In a world where people confess their deepest thoughts to their phones and swipe through romance like a catalogue, the idea of designing your perfect partner doesn’t feel all that far-fetched. But what happens when “perfect” starts to feel… unsettling? That’s the question governing Myles – Soulmate in a Box, a bold new musical by Singaporean musician and composer Inch Chua, now reimagined as a full-scale theatrical experience by Singapore Repertory Theatre.

Originally introduced at the Singapore International Festival of Arts in 2024, the production returns bigger, richer, and more immersive—blending live music, multimedia, and striking visuals into something that feels as much like a concert as it does a piece of theatre.

At the centre of the story is a version of Inch herself: a coder exhausted by the emotional dead ends of modern dating. Instead of waiting for the right person to come along, she decides to build him. Enter Myles—an AI boyfriend who listens, adapts, and anticipates her every need. He’s attentive. He’s patient. He never gets it wrong.

At first, it feels like a dream. But as Myles evolves—becoming more intuitive, more devoted, more present than any human could be—something begins to shift. Because when love is designed to be flawless, it raises an uncomfortable question: is imperfection actually what makes connection real?

“I’ve always felt like a lonely person,” says Inch Chua. “And I’m not the only one — people are having their most honest conversations with their phones instead of admitting it. We’re living through a moment where technology is learning to sound like love, and I wanted to write a show that sits inside that tension — what happens when the thing that understands you best isn’t human.”

The musical doesn’t just imagine futuristic romance but also reflects the present moment, where technology is learning to mimic empathy, intimacy, even desire. And it asks: if something understands you perfectly, does it matter that it isn’t human?

If the premise feels genre-defying, the music follows suit. Inch describes the score as something like “ADHD in musical form”—a collision of styles that refuses to settle into one identity. Think jazz standards dissolving into hyperpop, gospel swelling into electronica, with unexpected textures woven throughout.

“It’s quite genre-bending,” Inch explains. “If you built a mind from every song ever made, it wouldn’t pick a genre. It would be all of them at once. Jazz standards bleeding into hyperpop, gospel into electronica, a Latin choir into something that hasn’t been invented yet.”

The result is a soundscape that mirrors the show’s themes: fluid, unpredictable, and impossible to neatly categorise. One of the standout tracks, marigold magic, will be released as a single on 30th April 2026, offering audiences a way to carry a piece of the show’s emotional world into their everyday lives.

Gaurav Kripalani, Artistic Director of SRT, adds: “Myles – Soulmate in a Box is exactly the kind of bold, contemporary work SRT is proud to champion. It is playful, provocative, inventive, and deeply human. Inch brings a rare originality to the stage, and this production speaks directly to audiences living in a world where technology is reshaping how we connect, how we desire, and how we understand ourselves.”

This isn’t just a story about AI or dating. It’s about the human need to be seen, understood, and loved—fully, completely, and without compromise. And whether that kind of connection can (or should) ever be programmed. Whether you go for the music, the spectacle, or the thought-provoking premise, one thing’s certain: you’ll leave wondering what love really means in a world where even it can be engineered.

Myles – Soulmate in a Box opens from 13 May 2026 at the KC Arts Centre. Tickets available here