“Once in a while, I will message Yanling in an urgent state: ‘oh my God, we need this. By any chance, do you have it?’ And she always comes through.” Playwright Nabilah Said is referring to Ma Yanling, Centre 42’s General Manager, while recalling one of many instances over the past decade when Centre 42 has supported her — in that particular case, by lending her a light that her show needed.While Nabilah has spent a lot of time at Centre 42, her playwriting journey began a few years before Centre 42 op
“When you were ten years old, what did you want to grow up to be?” This is the ice-breaker I use to begin my conversation with theatre practitioner Sharda Harrison. I expect to hear an answer that will surprise me - childhood is a time of boundless fantasy, so it’s not surprising that most of us don’t end up doing what we imagined we would. Not so for Sharda, though. “Even at ten, I already knew,” she tells me. “I told my mum, put me in drama school now! I’m going to become an actor!” Two decades
In an economy where productivity is king, Chong Gua Khee’s work occupies a unique position in the performing arts ecosystem with projects that span years, often manifesting in various iterations and characterised by revisitations and re-confluences.In fact, her first exploration, HOT POT TALK: Theatre & the Arts (2017), a participatory performance developed in-residence at Centre 42, was framed as a long-term series right from the start. Since then, Gua Khee has gone on to create HOT POT
Picture this: Nelson Chia as a nine-year old child in primary school, casting his classmates as superheroes in conflict about how to save the world. It was for morning assembly, and his teacher had asked the class to come up with something for the presentation. On a whim, Nelson wrote his very first play (though he didn’t know it then), directed his classmates and acted as one of the superheroes himself. More than four decades later, he is still writing, directing and acting as co-founder of Nine Years
Since June 2024, Centre 42’s kicked off a new Creation Residency - Batal Must Fall, an original musical in development! Written by Nathaniel Mah and Myle Yan Tay, Batal Must Fall is both a satire of an increasingly digitally-connected world and an investigation of the complexities of familial ties and relationships. As the team jumps headfirst into their residency, we spoke with Nat and Yan about their inspiration for the project, their creation process, and more!This interview was condu
“I don’t exactly remember when it began, but I just never feared the stage,” Grace Kalaiselvi declares, when asked about her origins in acting. “I first went onstage when I was five.” During a neighbourhood celebration of National Day, she shook out of her parents’ grasp and ran onstage to answer questions from a lion mascot. “My parents were shocked that I'd just dashed onstage. And I’ve loved it ever since.” That much is apparent during our hour-long chat in the Centre 42 office: Grace exudes warmth,
Did you know that The Second Breakfast Company was officially incorporated in a Starbucks? Theatre director and drama educator Adeeb Fazah, Artistic Director of The Second Breakfast Company (2BCo), is telling me about the company’s origins.
“Once in a while, I will message Yanling in an urgent state: ‘oh my God, we need this. By any chance, do you have it?’ And she always comes through.” Playwright Nabilah Said is referring to Ma Yanling, Centre 42’s General Manager, while recalling one of many instances over the past decade when Centre 42 has supported her — in that particular case, by lending her a light that her show needed.While Nabilah has spent a lot of time at Centre 42, her playwriting journey began a few years before Centre 42 op
The soft clicking of cables connecting, the rapping of mics being tested, and the faint aroma of coffee in the cosy office at Centre 42 come to mind when I recollect one of the last times I’d caught up with Ng Sze Min. It was 2021, and we had been working on the arts management podcast Backlogues, my focus being on content, and hers on audio production. Three eventful years later, after our careers took us in different directions, we’re reconnecting online. A ping sounds from my laptop, and I expand th
Michelle Tan is a writer and drama educator who clearly has a sense of humour about herself and her students. This is apparent in the way she begins our conversation, because right now she’s showing me concrete evidence of one of her students not paying attention in her class. She’s been asked to bring an object that represents her artistic practice, and has chosen a small impromptu zine drawn by her student. “What I particularly love about this is, she definitely did it while she was in class with me.
In an economy where productivity is king, Chong Gua Khee’s work occupies a unique position in the performing arts ecosystem with projects that span years, often manifesting in various iterations and characterised by revisitations and re-confluences.In fact, her first exploration, HOT POT TALK: Theatre & the Arts (2017), a participatory performance developed in-residence at Centre 42, was framed as a long-term series right from the start. Since then, Gua Khee has gone on to create HOT POT
“When you were ten years old, what did you want to grow up to be?” This is the ice-breaker I use to begin my conversation with theatre practitioner Sharda Harrison. I expect to hear an answer that will surprise me - childhood is a time of boundless fantasy, so it’s not surprising that most of us don’t end up doing what we imagined we would. Not so for Sharda, though. “Even at ten, I already knew,” she tells me. “I told my mum, put me in drama school now! I’m going to become an actor!” Two decades
Rei Poh is a theatre practitioner, director, educator and actor. But think of Rei, and one is also likely to think of his love for gaming and particularly his interest in the use of gaming narratives within participatory theatre. When he worked with Drama Box in 2006, Rei presented many workshops and community engagements, and worked closely with Theatre of the Oppressed principals. From there, he naturally progressed into investigating engagement within participatory performances, and how to bring the