The skeleton is there,” adds Tim, “but what we’ve done is trim the fat and build muscle. This is a much more muscular piece of storytelling. Each of the three characters has undergone a reinvestigation, where we’ve demanded of ourselves as artists: How can we tell the most complex and rigorous version of this story? We’ve looked at every line. Almost every word has been either torn off and rephrased, or put into a new thing, or given a whole new journey.”

The story’s genesis is as fascinating as its evolution. Chong An began writing Singapore, Michigan in the winter of 2020, during a moment of profound transition. “I was graduating from college. I was about to come back to Singapore to serve my bond. This is a surreal, full-circle moment, having my professional debut with Pangdemonium, because one of my first experiences in theatre was watching a Pangdemonium production actually. I walked out of the theatre that night changed. I wouldn’t have had this idea of writing anything for a wider audience if not for that experience.”

Though he studied economics in Chicago as a government scholar, theatre became an unexpected but vital outlet. “I received a world-class education, and it triggered all kinds of epiphanies. Talking to Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans, struggling with questions like, do I want to stay here? What do I want to do with my life? When I first wrote the script, I was in the same place in life as these characters. I wanted to write something that felt true to my experience, and ultimately question what it means to be home”

“I think I set out to write something that would speak to that universal question. Where do I belong? Even if you haven’t lived overseas, everyone’s had moments of wondering, could things be different?” he adds. One of the Singaporean characters in the play, like Chong An, would not have studied abroad without a scholarship. “From last year’s draft, we dug more into that, especially regarding his complicated feelings. That’s a much stronger part of his journey now.”

Reflecting on the evolution of the script over several years, Chong An shares, “Yeah, I mean obviously the world has changed a lot. Myself personally I’ve changed a lot. I’ve done a lot of growing in the past 5 years as well and that has made its way into the script in terms of certain kinds of colours that we’ve tried to draw in the motivations. Having come back for a while now and refreshing myself in terms of the Singapore side of the American-Singapore contrast.”

“I will say I am very proud of this play because I feel like that was a very transitional point in my life when I first wrote it. I feel like I’m doing a lot of respect to the person I was as well then, even colouring in those new additional insights that I’ve gained and experiences that I’ve gained over the years. It is kind of tapping into the core memory and this is a question that the play investigates in terms of your identity, in terms of those kind of core memories; how firmly do they form a foundation, do they form a foundation for further growth, does it evolve or does it expand? I think that’s definitely something that we’ve drawn out over the course of development at the same time while respecting the original motivations but giving them additional depth, giving them additional counterpoints, kind of really expanding the tapestry of experiences and kind of philosophical thoughts.”

Timothy Koh also highlights the play’s intellectual depth and relevance: “Out of all the plays I got from 2023, this was the most intellectually sophisticated piece of writing and as I worked on it more I fell more in love with it. I hear the strain that talks about that the world has changed a lot and I think that this play is not trying to say that either country is the perfect place to live. I don’t think the play is trying to paint the US in this kind of bright, amazing light and I don’t think this play is trying to paint Singapore in this bright, amazing light. I think and I like that and I like that there is a lot of consideration in terms of making sure the play speaks to now. So even though he wrote it in 2020, this play is set today. We have TikTok, we have whatever, we have all these kind of things in the piece.”

So why set the play in Singapore, Michigan? “Honestly, it’s because I was in Chicago. It’s about a two-and-a-half-hour drive away, and I’d heard about it before, heck, PM Lee even mentioned it once in a National Day Rally. But the genesis was that I saw this incongruity between a modern-day Singaporean and this ghost town 200 years ago. They share a name but have nothing to do with each other. It’s like an alternate timeline. Our culture is obsessed with multiverses, so what if a Singaporean graduating soon visits this alternate Singapore?”

Adds Chong An: “One of the first pieces of writing advice that I received when I started thinking about taking this seriously and the kind of thing I wanted to do with my life was from the Singaporean writer Wena Poon. She said that when she writes, she imagines watching a TV show that she likes. And then you press play and write out what happens. And obviously, you know, she writes short stories, compared to me writing for theatre. And that allowed me to really develop it beyond just taking conversations we’ve had in real life and transplanting it to the script, to imagine how these characters are shaped and how they might talk in a different way from yourself or your friends.”

Although the pandemic prevented a planned spring production in 2020 and even a road trip to the real Singapore, Michigan, the play’s imagined journey became even more resonant. “I never went there myself,” admits Chong An. “So I think in that sense, I’m in the same place as the audience. Writing is an act of imagination, and it’s an act of kind of tapping into experiences that you hope will be common throughout different people, even if they’ve never been to the place so hopefully you know, it will tap into those kinds of fun days you had back in university kind of joking around with your close friends but then in the jokes, some kind of like deeper introspections about bigger life questions come into the fore and it kind of weaves in and out and so those are hopefully things that people who are not familiar with Michigan will still relate to.”

Director Timothy Koh, who most recently directed Pangdemonium!’s production a A Doll’s House, Part 2, sees Singapore, Michigan as a chance to stretch his artistic voice. “I think it’s a huge risk,” he admits, “but I believe this play is going to work. The premise is unique. It’s about people talking about home while they’re not there. A lot of Singapore plays talk about home, but they’re set in Singapore. This one’s about Singaporeans outside, looking in, posing questions about geography, identity, belonging, desire and that excites me. This is also my most tech-heavy set to date, but at the heart of it, I’m trying to tell an honest story about complex people. I want the audience to feel like: if I were in that situation, I wouldn’t know how to react either.”

In this final version, the team has incorporated new material, including local myths and subtle cultural Easter eggs, while retaining the spirit of a late-night road trip full of banter, vulnerability, and the messy search for meaning. Chong An shares that he was deeply influenced by Sufjan Stevens’ 2003 Michigan album while writing the play. “That soundscape captured the experience of living in the Midwest. Hopefully, even people unfamiliar with Michigan will still relate.”

The production also promises to be a visual and emotional feast. “The set is going to be amazing,” says Chong An. “I’ve seen the mood boards, seen the actors bring the characters to life. I’ve teared up in the rehearsal room several times already just watching it unfold. As a longtime theatre fan and Pangdemonium fan, this would have been a play I’d have rushed to watch even if I didn’t write it, and it’s very different from their previous shows. It’s going to be a 5D experience: sensory, emotional, unexpected. Making art isn’t fun if it’s not scary. And this play, this process, has kept me awake in the best way.”

On the significance of this production for local theatre, Chong An shares: “It’s a bit scary. I’m very keenly aware that the only kind of new works that Pangdemonium has done before have been by all these like very kind of established artists. I see people who are not kind of, this is their professional debut. So I’m very grateful to the company for taking such a big chance with this.”

“It’s a bit daunting. But it’s also just kind of like, oh my god, I can’t believe it. It’s just a dream come true. And I’m just very happy that I’m here. I feel very lucky and honoured to be given this opportunity, and so many people have shown their support and excitement for it, and I’m really looking forward to presenting this piece that we’ve been working on for so long, and hope they appreciate its core message of making the most of the time we have together.”

Photo Credit: Pangdemonium!

Singapore, Michigan plays from 26th June to 11th July 2025 at the Singapore Airlines Theatre @ Lasalle College of Arts. Tickets and more information available here