Records are sketchy as to when the main bungalow on 42 Waterloo Street was first built.
Doraikannu Jawharilal, a previous resident of 42 Waterloo Street, said in a 1999 New Paper article that he believes the bungalow had been built in the early 1930s. An advertisement in the Malaya Tribune in 1939 mentions the availability of a “compound house” at the address that was “suitable as [a] school, hotel [or] boarding-house”. And a 1943 map of Syonan clearly shows t
The Shows Will Go On
2021 is supposed to have been the year that kicks off the "new normal", but we find ourselves still grappling with COVID-19 changing much of what we know. Much of the theatre industry has since embraced the digital space after experimenting with it last year. In charting the activity of Singapore Theatre in 2021, we have seen:
45 digital theatrical performances (these includes performances that were performed live online or pre-recorded for streaming/video on demand)
89
Historians may locate the earliest sign of modern Tamil settlement in Singapore in the 1827 establishment of Sri Mariamman Temple for such a feat is premised on a sense of community driving collective action in raising capital and labour resources as well as support from the colonial state. As a community site where the Tamil people could gather for extended periods, Sri Mariamman Temple provided the first platform for Tamil Theatre in Singapore as traveling drama troupes—Nadaga Sabhas—from India set up sta
Back to Live, Back to Normality (?)
With 2022 seeing the gradual easing of pandemic restrictions across the world, theatres in Singapore have welcomed audiences back in full for the first time since 2020. In tracking Singapore Theatre in 2022, we have seen a total of 137 shows, including:
123 live performances
8 digital theatrical performances (these includes performances that were performed live online or pre-recorded for streaming/video on demand)
4 hybrid theatrical performances (simultaneou
“Where do we start?”
This is an all-encompassing question that is relevant not just in the context of this essay but also frequently visited during my internship at Centre 42 from January to May 2022, working on the Centre 42 Archive of Singapore Theatre (Archive).
I decided to venture into this internship as part of my final-year thesis data collection and experience exposure towards the roles and significance of theatre archives in Singapore. Assigned to be part of the Archive team (with Eugen
Archive as if the future depends on it. – Lisbet Tellefsen
What is an archive? Different organisations would each define the word differently, with varying levels of specificity. Merriam-Webster defines an ‘archive’ quite simply as ‘a repository or collection, especially of information’. Archives come in many different shapes and forms, but all ultimately come down to collecting and storing material so it will not be lost.
What kind of material can an archive contain? What makes
Over a year ago, the C42 Archive of Singapore Theatre was announced with the article “Bless this Mess: a vision for an archive on Singapore theatre”. We were frank about the frustrating and messy process of developing the Archive, but we powered through and finally publicly launched the Archive last year on 11 January 2022, alongside the reveal of a revamped C42 website. Since then, our efforts have been focused on growing this record of Singapore’s theatre history, all the while making information accessib
The Centre 42 Archive of Singapore Theatre is a treasure trove of information. Having amassed a large collection of digitised collaterals and other artefacts related to Singapore’s theatre history, the Archive is shaping up to be a rich resource for anyone interested in delving into research on or finding out more about Singapore theatre.
We created the #archieologist series in 2022 as a way of promoting the use of the Archive by drawing attention to the different types of material and information
Back to Live, Back to Normality (?)
With 2022 seeing the gradual easing of pandemic restrictions across the world, theatres in Singapore have welcomed audiences back in full for the first time since 2020. In tracking Singapore Theatre in 2022, we have seen a total of 137 shows, including:
123 live performances
8 digital theatrical performances (these includes performances that were performed live online or pre-recorded for streaming/video on demand)
4 hybrid theatrical performances (simultaneou
“Honestly speaking, I feel like I am the last person I thought would adapt an Elangovan play.”
Euginia Tan, the playwright of Yeast, muses as she considers if she had any hesitations on embarking on The Vault: Yeast, her adaptation of the 2006 play Smegma into an all female cast. Through the process of rehearsing for the dramatised reading up to the presentation, we checked in with Euginia to learn more about her thoughts on working with the original text of Smegma to develop this response.
It’s difficult to start on an essay around female violence- mainly because I don’t want to believe it can exist. As a woman, perhaps I’ve also been nurtured to be conservative on that aspect: Women are, after all, upheld with a certain grace and ethic, especially in terms of family-making. I think highly of women, and identify as a woman writer. What would it mean for me to question the sanctity of a woman’s place?
About seven to eight years ago, I watched an interview by Barbara Walters with Mary
Our writers celebrate the new year by remembering the best and brightest shows we've seen over the past twelve months.
Obviously we didn't see every single production that was staged in 2010. Was there a worthy show we missed? - or is there something you want to say about one of our picks?
That's what the Readers' Comments section below is for...
About a year ago, 19 of us came together under the loose name of the ‘Care & Intimacy working group’. We had a rough proposal to spend the 12 months of the residency convening in smaller sub-groups, and we thought we might do some or all of these: mapping out the ‘care landscape’ in the local arts scene, organising practice sessions, and engaging with other individuals and organisations in the arts to advocate for broader and deeper adoption of care practices.
Fast forward to now (March 2022),