SRT, La Boite Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company’s karaoke-inspired ghost story struggles to find the note.

Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Congratulations, Get Rich! arrives with an impressive pedigree, marking a first-time co-production between SRT, Sydney Theatre Company, and Brisbane’s La Boite Theatre. Written by and starring Merlynn Tong, the play promises a raucous blend of karaoke comedy, family tragedy, and ghostly intervention. On paper, it sounds like a riot, but on stage, it feels more like a hangover.

The setup is simple: Mandy (Tong), the frazzled owner of a failing karaoke bar, is celebrating her 38th birthday when two unexpected guests turn up, one of them being her long-dead mother. Under Courtney Stewart’s direction, the production attempts to juggle slapstick chaos and emotional sincerity, but the tone wobbles so frequently it’s hard to tell when we’re meant to laugh or feel something deeper.

James Lew’s set, a compact, kitsch collage of Chinese ornaments, glowing lucky cats, and glittery karaoke paraphernalia, sets the right mood at first glance, but soon starts to resemble a caricature of “Asian décor” more than an authentic space. It’s the kind of setting you’d expect in a themed restaurant rather than a family-run bar, and that disconnect becomes symbolic of the play’s larger problems: sincerity drowning under self-conscious style. There is clearly an attempt at representation, but especially in multicultural Singapore, the set comes off more as gaudy than sincere.

Tong’s script has flashes of wit and heart, especially in its exploration of grief and superstition; Mandy still clings to a red funeral string around her wrist, unable to let go of her mother’s death. Yet the writing too often feels like a first draft: scenes drag, gags overstay their welcome, and moments of emotional truth are undermined by frantic, uneven pacing. The inclusion of bizarre side-plots, including odd UFC reference, that only adds to the confusion.

Even within these limits though, the cast works valiantly to deliver emotion. Tong herself brings a grounded vulnerability to Mandy, even when the dialogue she writes lets her down. Seong Hui Xuan delivers moments of emotional clarity as Mandy’s mother, while Kimie Tsukakoshi and Zac Boulton inject bursts of energy, though even their charisma can’t rescue the show from its tonal whiplash.

Musically, the show falters. Despite Guy Webster’s best efforts as composer and sound designer, the karaoke numbers, of which there are several, feel flat, under-rehearsed, and emotionally disconnected. None of the cast have strong vocals, and while that might be forgivable in a karaoke setting, it doesn’t translate into intentional comedy here, and feels more like a missed opportunity, pulling down the show each time they sing.

Gabriel Chan’s lighting, however, is a quiet triumph. His deft control of mood and atmosphere gives the production its few genuinely magical moments, especially in scenes where the dead slip between worlds. The use of overhead lights to carve out surreal, almost cinematic transitions suggests what the play could have been with a stronger dramaturgical spine. Unfortunately, that also can’t save the clunky blackouts and awkward scene changes that repeatedly kill the momentum.

By the time Mandy releases her symbolic red string in the final moments, a gesture meant to free her from grief, the audience’s sigh feels less like catharsis and more like relief. The show drags on past several false endings, each less convincing than the last, until it finally collapses under the weight of its own sentimentality.

Congratulations, Get Rich! wants to be a genre-bending, cross-cultural karaoke spectacular about grief, ghosts, and growing up. Instead, it ends up as a patchy, uneven night out, unfortunately too loud to be moving, too messy to be fun. Cross-country partnerships between theatres are vital in growing new voices and expanding artistic exchange, but this one perhaps needed more time in the rehearsal room to find its rhythm.

Photo Credit: Tuckys Photography

Congratulations, Get Rich! plays from 29th October to 9th November 2025 at the Drama Centre Theatre. Tickets available here

Production Credits

Playwright Merlynn Tong Director Courtney Stewart Cast Zac Boulton, Seong Hui Xuan, Merlynn Tong, Kimie Tsukakoshi Set & Costume Designer James Lew Composer & Sound Designer Guy Webster Lighting Designer Gabriel Chan Stage Manager Peter Sutherland