Math Paper Press

Three specially selected school plays by seasoned theatre practitioner Verena Tay, including the award-winning&nbsp;"The Car".&nbsp;These three plays tap into the realm of myth and fantasy, while still being firmly rooted in the reality of living day-to-day in modern Singapore. Understanding both the teaching and learning needs of the teacher and student, these plays are the keys towards nurturing a passion for theatre, and at the same time, fitting the curriculum.

(Source:&nbsp;The Car and Other Plays&n

The Car and Other Plays

Playwright

In the Company of Heroes,&nbsp;an anthology of seven plays by seasoned theatre practitioner Verena Tay, taps into the realm of myth and archetype, while still being firmly rooted in the reality of living day-to-day in modern Singapore. Comprising the award-winning&nbsp;The Car&nbsp;and the critically acclaimed&nbsp;Bumiputra Cina&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Lunar Interviews,&nbsp;plus other plays,&nbsp;In the Company of Heroes&nbsp;promises to warm your heart and ignite your imagination – an essential volume to any l

In the Company of Heroes

Who is the greater victim: the murderer or the murdered? These three plays delve deep into the psyche and lives of both parties to understand the darkest drives that exist within all of us.&nbsp;Macabre and grotesque, they reveal a previously hidden facet of my imagination.

– Verena Tay

(Source:&nbsp;Victimology&nbsp;blurb)


Victimology

Writer

Our Company

When her father dies, a young woman is left with his favourite Fiat Marvellete, a car ancient by Singapore standards, but by no means in pristine condition. She recalls the sometimes joyful, sometimes painful memories of sitting in the car, and is torn over keeping, selling or destroying a major link with her father.


The Car (2017)

The Substation

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


Bumiputra Cina (2009)

Collaborator

Magdalena

SPERM AND THE LUNAR INTERVIEWS: A DOUBLEBILL

Through seven monologues, The Lunar Interviews interweaves real life vignettes and moon goddess myths (i.e. Hina, Zhang E, Diana), exploring the themes of creation, nurturing, writing, men-women relationships, solitude, loneliness, exile and the Moon. Provocative and captivating, The Lunar Interviews humanises the mythic and brings the mythic into everyday reality.

(Source: Wild Rice Brochure)


The Lunar Interviews (2008)

Blood Binds: A Doublebill
Bond-Age and Just Late

Fiesty and fiercely independent May is forced by circumstances to depend on mousey Agnes&nbsp;to rescue her. Their little escapades forces them to confront their feelings of guilt and resentment towards their families, and to come to terms with aging and their evolving roles as mothers.

(Source: Wild Rice Programme)


Bond-Age (2008)

Co-Producer

Blood Binds: A Doublebill
Bond-Age and Just Late

Patrick, a blind man, goes to great lengths to prepare his 70th birthday party but his family doesn't show up. Assuming they are his grandchildren, Patrick lets 2 robbers into his home. Although the robbers' intention is to steal, one of them starts to form a bond with him. There is comedy with mistaken identities and contrasting personalities. There is pathos when the old man, after waiting 4 hours, begins to realise that his family never intended to com

Just Late (2008)

ACTION Theatre

The Car is semi-autobiographical. I began the play in 1996 just before my father passed away of cancer and did not complete it until 2005 under ACTION Theatre's Theatre Idol 2005 by awarded both the Jury Prize and the Audience Choice Award for "Best New Play". The Car was fully stated at The Esplanade Theatre Studio by ACTION Theatre in late July 2006. The premiere production was directed by Samantha Scott-Blackhall and was performed by Tony Quek, Noorlinah Mohamed and Gene Sha Rudyn. Since 2011, the play h

The Car (2006)

3 Women (2005)

Director

Performer

I Theatre

Stories fuelled by estrogen, testosterone and rage. I Theatre presents man. woman. child,&nbsp;a series of three original one act plays that illuminate yet cut across the distinctions between age and gender.

man: coffee with chris
Chris is an intelligent writer who's going places. Well, he was going places until his second novel bombed. Never mind! He's just written his third and it's bound to get noticed (by all the wrong people). Will he win hi agent's trust and gain immortaility, or will he be stuffe

man. woman. child (2003)

35@2000 begins with the mysterious disappearance of hundreds of Singaporeans and residents just before the dawn of the New Millennium. This leads to widespread chaos and the wildest of speculations: Have aliens landed? Is it Doomsday? Is it a government conspiracy? Above all, why have these people disappeared?

putting it together...

35@2000 is a devised play which began with no written script. The cast members were selected based on their performance ability and potential to contribute to what the cre

35@2000 (1999)

The Necessary Stage

Powerfully driven by the artistic team renowned for its daring forays into sensitive social issues, the dynamic ensemble of&nbsp;Walking Into Doors&nbsp;will give you a no punches pulled, in your face exposé of violence in the Singapore home.&nbsp;


Walking Into Doors (1998)

Researcher

Ode to a Father

I'd come home at night and see him.
Opening envelopes,
Tabulating orders,
Counting the money,
Collating different quantities.&nbsp;
Sorting photos, stamping them, writing down serial numbers,
Filling order envelopes.&nbsp;
Always systematic, always careful, always silent.

Or I'd come home at night and see him.
Rocking His Chair,
Watching Channel 8.
I'd say hi, he'd say hi, and then
He'd go back to laughing at whatever was on the screen.&nbsp;
Always focused, always keeping 

Silent Man (1998)

Creator

Superfriends at the Hall of Justice explores how a basic human function, such as communication, is problematised. Solipsism and narcissism replaces the humility to learn and the process of self-discovery. As the desire for stability and self-definition becomes the premise for existence, truth is no longer an important journey one takes to depart from the familiar centre.


Superfriends at the Hall of Justice (1998)

Cast

Island Stories&nbsp;is a series of sketches and songs featuring characters found in everyday life.


Island Stories (1997)

In LAND, a plot of land transforms from a cemetery to a condominium site. In the process, three stories are presented where ancestors are worshipped, ghosts are unearthed and a handphone becomes a murder weapon.


Land (1997)

Programme Editor

Sea&nbsp;is about two sisters on a boat trip. Trying to come to terms with an illness, they journey into different stories - of adventures, of humour, of horror.


Sea (1997)

What is your notion of beauty and what would you do to look beautiful? This play explores the social preoccupation with being thin and beautiful, and the potentially deadly lengths to which teens will go in order to look socially acceptable. Presented in an innovative and interesting manner, this play highlights issues of identity and positive self-esteem.


Mirror, Mirror (1997)

Teater Kami

An exploration of Malays and Chinese in Singapore past and present, the play is divided into six episodes:

Sang Nila Utama has a vision for tomorrow.

People run amok.

SitiMat tells the story of the nangka.

Three sisters try to resist rape.

Father knows best.

Virgins bathe at the well.

Using music, movement, humour and strong visuals,&nbsp;Pillars&nbsp;weaves yesterday's folklore and fables with today's images and metaphors, and brings you into a quirky new world which is also your home.

Pillars (1997)

This Theatre-In-Education programme deals with the themes of justice and responsibility. Students role-play as fishermen, farmers and hunters concerned about the fate of their fellow villager, Abdul. This highly interactive programme builds self-esteem and encourages students to express their opinions confidently and coherently.


The Legend of Bukit Merah (1997)

Have you changed?
How are you changing?
Do you know what you are changing into?

In a devised montage of drama, movement and music,&nbsp;Zoom!&nbsp;celebrates change and evolution in life - from child to teenager to adult, from geek to glam, from swaku to streetwise.

Zoom!&nbsp;also captures things which are all too familiar to us. How you always seem to have met someone somewhere, somehow, sometime in the past...&nbsp;

Or how people use designer or branded goods to hide who they really are...



Zoom! (1997)

Vivacious Jaqui meets solitary Robert ... one look, one chance, one lunch – are they right for each other? Sandra, newly married to Max, has more than chicken in the oven as she prepares the important party for her in-laws and her parents. Traditional Michael can't see why it's so hard for the family to eat together, and is Sangee's over-eating really the main problem with her? A quirky reflection on 3 subjects close to everyone's heart. Rich in imagery but low in calorie, this play is an experience that wi

Love, Food & Babies (1995)

"Singapore is best in this! Singapore is best in that," headlines scream at us daily. And to a certain degree, we believe and subscribe to this view in the way we strive to get certificates, cash, cars, credit cards, condos and what have you. But have we thought about what having to be the best all the time really means?

In the show you are about to see, we would like to present to you a series of "short stories", or reflections about how several different characters regard the issue of the "best". Best 

Best Foot Forward (1995)

A: How long will it take?
B: About ten minutes.
A: That's all?
B: Yes. How long do you think it'll take?
A: I don't know. Maybe one hour, two hours, a day...
B: No one wants to wait that long.
A: What is it called?
B: The capsule of life.
A:&nbsp;The capsule of life? Is it a drug?
B: No, it's a vitamin. Made from all the natural ingredients.
A: It really works?
B: Yup.
A: Ten minutes?
B: Ten minutes.&nbsp;
A: No side effects?
B: Only good ones.
A: Umm... interesting. So... should I?
B: It's

The Squeeze 2 (1995)

T:>Works (TheatreWorks)

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

The Legend of Bukit Merah (1993)

Asia-in-Theatre Research Centre

William Teo

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)

Dennis Potter's deceptively simple tale relates the activities of 7 seven-year-olds (played by adult actors) at play in a seemingly idyllic and ever-youthful world. The children play, fight and fantasize. Their aggressions, fears, hostilities and rivalries, a microcosm of adult interaction. All the children gang up on the terrified "Donald Duck" who abused by his mother and ridiculed by his peers, plays his own dangerous game of pyromania which ends in tragedy.

The production, The Necessary Stage's first

Blue Remembered Hills (1992)

Production Manager

Costume Coordinator

Second Home (1991)

Boxes centres around Joan, a nurse who has lived out on her own since she was 17. And she’s moving again. Her life is in a rut and she wants to clean it out by moving away to some place where she can be alone — a new address — a new telephone number — a different neighbourhood. But as she takes out the boxes, she realises it will be different this time. She is not just moving out, she is moving on.


Boxes (1990)

Makeup

Practice Theatre Ensemble

Little Girl has no friends because she asks 'silly' question.&nbsp;

Old Tree is 'funny' because its leaves grow near the ground. Who has time for a dumb, old tree, anyway. You know, a tree is just a tree... well, almost.&nbsp;

Little Girl meets Old Tree. They become friends. Bulldozers come to remove the tree. Girl risks her life to save Tree...


The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree (1989)

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.


Mama Looking For Her Cat (1988)

Devisor

Lim Siauw Chong

In a somewhat Faustian fashion, Freddie, a Singaporean businessman, unwittingly exchanges his&nbsp;soul for materialistic gain. Kuang Ho, the 15th&nbsp;Century God of the legendary Dragon’s Teeth&nbsp;Gate, gives all, but also demands both body and&nbsp;soul in return.

Freddie’s business prospers. Complacent in his&nbsp;newly-acquired wealth, he is oblivious to the&nbsp;spiritual and moral implications of abetting the&nbsp;spread of Kuang Ho's sphere of power.

In the struggles that follow, a slice of 

Dragon's Teeth Gate (1986)

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Verena Tay

WORKS DOCUMENTED IN THE ARCHIVE

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