spell#7

National Language Class&nbsp;is inspired by Chua Mia Tee’s iconic 1959 painting of a group of Chinese students learning Malay.&nbsp;Interactive and inventive, the performance begins by recreating the scene shown in the painting. Gradually, it turns its focus to the bigger political picture the painting was a part of, and to the gap between the future it envisaged, and the one that took its place. In Malay, Mandarin and English, the audience participates in an event that shifts from the humorous to the menac

National Language Class (2016)

Programme for&nbsp;National Language Class&nbsp;(2016).


National Language Class (2016), Programme

Family Duet (2013), Programme

What does it mean to be on stage with your grandma? Perform with your sister or dance with your child? In Family Duet, a multi-generational cast presents an off-beat mix of life experiences and perspectives of the world.

Reflecting spell#7's intimate and inventive approach to theatre-making, Family Duet highlights the questions that family living answers but rarely asks: What is it to live together? How did I get these eyes? Are we ever too young to fail, or too old to disappoint? Where are the emergency

Family Duet (2013)

In August 1926, an astounding crime stole the headlines and captured the imaginations of many in sleepy Singapura. Who shot Baba Tan? In the back of his head no less. What did his beautiful sister and the dashing robber who has made a career of crime have to do with it? What is their twisted tale of money, passion and deceit?

There is only one way to find out…

spell#7’s Kaylene Tan works with NUS writers to create a murder mystery audio trail inspired by an actual incident that happened at Neil Road. 

And Then There Was One (2013)

Programme for&nbsp;And Then There Was One&nbsp;(2013).


And Then There Was One (2013), Programme

Family Duet (2013), Flyer

Come to the Baba House. Pick up an mp3 player. And let a ghost take you walking.

Through this unique audio experience, audiences will experience the beautiful old house through different personalities which “inhabit” each mp3 player.

Created by a team of student writers and researchers, mainly from NUS, the characters have stories to tell, gossip to share and a confession or two to make, as they navigate the hearty complexities of domestic life. Who will you pick as your guide?

(Source: National Un

#157 - An Intimate Audio Encounter (2012)

This is a house that tells you stories - or rather, it makes you tell stories.

Tonight, we are looking for the ghosts who linger in a home long after the people have gone.

Tan Tay Po, who lived from 1891 to 1933, was the seventh wife of the Chinese business tycoon Cheong Fatt Tze. She is the inspiration for this ghost hunt.

Singaporean actress Tan Kheng Hua will be sharing a few ghost stories with you this evening. Who are the ghosts that live in the Blue Mansion? Why do they haunt the place?

As

No. 7 (2011)

No. 7 (2011), Programme

Combining traditional storytelling with theatrical experiment,&nbsp;Epic Poem of Malaya&nbsp;presents a kaleidoscopic vision of a society in flux. In a constantly shifting stage environment, a multi-generational cast unfolds an expansive, big-hearted story of Singapore seen from the sea.

A boy leaves Singapore for life on the South China Sea. He loves it, but history has other ideas. In a 1956 painting by the artist Chua Mia Tee, a passionate young man is declaiming a vision of the future; and there isn’

Epic Poem of Malaya (2010)

Flyer for&nbsp;Epic Poem of Malaya (2010).


Epic Poem of Malaya (2010), Flyer

Ghostwalking&nbsp;(2010) is a series of audio-video walks.

It takes the form of a download, which people will listen to or watch while on the train or exploring neighbourhoods off the North East Line (NEL).

Stories and memories are played out at the different locations. At a life’s end, what does one remember? A love, a heartbreak, a loss… perhaps a moment is replayed, over and over again. The narrator, Tony is haunted, or is he haunting these places?

He tells stories, lies, attempts to make sense 

Ghostwalking (2010)

Tree Duet (2009), Programme

Tree Duet is a meditative performance about our continuing entanglement with trees. Accompanied by pianist Shane Thio, performers Paul Rae and Kaylene Tan combine an intricately interwoven set of stories and reportage with simple actions and gestures to create a delicate theatrical ecology of sounds, words and images.

Eco-performance minus the moralizing, Tree Duet encompasses everything from the history of the Malayan rubber industry to carbon offsetting, the music of Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu to

Tree Duet (2009)

Dream-Home (2009), Programme

From dreamtime to realtime: a two-part work exploring our daily journey from the private to the public and back again.&nbsp;

Every working day millions of us get up still half asleep, look in the bathroom mirror and start the daily task of putting on a public face. This is&nbsp;Dream-Work. Then, as we clock off for the day, we slough off our workselves and fleetingly entertain other options. Our destination is&nbsp;Dream-Home.

Dream-Work&nbsp;and&nbsp;Dream-Home&nbsp;are two walking performances that 

Dream-Work/Dream-Home (2009)

Sky Duet&nbsp;is an audio companion designed for and inspired by the Singapore Flyer. Listeners access the work on the Singapore Flyer through headphones and an mp3 player, as they embark on a thirty-minute journey into the sky and back.

The Flyer is a dreamcatcher, spinning wheel, Jacob’s ladder, a giant radar tuning in on peoples’ thoughts and conversations about death, clouds, city lights…and all the small wonders that make up a life. The listener hears voices that move in and out of sync with their o

Sky Duet (2008)

Where do your memories live?

Tree/House is a two-part performance about how we remember in a city of forgetting. First a tree, then a house, providing the starting points for an exercise in modern storytelling, which weaves objects, images and anecdotes together in a provocative and poignant remembrance of things present.

Tree Duet explores our continuing entanglement with trees by presenting a theatrical meditation on the things they make us think and do. An eco-performance minus the moralizing, spel

Tree / House (2008)

Ho Tzu Nyen

Wild Rice

Programme for&nbsp;Tree / House (2008).


Tree / House (2008), Programme

In 1959, artist Chua Mia Tee painted a group of Chinese students learning Malay. Today, the painting is called 'National Language Class'. In their critically acclaimed play inspired by the painting, spell#7 revisit this vision of a future that never happened, and asks: how good is your national language?

Starting out as a language lesson with the audience, National Language Class stages multiple versions of Chua's iconic painting in a bid to get to grips with history, and resolve simmering tensions betwe

National Language Class (2008)

Flyer for&nbsp;National Language Class (2008).


National Language Class (2008), Flyer

Postcard for&nbsp;Tree Duet&nbsp;(2007).


Tree Duet (2007), Postcard

A wry meditation on our continuing entanglement with trees. Interweaving stories from colonial history and the modern Asian city with simple effects and actions, spell#7 creates a delicate theatrical ecology of ideas and images: eco-performance minus moralizing.


Tree Duet (2007)

Miscellaneous for Tree Duet (2007).

This collateral is a letter from spell#7 to its audience.


Tree Duet (2007), Miscellaneous

Programme for National Language Class &amp; Utama: Every Name In History Is I (2006).


National Language Class & Utama: Every Name In History Is I (2006), Programme

Remember a time when Singapore was forever Malaya? How about when it was forever Temasek? In this provocative double-bill on the origins and orange of our proud Republic, we reach back into history both ancient and recent and ask: how good is your National Language - and who was it you said founded this place? Part One - National Language Class - takes as its starting point an iconic 1959 painting of Chinese students learning Malay. As a language lesson unfolds, power is used and abused humorously, inventiv

National Language Class (2006)

By Part Two - Utama: Every Name In History Is I - the class has swapped night school for university. Presenting a lecture-demonstration that slowly undermines its own authority,&nbsp;Ho Tzu Nyen tells the gripping and bizarre tale of discovery and disappointment, Merlions and mangroves, princes and paintings, that lies at the hidden heart of a place very much like the one you live in today.


Utama: Every Name In History Is I (2006)

Remember a time when Singapore was forever Malaya? How about when it was forever Temasek? In this provocative double-bill on the origins and orange of our proud Republic, we reach back into history both ancient and recent and ask: how good is your National Language - and who was it you said founded this place?


National Language Class & Utama: Every Name In History Is I (2006)

Duets 2 (2006), Postcards

Duets 2 (2006), Programme

Each April, spell#7 presents a new performance about life and love to the Power of Two.

This year, performer Paul Rae adds two new snapshots to the album. In XO, Paul shares a cognac with a certain troubled Thai politician, and draws on his travels in Thailand and his encounters with death to suggest an unusual solution to his drinking buddy's problems.

In Enfold, Paul hooks up with Jeremy Hsu, a Chinese-American toddler from a kid's TV show. As he takes instruction from Jeremy in the fine art of fold

Duets 2 (2006)

Got a problem? Because I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, and maybe between us, we can work out a treatment. Take advantage of this free consultation to diagnose some of those nagging irritations, soothe that pain in the neck, maybe even sort out that Achilles hell. We'll be probing into some of the Big Questions, and taking the temperature of some possible answers. With a finger on the pulse of the Fringe Festival, and an eye on society's vital signs, Consultation is a ten-minute dialogue about a 

Consultation (2006)

Looking for some direction in your life? Then visit Visitor Centre! Innovative arts group spell#7 invites you to a hospitality suite with a difference. Combining interactive events, performances, installations and public discussions, Visitor Centre will pamper and prod, delight and deceive, guide and beguile. All we ask in return is whatever that is you've got coming out of your mouth: a story, a memory, a motto, a curse, a shopping list…

Visitor Centre is part of spell#7’s ‘Public Relations’ project, wh

Visitor Centre 2005

Visitor Centre (2005), Flyer

Duets (2005), Postcards

A series of short, sharp duologues written and performed by Kaylene Tan and Paul Rae.&nbsp;Duets&nbsp;explores life and love to the power of two.&nbsp;

Interspersed with the sounds and stories of some of pop's most enduring duets, 10 vignettes chart the ups and downs of two people making a life together when they are supposed to be making a living. From the mundane to the magical, the frumpy to the funky, stories and told, music is played, and the sly work of love does its thing.


Duets (2005)

Duets (2005), Programme

Listen to the sounds, the stories, the noise, the whispers, the secrets, follow the orders, get lost, be found, investigate further, check the map, drink some water, keep your eyes peeled... Two narrators compete for your attention: ghosts or lovers, they have gone down this route many times before and this time they implore you to follow.

Along the way there is plenty to see, nothing to lose and much to discover.

Plunge yourself into a rich cinematic imaginary world suggested by sounds, music and voi

Desire Paths (2005 - 2010)

Brochures for&nbsp;Desire Paths (2005).


Desire Paths (2005), Brochures

Bodies in Flight

Centre 42 currently has limited information on this archive entry. If you possess any relevant information and/or archival material, please contact us at archive@centre42.sg.


Skinworks (2003)

Poster for&nbsp;The Year of Living Digitally (2003).


The Year of Living Digitally (2003), Poster

These are the years of living digitally.

Our lives are surrounded by technology: the latest, fastest, smallest and the coolest, hidden and invisible, vital and pointless, sinister and purely fashionable. Each fresh generation of computer or communication device brings about a million changes both large and miniscule. Changes that are virtually impossible to track.

Every day we find new ways to exist amongst extremely clever machines. The hard and software we have in our pockets, bags and bedrooms has 

The Year of Living Digitally 2003

Poster for&nbsp;Various Gangsters (2002).


Various Gangsters (2002), Poster

We... never thought we'd need each other like this. There are various gangsters in this world, and we are&nbsp;amongst them. Not easy, but possible. It’s about being together. Sharing space, energy, priorities. We look out for each other. Like I said before, we hold our own. We move, we move on, and a question arises: how do you move differently? How manoeuvre beyond the radar, deflect attention? We do not misbehave, not in any conventional sense. We are not rabble-rousers, insurgents, revolutionaries. We d

Various Gangsters (2002)

Programme for&nbsp;Various Gangsters (2002).


Various Gangsters (2002), Programme

Kinda Hot (2002), Poster

A performance tour of Little India.&nbsp;

(Source: spell#7 Poster)


Kinda Hot (2002)

The ambassador has been at large too long. Home once more, his thoughts turn to the places he's lived and the people he's loved. In his twilit memory, everything overlaps. The nun and the cowboy shoot the breeze, the ice queen gets fresh with the sleazebag, the pulp novelist writes stories of lost love fit to burst your heart. It's all one to the old man in the funny shirt, as he conjures fantasies out of forgetting, and festivities out of trauma: a remix, with a mashed up soundtrack to match, and digital i

7x7 (2002)

Poster for&nbsp;Beautiful Losers (2003).


Beautiful Losers (2003), Poster

Two beautiful losers scour the city for the relics of faith. As they bear witness to the heaven held in these everyday things, they deliver up lessons on impotence, the afterlife and other modern headaches. Not only do they share their prophecies and revelations with us, but also their take-outs and tidbits. During one of these lessons something bad happens and all hell is let loose. We can't say anymore about that now...


Beautiful Losers (2002)

Two women stake all love, all tenderness, all blood, sweat and tears on the final fling of the last night before Virtue comes a-knocking. My Last Night in Sin: a micro-musical about risks, riches and rolling good times.&nbsp;


My Last Night in Sin (2001)

fluffboy visited hunny.bunny's website, shygirl7 met 6wasabe9 in a chatroom. Now it's double happiness twice over. But real life is messy. Do you know where he's been? Does she? Across continents where differences of language and culture, shoe-size and disease resistance create turbulence in the flow of information and capital, Double Happiness jacks into the body that braves time-zones and economy class to get fleshy with another.


Double Happiness (2000)

Bud (1999), Programme

In&nbsp;Bud,&nbsp;two stories combine to make many. On the one hand, there is a tale of six performers in a Garden City, haunted by their life-changing experiences of a mysterious green-fingered cowboy called Bud. On the other, there are fragments of&nbsp;Mad Dog Blues:&nbsp;a madcap caper of a play by Sam Shepard populated by an assortment of lost and drifting casualties of popular culture.&nbsp;

At the heart of both stories if a quest: For a new Bud, and for treasure. And, as with all picaresque journe

Bud (1999)

High altitude, high drama. For the star with the beautiful feet, love is in the air. Come fly with&nbsp;Meena &amp; Me.


Meena and Me (1999)

apocalypso! (1997), Poster

apocalyso! is about finding yourself at the end of the millenium without a partner for the ball. It is about playing dirty to get one and coming clean as the clock strikes midnight. Inspired by the sounds and footsteps of Latin America and Cowboy Mouth by Sam Shepard, spell#7 throws in a few ingredients of their own: spying, romance, cultural differences, confessions and pre-millenial tension.


apocalypso! (1997)

<p>spell#7 was established in Singapore in 1997 by Kaylene Tan (Singapore) and Paul Rae (UK). Over the years, the company developed a distinctive and inventive focus on the ways history, culture and politics intersect in everyday life through intimate theatrical performances and environmental soundworks. &nbsp;</p>

<p>(Source: <a href="http://www.spell7performance.org">spell#7 Website</a>)</p>


spell#7 was founded in 1997 by husband-and-wife team, Paul Rae and Kaylene Tan. The couple met at the University of Bristol in England when they were studying drama. For the first two years of spell#7, Rae and Tan managed all aspects of their performances themselves, from writing and acting, to design and marketing. They even rehearsed in their own living room.

In 1999, they became the first group to be taken on by TheatreWorks as part of its resident-artist scheme. They were given administrative support

A Brief History of spell#7

After moving into their new home at 65 Kerbau Road in Little India in 2002, theatre company spell#7 wanted to introduce their audience to their neighbourhood. Their initial plan was for performers to bring groups of up to six people on a guided tour. Titled&nbsp;Kinda Hot, it was schedule to happen in July that year. It was ultimately cancelled, however, as it was refused a public entertainment license because it breached a rule stating that performers are not allowed to be “mingling” with the audience for 

spell#7

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