Grand Theft Theatre is a devised theatrical performance that celebrates the long history of Singapore theatre through recreations of iconic scenes from classic plays in the canon and depictions of pivotal moments in the past sixty years, based on interviews conducted with theatre practitioners, arts industry workers, art-interested audiences, and the general public. Conceptualised as a 'birthday party' for Singapore theatre, it retells historical events, references landmark productions, and acts as a heartfelt ode to the Singapore theatre community.
Trace the bumper crop of local theatre productions mentioned in Grand Theft Theatre through the timeline below, and discover some accompanying fun facts!
24 JULY - Are You There, Singapore?, written by Robert Yeo, premieres at the University Cultural Centre Theatre, National University of Singapore. It is widely considered to be one of Singapore's first homegrown English-language political plays.
23 JULY - The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole, written by Kuo Pao Kun, premieres at the Victoria Theatre. The monologue grew out of a piece that Kuo wrote for Bumboat, a work that Hong Kong-American director Tzi Ma was crafting for the Singapore Arts Festival 1984.
4 SEPTEMBER - Emily of Emerald Hill, written by Stella Kon, is performed in Singapore for the first time at the Drama Centre, Canning Rise, as part of the Singapore Drama Festival 1985, one year after its premiere in Malaysia. It won the Ministry of Culture's Drama Writing Competition in 1983, and is currently Singapore's most-performed play.
22 JUNE - Army Daze, written by Michael Chiang, premieres at the Drama Centre Theatre, Fort Canning Park. One of Singapore's most popular plays, it has seen several restagings over the decades, as well as a film and comic book adaptation.
11 JUNE - Beauty World, written by Michael Chiang, premieres at the World Trade Centre Auditorium, as part of the Singapore Festival of Arts 1988. Alongside ACT 3's Makanplace the Musical, it is considered to be one of the first-ever Singaporean musicals. It has received multiple stagings in Singapore and internationally, including a televised staging in 1998.
4 APRIL - Fried Rice Paradise, written by Dick Lee, premieres at the Victoria Theatre. It was inspired by the song of the same name composed by Dick Lee in 1973. This musical was restaged in 2010, and was also adapted into a television series in 2019.
14 APRIL - Three Fat Virgins Unassembled, written by Ovidia Yu, premieres at the Drama Centre Theatre, Fort Canning Park. It was presented under the SPH Young Playwrights Series, part of the TheatreWorks (now T:>Works) Writers Laboratory that nurtured new playwrights in the 1990s.
28 JANUARY - The Lady of Soul and Her Ultimate 'S' Machine, written by Tan Tarn How, premieres at the Drama Centre Theatre, Fort Canning Park. This staging came on the heels of the Public Licensing Entertainment Unit denying the play a performance license in 1992 in one of the most well-known local incidents of theatrical censorship.
9 JULY - Mergers and Accusations, written by Eleanor Wong, premieres at the Drama Centre Black Box, Fort Canning Park. This is the first instalment in Invitation to Treat, a trilogy of plays exploring the life of Ellen Toh, one of the most well-known LGBTQ characters on the Singapore stage. The second instalment, Wills and Secession, premiered in 1995, and the final instalment, Jointly and Severably, premiered in 2003.
29 SEPTEMBER - Titoudao, written by Goh Boon Teck, premieres at the Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel. The play has been restaged four times, the latest restaging being in 2024, at the Victoria Theatre. In 2020, it was adapted into a local TV series.
3 JUNE - Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral, written by Kuo Pao Kun, premieres at the Victoria Theatre, as part of the Festival of Asian Performing Arts 1995. This critically-acclaimed work received international stagings in several cities, including Cairo, Hamburg, and Berlin.
JULY - December Rains, written by Liang Wern Fook and Jimmy Ye, premieres at the World Trade Centre Auditorium. It marked Singapore's first Broadway-style Mandarin-language musical. It was later restaged twice, in 2010 and 2015, and adapted into a concert in 2022.
1 MAY - Destinies of Flowers in the Mirror, written by Robin Loon, premieres at Suntec City. This transdisciplinary site-specific work was presented in the iconic Suntec City Fountain.
19 JUNE - Chang and Eng, written by Ming Wong and Ken Low, is performed at the Victoria Theatre, as part of the Festival of Asian Performing Arts 1997. It later became the first English-language musical to be performed in the People's Republic of China.
9 JULY - Hamlet, presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre, is performed at Fort Canning Park. This marked Singapore's inaugural Shakespeare in the Park. Singapore Repertory Theatre has continued presenting several more editions of Shakespeare in the Park, the most recent being Macbeth in 2025.
18 SEPTEMBER - A Twist of Fate, written by Steven Dexter, Tony Petito, Ovidia Yu, and Anthony Drewe, premieres at the Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel. This original musical was written in celebration of Raffles Hotel's 110th anniversary.
11 MARCH - Atomic Jaya, written by Huzir Sulaiman, premieres at The Actors Studio Theatre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It later saw its first Singapore performance in 2001, produced by Five Arts Centre in association with Straits Theatre Company, and staged at The Substation.
24 DECEMBER - originally planned to be staged at the SPH Auditorium, YMS Arts Centre, Talaq, written by Elangovan, is cancelled due to licence not being granted by the Public Licensing Entertainment Unit on the grounds that it could offend racial sensibilities.
30 NOVEMBER - Dreamplay: Asian Boys Vol. 1, written by Alfian Sa'at, premieres at The Necessary Stage Black Box, Marine Parade Community Building. It was nominated for Best Original Script at the 2001 Life! Theatre Awards.
ASIAN BOYS VOL. 1 marks an important step and direction for gay theatre in Singapore. – James Koh
OCTOBER - Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress, written by Stephen Clark and Dick Lee, premieres at the Esplanade, as part of the Esplanade's opening festival. It was later restaged by Singapore Repertory Theatre three times, in 2003, 2006, and 2017.
3 DECEMBER - Cinderel-LAH!, written by Selena Tan, premieres at the Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel. It marked producing company Wild Rice's first Singaporean musical pantomime. Wild Rice has since continued the annual tradition of presenting year-end pantomimes, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2008), Monkey Goes West (2014), Mama White Snake (2017), Peter Pan in Serangoon Gardens (2019), The Amazing Celestial Race (2021), Pinocchio (2022), and The Wizard of Oz (2024).
2 MARCH - What Big Bombs You Have!!!, written by Haresh Sharma, premieres at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, as part of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2005.
The minimal storytelling creates a sense of dislocation, drawing the audience into the nightmarish world. Dialogue is terse, and characters are drawn in extremes. Emotions - affection, aggression, concern, frustration - are delivered in controlled doses even at the climax, where we are blitzed with a concentrated outpouring of fear. Tensions rise with each interaction, and the environment grows more volatile as characters get increasingly strung out. – Deanne Tan
11 NOVEMBER - the musical adaptation of Lao Jiu, originally written by Kuo Pao Kun and adapted by Wu Xi and Zhang Xian, premieres at the Drama Centre Theatre, National Library Building. The original play premiered in 1990, as part of the Singapore Festival of Arts 1990.
The strength of the original play allowed for a successful adaptation, and the use of music enlivened the play's structure, imbuing it with a joyful sense of family love, creative playfulness, and dreams. Lao Jiu: The Musical has earned its place in the celebrated theatrical history of its progenitor, Lao Jiu the play. – Deanne Tan
2 FEBRUARY - Broadway Beng, performed by Sebastian Tan, premieres at the Drama Centre, National Library Building. Over eight instalments, the latest being in 2024, the work has seen a great deal of evolution in form and theme.
30 MARCH - A Language of Their Own, written by Chay Yew, is performed in Singapore for the first time at the Esplanade, twelve years after its premiere in Los Angeles.
4 OCTOBER - I'm Just a Piano Teacher, written by Oliver Chong, premieres at the Drama Centre Black Box, National Library Building. It was nominated in four categories at the 2006 Life! Theatre Awards, and won for Best Ensemble.
It would be easy to undervalue Piano Teacher: it is a puppet play; its story is simple; it is short. But the people behind this production have married a minute perceptiveness of human flaw and foible to an exuberant fairground mirror aesthetic and they have produced something with humour, truth and poetic force. – Matthew Lyon
19 JUNE - Temple, written by Natalie Hennedige, premieres at the Drama Centre Theatre, National Library Building, as part of the Singapore Arts Festival 2008.
Hennedige's aesthetic force is tethered not to logical storylines but to overarching ideas, and it is these that lend her work the credibility and coherence that a single narrative arc might achieve. – Amos Toh
30 MARCH - Poop!, written by Chong Tze Chien, premieres at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, as part of The Studios 2009. It was nominated in five categories at the 2010 Life! Theatre Awards, including Best Original Script.
Poop is clearly a return to form for The Finger Players. This graceful, assured and haunting work feels both of this world and beyond it, and reminds us that theatre is truly a magical art form, limited only by our imagination. – Kenneth Kwok
1 SEPTEMBER - Fear of Writing, written by Tan Tarn How, premieres at 72-13.
Fear of Writing confronts us with the fear of many Singaporeans not only of being critical of the establishment but even of being associated with such criticism because of the perceived implications and consequences that may engender... this is a work that is sure to provoke reaction and discussion. – Kenneth Kwok
1 FEBRUARY - One Hundred Years of Solitude 10.0 - Cultural Revolution, written by Danny Yung, premieres at the Esplanade, as part of the Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts 2012.
I think a line in the show says it best: from such sorrow does one deserve such beauty... I give the work credit for that: there was always something to see, and often it would be truly magnificent. – Kenneth Kwok
20 JULY - Mosaic, written by Joel Tan, premieres at the Aliwal Arts Centre.
Tan has a keen ear for dialogue... Director Chen does an impressive job of judging pace and blocking, and of pointing the character beats that give low-key, naturalistic pieces like this their texture. – Matthew Lyon
13 FEBRUARY - Romeo and Juliet, directed by Nell Ng and adapted by Toy Factory Productions, is performed at the Drama Centre Theatre, National Library Building.
21 JULY - The LKY Musical, written by Dick Lee, Stephen Clark, and Tony Petito, premieres at the Mastercard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands. Performed four months after the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first Prime Minister, it told the story of his personal life and political journey.
27 AUGUST - Hotel, written by Alfian Sa'at and Marcia Vanderstraaten, premieres at Victoria Theatre, as part of the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2015. Marketed as an 'immersive, multi-generational epic', this play was presented in two parts and ran for a total of 4 hours and 45 minutes.
9 DECEMBER - Geng Rebut Cabinet, written by Alfian Sa'at, premieres at the Flexible Performance Space, LASALLE College of the Arts. It took strong reference from Singapore's electoral structures. This staging was presented a few months after Singapore's 17th General Election.
11 MAY - Meenah and Cheenah, written by Alfian Sa'at, Rishi Budhrani, Josiah Ng, and Fakkah Fuzz, premieres at the Victoria Theatre.
4 JULY - Grandmother Tongue, written by Thomas Lim, premieres at the Creative Cube, LASALLE College of the Arts, as part of the Singapore Theatre Festival 2016.
24 MARCH - ITSY - The Musical, written by Chong Tze Chien, premieres at the Victoria Theatre. This marked producing company The Finger Players' first original musical.
13 APRIL - Tropicana the Musical, written by Haresh Sharma, premieres at the Capitol Theatre.
Tropicana is extremely ambitious, tackling both a former Singapore landmark and our more tumultuous decades... Tropicana fits into a specific canon of musical theatre, and if approached as such, can be a fun time. Some scenes are truly funny and others heartfelt. – Myle Yan Tay
24 APRIL - ’Til The End Of The World, We’ll Meet In No Man’s Land, written by Inch Chua, premieres at 72-13.
18 JULY - First Fleet, written by Nelson Chia, premieres at the Far East Organization Auditorium, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. It was nominated in four categories at the 2020 Life! Theatre Awards, and won for Production of the Year and Best Costume.
25 SEPTEMBER - A Clockwork Orange, adapted by Zulfadli Rashid and performed in Malay, premieres at the Esplanade Theatre Studio.
There is nothing insincere about Teater Ekamatra’s production. The production cleverly employs a modified thrust stage, which allows the audience to be situated in most of the action... By situating the audience physically in Al’s space, we also become implicated in his experience of this dystopian "therapy" as well as the suffering it causes; we too become interrogators of its ethicality and needfulness. – Idelle Yee
10 OCTOBER - Lim Boon Keng: The Musical, written by Stella Kon, premieres at the Victoria Theatre.
2 DECEMBER - Session Zero, written by Jo Tan, premieres at the Black Box, 42 Waterloo Street. This was producing company Checkpoint Theatre's first live/in-person performance since the COVID-19 pandemic.
8 JULY - Kwa Geok Choo, written by Ovidia Yu, premieres at the Victoria Theatre. This marked Ovidia's first new play since Hitting (on) Women, written in 2006.
5 AUGUST - Tissue Aunty the Musical, written by Mario Chan, premieres at the Sing'theatre Main Stage, as part of the Musical Theatre Fringe Fest 2022.
23 NOVEMBER - Kingdoms Apart, written by Chong Tze Chien, premieres at the Esplanade Singtel Waterfront Theatre. It was one of the first productions presented in the Singtel Waterfront Theatre in late 2022, 20 years after Esplanade first opened its doors.
8 FEBRUARY - The Paiseh Pieces, written by Adeeb Fazah and Stephanie Phang, premieres at Wisma Geylang Serai.
8 SEPTEMBER - G*d is a Woman, written by Joel Tan, premieres at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @ Wild Rice.
21 MARCH - Hi, Can You Hear Me, written by A Yagnya, premieres at the Esplanade Theatre Studio.
19 APRIL - Secondary: The Musical, written by weish, premieres at the Victoria Theatre. It was nominated in six categories at the 2025 Life! Theatre Awards, and won for Production of the Year.
Published: 22 May 2025