The Finger Players

There once was a family of four: the father vehemently denies his own infidelity; an erudite yet loquacious old mother is confined to her bed; a son grapples with the complexities of love amid academic struggles; and a wife is plagued by the three afflictions of greed, hatred and ignorance. Their lives take a dark turn when a mysterious yet alluring homeless damsel becomes their maid, personifying the malevolent forces that torment the wife’s restless soul.  &nbsp;Drawing inspiration from various tales in t

《移心》Transplant (2024)

Cast

Puppeteer

Paper Monkey Theatre

In this episode, Tripitaka's team encounters the powerful Crimson Boy, son of the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan. Despite being 300 years old, he wields True Samadhi Fire and possesses great strength. Capturing Tripitaka, he plans to offer the monk's meat to his parents to prevent their divorce, believing he's the cause of their strife. Sun Wukong is defeated but seeks help from the Goddess of Mercy, who forgives Crimson Boy and takes him as her disciple. The demon releases Tripitaka, and the group c

Journey West: The Crimson Boy (2023)

Reconceptualizing, reconsidering and ultimately rediscovering ideas of beauty. Beauty here is determined not by aesthetics, but by intention and manipulation – garments are signs and representations of the manipulation by consumers, who are in turn manipulated by trends. What do the garments that we choose to wear say about the lives we live and how we perceive beauty?In the three vignettes of fashion scenarios, objects (and/or humans) are inspired by puppetry. These editorial moments are presented in famil

Pretty Ugly (2023)

ART:DIS

A tribute to the past, a moving story of forgiveness, the fate of an entertainment club rests solely on the shoulders of a visually-impaired girl. From battling against revolting employees who challenge her at every turn, to discovering her mother’s struggle to raise her to stand tall, this music theatre piece written &amp; performed by persons with disabilities reminds us to always have hope and to never stop dreaming.

Chachambo: Taking Flight (2023)

An Artist considers her mortality, what her art has given her and what she will leave behind. She engages a documentary filmmaker to create what she considers to be her final legacy, but is stumped when her iron strong opinions perspectives are being challenged by him, and a robot.Presented by&nbsp;The&nbsp;Finger Players and supported by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Qualcomm Foundation,&nbsp;The&nbsp;Ageing&nbsp;Artist&nbsp;is a puppetry performance that weaves together elements of STEM. Targeted at families, this piece 

The Ageing Artist (2023)

Performer

Facilitator

Danny Yeo

Phang Kok Jun

Oliver Chong

Beep BEEEEEP!Driiiiing Driiinnnggg!VrooooooOOooooom!Rattle King finds himself living in a city bustling with loud noises.How does he deal with all the various sounds?Can he stop all the hustle and bustle?Will he be able to turn all that noise into music?This March, the Rattle King returns to Esplanade once again in this participative promenade performance.The journey starts at the Esplanade Forecourt Garden and continues to various venues in an outdoor procession.What will the King and his marching-on follo

Rattle King 2 (2023)

Puppetry Trainer

A relationship has run its course and a man sits at his desk to finalize a separation.

Parting (2023)

Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay

A contemporary reimagining of the Indian epic tale&nbsp;The&nbsp;Mahabharata&nbsp;that resonates with the current day.The Pandavas and the Kauravas—two groups of cousins—struggle for political power and the claim to the dynastic succession to the throne of the Hastinapura, an Indian kingdom. The confrontation climaxes with an 18-day Kurukshetra War in which even the gods are involved. Unimaginable death and destruction ensue, and all on the battlefield are forced to face up to their&nbsp;dharma—their duty a

Kingdoms Apart (2022)

Everyday existence is a colourless hue. Then a woman transforms into a crow. The woman is a crow, a voyeur and a destabilizing self-loather. Its quest – to peep and mimic, lurk and conceal, deceive and try, to, be. Peepbird&nbsp;is a meeting place between puppetry and movement aesthetics, an exploration of destabilized identities and the state of being colourless.&nbsp;


Peepbird (2020)

A literary hermit with unfulfilled ambitions is abused by a corrupt official.

A shady foreign lady seeks to rent a room to run an equally shady massage parlor.

A middle-aged widower hires an alluring tutor to help his dim-witted son, who has yet to graduate after more than 20 years.

In a house with an expired lease,&nbsp;
A profanity-spewing dog
And a racy fox spirit idol&nbsp;
Bear witness to all that transpires

Man or ghost? Fox or demon?
Was it all real or false? Truth or illusion?

Ins

Citizen Dog (2018)

In The Spirits Play, five Japanese spirits – a General, a Man, a Mother, a Girl and a Poet – recollect their life experiences in the Second World War. They are thrown into turmoil in their attempt to understand the war and its atrocities that were inflicted upon them not only by the foreign enemy but also by their own government and army. A notable work in Singapore theatre, The Spirits Play poignantly depicts the agony, guilt and turmoil left in the aftermath of war.


The Spirits Play (2017)

Itsy Bitsy Spider has galvanised his eight-legged army to terrorise the characters in the nursery rhyme world. In comes an unlikely hero, a grandfather who’s looking for his grandson. In his search, Grandpa is reacquainted with familiar and colourful friends from the nursery rhymes that he used to sing to his grandson. Unwittingly, he ends up being their hero, the chosen one against the spiders. To save his newfound friends from the eight-legged terror, an epic war ensues between the spiders, and his assemb

ITSY - The Musical (2017)

Richard Wagner Association

OperaViva Limited

Wagner based the spooky plot of Der Fliegende Holländer on the legend of a Dutch sea captain who vows to sail around the Cape of Good Hope.

Condemned by the devil to be endlessly at sea, he may land once every seven years and search for the faithful woman whose true love will be his only salvation.

During a furious storm, Norwegian sea captain Daland has taken shelter with his ship when the deathly masts of the Flying Dutchman’s vessel loom nearby. Daland agrees that the Dutchman will follow him home 

The Flying Dutchman (2016)

Adapted from a classical Chinese epic, Journey to the West: Treasures from the Dragon Palace is the story of Sun Wukong the Monkey King, his master Xuanzang, and his friend Pigsy. Follow the powerful but rebellious Monkey King as he goes on a quest to hunt down the perfect weapon to fend off evil.

Watch the legendary story of the Monkey King come alive through an array of traditional hand puppets and puppetry techniques.


Journey to the West: Treasures from the Dragon Palace (2016)

Actor

Two sisters have only each other to count on

When their mother frowns and throws a hissy fit

The two sisters have always supported each other

Until one throws in the towel and calls it a day

Inheritance is a simple and moving story about two sisters and their mother

When nothing binds them together anymore


Inheritance (2016)

In&nbsp;The Spirits Play, five Japanese spirits -&nbsp;a General, a Man, a Mother, a Girl and a Poet -&nbsp;recall their life experience in the Second World War. They are collectively thrown into turmoil in the process of recollection, and in their wish to “make sense” of the war and its atrocities inflicted upon them, not only by the foreign enemy but also by their own government and army. A notable work in Singapore theatre, The Spirits Play&nbsp;poignantly depicts the agony, guilt and turmoil that occur 

The Spirits Play (2015)

Love is the Last Thing on my Mind&nbsp;is a collection of stories about people we have neglected around us.&nbsp;

A girl, sensitive to her emotions and senses, is more moved by everything natural and nature than the artificiality of modern technology, throwing her mother off with her behaviour.&nbsp;

A mother’s overzealous desire to protect her family from diseases and pollution sanitizes everything, erasing even her propensity for love.&nbsp;

A couple gets so carried away by the romantic notion of

Love is the Last Thing on my Mind (2015)

Turn By Turn We Turn is a sweeping epic about the lives and fates of members in a traditional chinese hand puppetry troupe from 1920s China to the present day. Holding steadfastly to their craft, traditions, beliefs and one another in the face of civil and world wars, political strife, changing times and tastes, the puppeteers survive one ordeal after another, testing their mettle and resolve to perform, entertain and preserve the lineage of puppetry.


Turn By Turn We Turn (2014)

The Theatre Practice

1 Table 2 Chairs are two seemingly related yet unrelated stories
Waiting for an encounter
Waiting for an intimate exchange
Waiting for a negotiation
Waiting for the inevitable parting&nbsp;


X2 (2014)

Nezha is an extraordinary child born with tremendous strength and special gifts. Much loved by all in his hometown, Nezha has a doting mother and strict father who wishes he would put his talent to good use. One day, Nezha fights and defeats the son of the Dragon King. This angers the Dragon King and he sends a raging flood to wipe out Nezha's hometown. Nezha's father tries to fend off the Dragon King but fails. To save his parents and home, Nezha sacrifices himself. This act of bravery and filial piety mov

The Legend of Nezha (2012)

Girl ah... Boy ah... can you help me find my cat?

An old dialect-speaking mother has lost her only companion – a cat. She asked for help, but was snubbed by her grown-up children. One night, the old lady left her house looking for her cat in a world that has left her behind – a world obsessed with progress and prosperity, which has forgotten the traditional, the old and the frail.

Mama Looking For Her Cat is a play about the communication differences and the estranged relationship between a mother and

Mama Looking For Her Cat (2012)

“Master said… in our world, there are two levels: one that is above us, where the gods and deities, heroes and emperors roam. The other is the level below, where we are. All that the audience pays and wants to see is right above our heads. They are not interested in what goes on below.”

Turn By Turn We Turn is a sweeping epic about the lives and fates of members in a traditional chinese hand puppetry troupe from 1920s China to the present day. Holding steadfastly to their craft, traditions, beliefs and o

Turn By Turn We Turn (2011)

Drama Box

An ordinary family story. A widow, an unmarried eldest daughter, a divorced second daughter, a homosexual third son...&nbsp;


The Next Generations (2010)

The 1950's was a time where big cooperations entered and industrialisation of small fishing villages begun, giving new hope for the simple people; a new career away from the dangerous fishing life. They welcome such modernisation with open arms as they enjoy electricity and tap water flowing through the households for the first time. However, such 'luxury' came at a hefty 'price' unknown to the simple villagers. Soon, strange incidents started to happen...

Based on a true story in Minamata, Japan,&nbsp;M

Mercury (2010)

The Next Generations&nbsp;is about the unfulfillment of three women from two generations; whom are trapped by the fact that there is only one male from the younger generation. It explores the status of the traditional versus the contemporary female in a male-oriented society.&nbsp;

The only male - the son - is an Aids-stricken homosexual, and his homosexuality terminates the family tree. It is a grave issue concerning blood ties and carrying on the family name. Against the Lim family's idea of collective

Cat, Lost &amp; Found finds its charm in the little things that most of us wouldn’t give a second look. The story about a salesman who falls in love with an usher in a movie theatre is a modern day fairy tale that has weird and wonderful characters permeating the stage. A salesman falls in love with the usher who is besotted with a stray cat in the cinema. Meanwhile, the hero of the movie showing in the theatre loses the plot and enters real life to find his brother’s murderer, leaving his hapless wife wait

Cat, Lost & Found (2009)

Life is always elsewhere.

2006... Hui Ying, a middle-aged woman, finds out her husband is having an affair while working abroad; this news shatters the home she has tried hard to maintain for years.

Yinling returns to Shanghai upon losing her daughter but cannot forget her relationship with an older man in the country she left behind.&nbsp;

The elderly Wen De wants to go to Shanghai's Waibaidu (Garden) Bridge to fulfil a promise he made 40 years ago.

1966... Sufen leaves Singapore, but she makes

Drift (2009)

One lives out of her tattered suitcase, drifting from place to place. Another, a wife and mother devoted to her family, is torn by an unquenchable desire to be free. A third, haunted by requited love, yearns to embark on a new life. All three are runaways, but are they truly free?

Whispers recreates the emotional journeys of three women who have run away only to rediscover the long-suppressed whispers of the heart.

Whispers is an unconventional, non-linear play, featuring monologues with traditional a

Whispers (2009)

Puppet Designer

"Please stand behind the yellow line." On a train platform, there is always someone who seems to be in a hurry.

As the train slowly pulls into the station and grinds to a halt by the platform, time suddenly comes to a standstill. After the pause, all exits are sealed off and the wait for the next train becomes indefinite. Everyone inside the station appears to be trapped, including a couple whose story begins when time stops.&nbsp;


Moon Story (2008)

Life is always elsewhere.

2006... Hui Ying, a middle-age woman, found out her husband is having an affair when working abroad; this news shattered the home she tried hard to maintain for years.&nbsp;

Yin Ling&nbsp;returned to Shanghai upon losing her daughter, but couldn't forget her relationship with an elder man in the country she left behind.&nbsp;

The elderly Wen De wanted to go to Shanghai's&nbsp;Waibaidu&nbsp;Bridge to fulfil a promise he made 40 years ago.

1966... Su Fen, who had left Sin

Drift (2008)

Pinocchio's Complex: A mental state in which everything imagined is deemed real.

A lonely old man longs for a child so much he constructs him out of wood. The 'child' however tries to convince his make that he's not real. Fearing that his child has been tainted by logic, the old man tries to rescue his child from objective reality by summoning an UFO to take them to fairyland.


Pinocchio's Complex (2008)

地鐵列車慢慢開進月台，輕輕煞住，嘎一聲，彷彿是一個時間的逗號，把幾許匆匆的人生停頓下來。然而，這一頓之後，天空竟然變色，出口被封住了；這一頓之後，隧道似被截斷，下一班列車後會無期；這一頓之後，人間恍如隔世，他和她，在月台邂逅。一對好男女，兩種壞心情，千言萬語，從一個俘頓開始説起… …


2006... Hui Ying, a middle-aged woman found out her husband is having an affair when working abroad; this news shattered the home she tried hard to maintain for years.

Ying Ling returns to Shanghai upon losing her son, but couldn't forget her relationship with an elder man in the country she left behind.&nbsp;

The elderly Wen De wanted to go to Shanghai Waibaidu Bridge to fulfil a promise he made 40 years ago.

1966... Su Fen, who has left Singapore, made a pact with her husband to meet at the bridg

Drift (2007)

This is a story about a loser in a loser family caught in a table between love and duty.

The Finger Players' full-time artist Oliver Chong directs, writes and designs this multi-layered production, featuring an all-female cast in gender-bending roles, luscious music arrangements by celebrated sound designer Darren Ng and an atmospheric lighting design by award-winning designer Lim Woan Wen.

Performed in Mandarin, English, Cantonese, and Hokkien with English surtitles.


I'm Just a Piano Teacher (2006)

A Multidisciplinary Site-specific Theatrical Production

A boy used to walk on the grass barefooted&nbsp;
After rain, the grass was wet and soft&nbsp;
It’d feel like stepping on clouds&nbsp;
The grass was lush and warm when the sun was up,&nbsp;
It’d tickle his toes and his soul&nbsp;&nbsp;
Now the boy wears shoes&nbsp;
Now he could only feel the rubber of his soles&nbsp;
He has long forgotten how the grass had felt like underneath his feet&nbsp;&nbsp;

Poet, dancer, visual artist, actress, puppe

0501 (2007)

Voice

Inspired by Gavin Menzies' 1421 -&nbsp;The year China discovered America, Furthest North, Deepest South&nbsp;dramatizes legendary sea-navigator Eunuch Cheng Ho's emotional discovery of the new world and his fate.

Using actors, mime, puppets and live music, this dramatic story unfolds through the perspective of the legendary sea-navigator Eunuch Cheng Ho and his emperor, Zhu Di.

The production charmed and dazzled audiences with its fusion of puppetry and human actors when it was first staged in 2004.


Furthest North, Deepest South (2006)

We must live together
to live on;
We must have forbiddance&nbsp;
to live together;
The question is,
How to live on,
With forbiddance.&nbsp;


Strange Fruit: Forbidden (2004)

The philosopher returns home with a present for his wife - the grotesquely ugly Aesop. The mistress initially repels Aesop's presence, but gradually enjoys the fables that he tells while the philosopher goes to see his students.&nbsp;

The philosopher returns with an army captain, and in his drunkenness promises the captain that he will give the captain all his possessions if he fails to drink up all the waters of the sea. The behaviour of the two so angered the mistress that she leaves the house.

The 

Aesop Queried (2001)

A seemingly normal guided tour through the beautiful island of Bali takes a drastic turn when a tour bus carrying a group of Singapore tourists overturns in a landslide. At the moment of impact, a young Singaporean, Dashi, is transported through time into the dream-like fantasy world of ancient Bali. Finding himself transformed as one of the villagers whose hometown is threatened by an unstoppable flood, the young boy and his Balinese friend set off to rescue the missing Sun God, who is believed to have bee

The Missing Sun (2001)

During the feudal periods long time ago, women were barred from entering schools and receiving education. Engtay, a young girl is determined to gain higher education. She disguises herself as a man and travels to a large town to continue her studies. On the way to school, she meets Sampek, a poor but studious young lad. She falls for his almost immediately but is only treated as a "brother" by her beau. When Engtay finally discloses her real identity to the dim-witted Sampek, her love is reciprocated. Yet l

Sampek Engtay (2000)

Dario Fo's mischievous yet haunting work is set in a police station, where outside a crowd has gathered to protest the "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" who supposedly fell from the precinct window. The play is dominated by a seeming madman who has been apprehended by the police, released, but keeps hanging around while changing identities, gradually forcing the political truth from the other characters.&nbsp;


Accidental Death of An Anarchist (2000)

Front of House

Toy Factory Productions Limited

Back at Rever Palace, Xiaodie was touched by the familiar sights and sounds of the place. They opened up memories locked in the depth of her heart. Or so, she thought. Today's placidness contrasted with yesteryears' racket. It was like a dream. Soon, the time had come, to say goodbye to this old friend who had seen her rise to fame.

But she knew she could not let go.

In the still of the night, the melancholic tunes of the saxophone stirred her deepest emotions, tinged with regrets. Slowly, sadly, on h

I Have A Date with Spring (1999)

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Jo Kwek

WORKS DOCUMENTED IN THE ARCHIVE

Jo Kwek

WORKS DOCUMENTED IN THE ARCHIVE

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