A lot of friends and acquaintances often joke that I have a road named after me. Overseas friends find this even more amusing when they pass by Kim Seng Road.

I tell them that Kim Seng Road is named after Tan Kim Seng, not Neo Kim Seng. I will always add, "But I have a grandfather's road. It's named after my grandfather." They always think that I am joking. But no, I really have a grandfather's road.&nbsp;

My paternal grandfather is Neo Pee Teck. The road named after him is Neo Pee Teck Lane, along Pa

My Grandfather's Road

Writer

Archipelago Press

William Teo was one of the pioneers of Singapore's English-language theatre in the 1980s and 1990s. While he made his mark initially through the peerless visual qualities of his staging, William's later works were pared down, more focused on people and character. He sought to communicate for contemporary audiences the otherworldly quality he found in Asian traditional performance, for ultimately, as Kuo Pao Kun has written in an introductory text, William Teo's work was an exploration of the spiritual quali

William Teo: His work in theatre

Cake Theatrical Productions

Cake’s studio undergoes a complete strip down, making way for a 124ft X 21ft cavern for art. Running with Strippers features artists and their creations, spilling across genres from performance to performance art, installation to performance installation and music; each segment adding up to three nights of alternative artistic encounters brought to you by artists across disciplines bent on designing original work with a spirit of experimentation and exposing varying degrees of nakedness, metaphorical or oth

Running With Strippers (2015)

Playwright

Before going under, a man is told that patients hallucinate during surgery. He wakes up thirteen and a half hours later and cannot remember a single thing.

Decimal Points 810&nbsp;is one man's hallucination of a hallucination that never took place. What was going on during the eight hundred and ten minutes of his existence that was lost in oblivion? Where does the mind go when the body lies there in inertia? Where does the mind go during eight hundred and ten minutes of unconsciousness?

Decimal Points

Decimal Points 810 (2014)

Conceptualizer

Director

Wild Rice

Charles Koh, a writer whose first wife Elvira has been dead for seven years, has been reasonably happy with his second wife Ruth. To collect material for his new book, he invites Madame Arcati, a local medium, to conduct a seance at their home...


Blithe Spirit (2001)

Stage Manager

In Source Theatre

Drumming Dreams&nbsp;delves into the human consciousness as well as the sub-conscious part of our being through a myriad of drumming, movement, images and sounds. With a hybrid of old dialect songs interfused with original and philosophical texts (in English) derived from various authors, the piece attempts to explore the nature of the human psyche.


Drumming Dreams (2001)

Lighting Designer

William Teo

Asia-in-Theatre Research Centre

Inspired by the true story of Bophana, who coped with torture at the hands of the Pol Pot henchmen by retreating into the rich imaginative and spiritual world of the Ramayana and imagining herself to be Sita.

Where do some extraordinary individuals find the reserves of strength to withstand physical pain and mental torture? I was very drawn to the idea that a self-created inner world of the aesthetic imagination could be a source of such a spiritual strength and sustenance. For Bophana, the Ramayana epic

Sita (2000)

Crew

Singapore Repertory Theatre

"I'm a man who loved a woman created by a man. Everything else - simply falls short."

In 1986 news broke of a French diplomat stationed in Beijing and his Chinese opera star lover. Not only had the diplomat failed to recognise that his lover was a PRC spy, he'd also failed to figure out that she was a man!

This is the story of what might have happened...&nbsp;


M. Butterfly (1999)

Some little girls have breasts that are too big; some little girls have breasts that are too small; some little girls have breasts that are just right!

Susie is happily married and is currently expecting her first child. Monica, her close friend, is now with an&nbsp;ang-moh&nbsp;lover. However, he is thinking of giving her breast implants as a wedding present. Mei, who is the "third Musketeer", is a doctor whose modern views always seem to be contrary to those of Susie's mother, Mrs Lim - a traditional o

Breastissues (1997)

Sound Operator

ACTION Theatre

Joined at the chest by a mysterious band of flesh at birth, the&nbsp;famed Siamese twins Chang and Eng were destined to spend&nbsp;every moment of their lives together. Despite their handicap,&nbsp;their incredible courage enabled the twins to face their disability&nbsp;and lead normal lives; even fathering 21 children between them!

Their heartwarming and intriguing story will be brought to&nbsp;life in an original new musical that traces the twins’ childhood,&nbsp;marriage and their dreams of living sep

Chang & Eng (1997)

Follow-Spot Operator

A modern-day Romeo and Juliet story with a twist – instead of objecting to the love, the respective parents actually conspire to match-make their son and daughter, assisted by an outrageous and suave go-between. Come and be enchanted by the lovely melodies of this simple and sincere musical that will stay in your head for days after.&nbsp;


The Fantasticks (1997)

Bergman's Nora is not merely a flighty, chirpy songbird who inhibits Helmer's cage, although she does play that role, but "a woman of under terrible stress" filled with a sense of being unsatisfied...

As the play progress, Nora's illusions, and her ability to live in them, come under more and more pressure, until in the penultimate scene, her husband destroys her most sustaining illusion, that he will be grateful to her for saving his life.


Nora (1997)

A poetic saga of one man's quest for the peace of understanding.

SIDDHARTHA is an original adaptation by Sonny Lim of Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse's most famous, influential and well-loved work. Siddhartha the young seeker goes on a journey to look for truth and enlightenment. He goes through the fire of pleasure and pain and finally achieves what he had craved for: a new life of fulfilment, peace and tranquility. As a moral tale, with its subtle distillation of wisdom. SIDDHARTHA is free from preten

Siddhartha (1997)

Programme Designer

T:>Works (TheatreWorks)

Mild-mannered schoolteacher Miss Vanda meets Chinese-educated engineer Victor at a Friendship Development Unit (FDU) party. Before their romance can blossom, she is cruelly struck by a TV set hurled out of a HDB flat in Toa Payoh. At NUH, neurosurgeons rebuild her into the perfect Singaporean woman (or so they think). But the new Vanda, now renamed Ruby, not only has amnesia, but she also has a microchip in her brain which causes her to pick up TV signals. Does Ruby’s plastic surgeon have more than a cosmet

Mixed Signals (1997)

Sound

Harold is a deeply unhappy young man who frequents funerals. Maude is a free-spirited rebel who fights injustice in her own small ways. She liberates, invents and inspires, lifting the mundane to simple beauty.

Set in a surreal landscape, Colin Higgins has crafted brilliant comedic situations to showcase the cast of funny, sad and eccentric characters.

But the true beauty of this play lies in what it reveals about ourselves. Beneath the laughter of Harold &amp; Maude lies its sensitivity to the human 

Harold & Maude (1996)

Music & Movement Singapore

A Comedy That Is Literally Out-Of-This-World. And what do we mean by out of this world? Imagine this - a play whose five main characters, the KARMA KOMMITTEE, act as "guardian angels", dabbling in the protagonist's life, often with hilarious results! The protagonist - James Lee - in all his self-centredness is another character to watch closely. The play follows James' life and times, actually two life-times and how he loses and redeems himself. Guiding James and the audience is the KARMA KOMMITTEE, who are

Karma Kommittee (1996)

Video Manager

The Cultural Service of the French Embassy always finds great pleasure in congratulating and supporting William Teo and Asia In Theatre Research Centre. This is especially so when they present Project Aspara, a showcase of the rich and diverse culture of Cambodia, narrates in an epic form the destruction of a nation and its culture and its traditional way of life. Epic and tragedy come close and this story touches us very deeply. As William Teo says: "It is an important historical tragedy that concerns not 

Year Zero: The Historical Tragedy of Cambodia (1996)

Described as "the great story of mankind", The Mahabharata tells the story of a long and bloody war between two cousins: the Pandavas of five brothers and the Kauravas of whom there were a hundred. The power struggle ends with an enormous battle that would determine the fate of the world. The Game of Dice traces the journey of the creation of the Pandavas and Kauravas. It is a journey taken by humanity since the beginning of time. A lifetime of choices presented, each with an effect on the rest of nature. C

The Mahabharata Part I: The Game of Dice (1995)

National Arts Council

On the surface, The Dragon King is a simple story from the 13th century Yuan Dynasty. However, investigation of the varied workshops that lead to the production is difficult as no outsiders can attend rehearsals unless they are prepared to join in. The group have investigated yoga, Indian Kathakali dance, meditation, lectures on the ancient Chinese text, the nature of percussion music, they observed animals reactions on a night safari.... The actors' thoughts at the end of a 12-week workshop session throw s

The Dragon King (1994)

For the Festival,&nbsp;Theatreworks will present Scorpion Orchid, a&nbsp;play based on well-known author Lloyd&nbsp;Fernando's book of the same title.&nbsp;Set in Singapore in the early 1950's, the play explores the&nbsp;lives and relationships of five characters and their&nbsp;struggle together during the country’s period of&nbsp;political and racial crisis and turmoil. The play, a&nbsp;new work, won second prize in the NST-Esso&nbsp;Playwriting&nbsp;Competition this year, the first such&nbsp;competition t

Scorpion Orchid (1994)

Collaterals

Macbeth is categorised broadly as one of Shakespeare's Histories. However, unlike the other historical plays, history is not shown as the Grand Mechanism but rather as a nightmare. Whether mechanism or nightmare, both remain different, illustrating the same struggle for power and the crown. The different metaphors reflect different philosophies - history as a mechanism is characterised by its inevitability, whereas the nightmare paralyses and terrifies. In Macbeth, history, as well as crime, is shown throug

The Tragedy of Macbeth (1993)

A delightful night at the theatre, with an ASEAN play that’s witty and poignant, culturally rich and beautifully crafted… and yes, it is in English! Ten family members hit the long road to Manila in high spirits. They’re heading south for their father’s funeral. Along the way, the journey becomes an allegory for each of them. A personal odyssey revealing humour, horror, guilt, modern attitudes and traditional forces.


Trip to the South (1991)

Front of House

A festival of Singapore plays from the years 1960 to 1990,&nbsp;The Retrospective&nbsp;is held in recognition of the playwright’s role in the national dramatic fabric. The seven plays chosen for the festival trace the developing consciousness of Singaporeans. The reinterpretation of these seven plays by their respective directors in their search for contemporary themes is of special interest. The festival also represents the beginning of TheatreWorks’ overall focus on the playwright in the 90s. It heralds t

The Retrospective: A Festival Of Singapore Plays 1960 - 1990

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Centre 42

Neo Kim Seng grew up in Pasir Panjang on Neo Pee Teck Lane, a side road named after his grandfather, until he moved out in 1973.&nbsp;My Grandfather’s Road&nbsp;is a collection of stories of the familial haven that stood along the road, stories that have helped him reconnect with his idyllic childhood and his family’s history. It does not dwell in nostalgia but instead explores how personal stories make us who we are.

The latest iteration of&nbsp;My Grandfather’s Road&nbsp;includes new stories that were 

My Grandfather’s Road (Rhds) 阿爺條路 ～ 兔心龍魂 by Neo Kim Seng

My Grandfather’s Road was first presented in 2015 as an English-language monologue, a photo exhibition and a book. It was conceived and written by Neo Kim Seng as a way of reconnecting with childhood memories of living on Neo Pee Teck Lane, which was named after his paternal grandfather. In 2017, Kim Seng revisits the text of My Grandfather’s Road, refreshing it in the spoken language of his childhood – Cantonese. He also explores Cantonese as it is spoken on both sides of the Causeway. There will be two ve

The Vault: My Grandfather’s Road 我阿公的路

Asia-in-Theatre Research Circus (ATRC) was founded in 1987 by the late William Teo. For 15 years, the theatre company, with Teo as its artistic director, created and produced some of Singapore’s most unique and visually-arresting English-language productions. ATRC was in search of a new theatrical expression, experimenting with merging various Asian performing arts traditions with English-language contemporary theatre. With Teo’s sudden passing in 2001, ATRC ceased operations soon after.

To commemorate t

Neo Kim Seng

PARTICIPATION IN C42

WORKS DOCUMENTED IN THE ARCHIVE

Neo Kim Seng

PARTICIPATION IN C42

WORKS DOCUMENTED IN THE ARCHIVE

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