Preview: Hope (Harap) [The Studios 2017]

“A badly decomposed corpse was found floating on Singapore River early this morning…” Teater Ekamatra rounds off The Studios’ 2017 season with Hope (Harap), with an adaptation of Haresh Sharma’s 1994 script into Malay by Zulfadli Rashid.  Hope (Harap) explores the dynamics of a family and their friends, and the importance of their individual hope as the drive for their dreams, the very basis for desire and … Continue reading Preview: Hope (Harap) [The Studios 2017]

Preview: This Chord and Others [The Studios 2017]

Get ready for a blast from the past during the 2017 season of the Esplanade’s The Studios when Haresh Sharma’s 1991 play is given a new breath of life in this restaging headed by Timothy Nga! Last performed in 2000, This Chord and Others is a comedy about friendship and identity through the eyes of three young friends: Sukdev, Gerald and Thomas. The three friends work together … Continue reading Preview: This Chord and Others [The Studios 2017]

The Studios 2017: With/Out (Review)

How do you remember a life? In 1999, The Necessary Stage presented Completely With/Out Character, where Singapore’s first openly HIV-positive man, Paddy Chew, performed a true, heartfelt monologue about his life, unfortunately passing away a few months after the end of the production. For those who have never heard of Paddy Chew however, his story remains unknown to them, and the chance to feel and experience it … Continue reading The Studios 2017: With/Out (Review)

Preview: With/Out [The Studios 2017]

In 1999, The Necessary Stage worked with Singapore’s first openly HIV-positive person Paddy Chew to devise a monologue titled Completely With/Out Character, depicting Paddy’s experiences. Though well received, Paddy passed on a few months after the production, and few works since have so openly dealt with the condition of living with HIV. More than a decade later, Loo Zihan revisits the work, reinterpreting Paddy’s monologue and reconceptualising the … Continue reading Preview: With/Out [The Studios 2017]

Review: Fundamentally Happy by Nine Years Theatre [Studios 2017]

Wait a minute, a collaboration between Nine Years Theatre and Haresh Sharma? You didn’t just misread that. First presented in 2006 by The Necessary Stage in its original English language, Fundamentally Happy has since bagged Best Production and Best Original Script at the 2007 ST Life Theatre Awards and is still making its rounds on the big screen via the 2015 film adaptation by 13 … Continue reading Review: Fundamentally Happy by Nine Years Theatre [Studios 2017]

Review: Family Secrets by The Necessary Stage

From the schoolyard to a dementia day care center- The Necessary Stage has definitely been busy! In addition to their recent production of the classic Those Who Can’t, Teach, TNS continues its 30th anniversary celebrations during that very same weekend with Family Secrets, a Theatre For Seniors double-bill centered around the elderly and their families. In this restaging, Cultural Medallion winner and playwright Haresh Sharma … Continue reading Review: Family Secrets by The Necessary Stage

Preview: Esplanade’s The Studios: Margins

The Esplanade’s 2017 Season of the Studios is titled Margins, and will feature four plays by The Necessary Stage’s Haresh Sharma, as various other artists tackle his long and illustrious history of works. Check it out this March and April, and here’s a glimpse of what’s in store: Fundamentally Happy Nelson Chia takes on this award-winning script by giving it the Nine Years Theatre treatment and … Continue reading Preview: Esplanade’s The Studios: Margins

Preview: Fundamentally Happy by Nine Years Theatre

Award winning and critically acclaimed Nine Years Theatre opens their 2017 season with a production of Fundamentally Happy, Haresh Sharma’s Life! Theatre Award winning script (Best Production, Best Script 2007) first staged by The Necessary Stage. Fundamentally Happy is a two character play that follows 30 year old Eric (Timothy Wan) as he revisits his childhood neighbour Habiba (Lok Meng Chue), as the place he spent … Continue reading Preview: Fundamentally Happy by Nine Years Theatre

Huayi Festival 2017: Actor, Forty by The Necessary Stage (Preview)

The Necessary Stage makes their foray into the Chinese theatre scene in this special commission for the annual Huayi Festival! Actor, Forty features Golden Horse Award-winning actress Yeo Yann Yann returning to the stage in a brand new monologue in collaboration TNS’ Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma. Actor, Forty promises an honest, informal and conversational look at the way we take on various identities throughout our lives, similar … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2017: Actor, Forty by The Necessary Stage (Preview)

Preview: Dear Jay by Blue Bean Productions

All new theatre company Blue Bean Productions will be staging their first ever production this December! Written by up and coming poet-playwright Euginia Tan, her latest piece Dear Jay hopes to bring mental illness to the forefront of audiences’ minds, as we follow the grieving process of Leonard (producer Benedict Leong) when his close friend suddenly leaves him. Conceived by Tan and Leong after a discussion … Continue reading Preview: Dear Jay by Blue Bean Productions