The Vault: Desert Blooms explores the history of queer Singapore theatre from 1985 - 1995 in great detail. This lecture-performance spotlights several queer plays and playwrights, and delves into the sociopolitical context of the period and how it influenced the development and presentation of queerness on stage.
This timeline consolidates all key events mentioned in Desert Blooms and provides an overview of the path queer Singapore theatre took from 1985 to 1995.
17 FEBRUARY - TheatreWorks (now T:>Works) is founded.
10 APRIL - The first case(s) of AIDS is discovered in Singapore.
10 OCTOBER - Bugis Street closes for redevelopment.
27 MARCH - ACTION Theatre debuts.
21 MAY - The first wave of ISD arrests for suspected Marxists connections.
22 JUNE - Army Daze by Michael Chiang premieres.
20 SEPTEMBER - Asia-in-Theatre Research Circus (later Asia-in-Theatre Research Centre) is founded.
12 NOVEMBER - The Necessary Stage is founded.
1 DECEMBER - Choreographer Goh Choo San dies from AIDS in New York.
1 DECEMBER - Action for AIDS is founded.
13 OCTOBER - Rigor Mortis by Haresh Sharma premieres.
23 NOVEMBER - Safe Sex: A Double Bill premieres. It comprises of Jackson on a Jaunt by Eleanor Wong and As If He Hears by Chay Yew.
23 DECEMBER - Liwat [Sodomy] by Nizam Rahman premieres.
29 JUNE - M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang opens.
28 NOVEMBER - Goh Chok Tong becomes Prime Minister.
8 JUNE - Marrying by Ovidia Yu is read.
21 AUGUST - Akka by G Selvanathan premieres.
28 AUGUST - Imagine by Ovidia Yu premieres.
2 JANUARY - The Famous Five Go On An Adventure by Robin Loon is read.
14 APRIL - Three Fat Virgins Unassembled by Ovidia Yu premieres.
15 APRIL - Lest the Demons Get to Me by Russell Heng premieres.
12 MAY - Porcelain by Chay Yew premieres in London.
30 JUNE - Private Parts by Michael Chiang premieres.
6 JULY - Theatre Studies programme launches at National University of Singapore.
27 JULY - Glass Roots... Don't Step On Them by Haresh Sharma premieres.
15 AUGUST - Peculiar Chris by Johann S Lee is published.
21 OCTOBER - Another Tribe by Otto Fong and Lives Elsewhere by Lee Chee Kin premiere.
25 OCTOBER - The Next Generations by Lim Soon Lan premieres.
7 NOVEMBER - Posteterne by Goh Boon Teck premieres.
28 JANUARY - The Lady of Soul & Her Ultimate 'S" Machine by Tan Tarn How premieres.
20 MAY - Police raid at Rascals Club, Pan Pacific Hotel.
9 JULY - Mergers & Accusations by Eleanor Wong premieres.
MID-SEPTEMBER - Police run "anti-gay" operation at Tanjong Rhu.
23 OCTOBER - Josef Ng performs Don't Go Swimming, It's Not Safe.
12 NOVEMBER - Three Years in the Life and Death of Land by Haresh Sharma premieres.
1 JANUARY - Josef Ng performs Brother Cane.
30 JANUARY - Bugis Street (musical] premieres.
5 FEBRUARY - ST report on Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma attending "Marxist workshop" is published.
13 MAY - We Are Family by Otto Fong premieres.
13 APRIL - Bugis Street [film] by Yonfan premieres.
20 APRIL - A Language of Their Own by Chay Yew opens in New York.
21 SEPTEMBER - Wills & Secession by Eleanor Wong premieres.
6 DECEMBER - Purple by Goh Boon Teck premieres.
Published: 26 June 2024