In a world shaped by uncertainty, shifting power structures and contested truths, theatre becomes more than entertainment, and becomes a space to question, reflect and connect. This year, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay launches a bold new chapter of The Studios, its annual theatre season, with Precarious Bodies, a thought-provoking exploration of vulnerability, control and the invisible forces that shape our lives.

Running from 24th July to 6th September, the season brings together five boundary-pushing productions from Singapore and around the world, examining how power operates through systems, relationships and everyday interactions. Through documentary theatre, movement, music, video and immersive social experiments, Precarious Bodies invites audiences to reflect on what it means to live in uncertain times, and how empathy, resistance and human connection continue to emerge within them.

Opening the season this year is Fragments of Tuah by Malaysia’s Five Arts Centre, which revisits the legendary figure of Hang Tuah through documentary theatre and original music, questioning how myths are shaped, remembered and used to define ideas of loyalty, identity and power. Rather than presenting a straightforward retelling, the work pieces together archival texts, songs, school narratives and imagined memories to uncover the contradictions and erasures behind one of Malaysia’s most enduring national icons.

Developed over three years by theatre-maker Mark Teh and collaborators, the production invites audiences to reflect on who gets to shape history, and what is left out in the process.

In Blind Runner, Iranian director Amir Reza Koohestani crafts a quietly powerful story about surveillance, oppression and the pursuit of freedom. The play follows a man visiting his imprisoned activist wife while forming an unexpected bond with a blind marathon runner he has agreed to guide through a race in Paris. As trust grows between them, a dangerous plan begins to take shape.

Blending live performance with video, the production explores connection and resilience under systems of control, while tracing how acts of care and solidarity can emerge even in deeply restrictive circumstances.

Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed turns conventional theatre on its head with Handle With Care, an immersive performance with no actors, no stage crew and no fixed narrative, only a box placed at the centre of the stage and the audience itself. Guided by a series of instructions, strangers gradually shape the experience together in real time.

What begins with uncertainty slowly transforms into an intimate and deeply human encounter, where fleeting moments of vulnerability, trust and connection emerge between audience members. No two performances are ever the same, making each experience entirely unique and unrepeatable. Read our review here

Award-winning Australian company Back to Back Theatre presents MULTIPLE BAD THINGS, a darkly funny and unsettling examination of workplace dynamics, social exclusion and collective behaviour. Set in a warehouse where three employees struggle through an increasingly absurd task, the production reveals how politeness can quickly descend into manipulation, scapegoating and cruelty.

Created with performers who identify as neurodivergent or intellectually disabled, the work challenges audiences to confront uncomfortable truths about complicity, privilege and the ways language and systems can marginalise the vulnerable.

Created by visually-impaired theatre-maker Claire Teo and ART:DIS, MONSTRESS follows the lives of a blind girl, an autistic boy and his struggling single mother as they navigate a world shaped by rigid social expectations and a lack of compassion. As unexpected friendships form between neighbours, hidden tensions and quiet acts of harm begin to surface behind closed doors.

Blending text, movement, sound and creative captioning, the production examines the behaviours society chooses to ignore and asks difficult questions about neglect, silence and the systems that fail vulnerable communities before it is too late.

As the first instalment of a new three-year thematic Power Trilogy by The Studios, Precarious Bodies opens up a timely conversation about the ways power shapes our bodies, choices and relationships. Together, these works challenge audiences to sit with discomfort, question familiar narratives and consider what it means to care for one another in an increasingly fragile world.

The Studios 2026 – Precarious Bodies runs from July to September 2026 at the Esplanade. Full programme and tickets available here