The Past is PresentIt's been on the forefront of everyone's minds this year - the 60th anniversary of Singapore's independence, marking another decade of growth and evolution for our little island. Befitting the year-long SG60 festivities, many theatre productions this year have explored and celebrated our history from various angles. We've seen shows inspired by key historical events and unique aspects of local culture, as well as restagings and adaptations of canonical theatre classics that keenly demonst
Six years after presenting The Vault: Desert Blooms, a lecture-performance tracing the history of queer Singapore theatre from 1985 - 1995, playwright Ng Yi-Sheng reunites with director Tan Shou Chen to present The Vault: Mundur Singapura. This new work follows on the heels of Desert Blooms, diving deep into another era of queer theatre on the local stage, from 1996 to 2007. Discover how our queer theatre scene evolved throughout the 1990s and 2000s, a time of political transition, loosening restrictions, a
What does it mean to curate? This is a question that has quietly sprouted in my thoughts over the course of my summer internship with Centre 42. Somewhere in between documenting the theatre productions staged in 2025, and updating the C42 Archive of Singapore Theatre with records of past local productions, I found myself contemplating the magnitude and depth of my contributions as an archive intern.The work of curation is believed by some to be reserved for professionals in the arts industries (Livings
From March to June 2025, Centre 42 ran our Creation Residency, Grand Theft Theatre (Singapore Edition) by Miriam Cheong and Adeeb Fazah. The residency officially ended on 15 June 2025 with a work-in-progress showcase at the Black Box, 42 Waterloo Street.Over the course of two interviews, we spoke with lead artist Miriam Cheong about her journey creating and staging Grand Theft Theatre, her takeaways from the process, and the next steps for her, the team, and the work.
The Past is PresentIt's been on the forefront of everyone's minds this year - the 60th anniversary of Singapore's independence, marking another decade of growth and evolution for our little island. Befitting the year-long SG60 festivities, many theatre productions this year have explored and celebrated our history from various angles. We've seen shows inspired by key historical events and unique aspects of local culture, as well as restagings and adaptations of canonical theatre classics that keenly demonst
Six years after presenting The Vault: Desert Blooms, a lecture-performance tracing the history of queer Singapore theatre from 1985 - 1995, playwright Ng Yi-Sheng reunites with director Tan Shou Chen to present The Vault: Mundur Singapura. This new work follows on the heels of Desert Blooms, diving deep into another era of queer theatre on the local stage, from 1996 to 2007. Discover how our queer theatre scene evolved throughout the 1990s and 2000s, a time of political transition, loosening restrictions, a
What does it mean to curate? This is a question that has quietly sprouted in my thoughts over the course of my summer internship with Centre 42. Somewhere in between documenting the theatre productions staged in 2025, and updating the C42 Archive of Singapore Theatre with records of past local productions, I found myself contemplating the magnitude and depth of my contributions as an archive intern.The work of curation is believed by some to be reserved for professionals in the arts industries (Livings
From March to June 2025, Centre 42 ran our Creation Residency, Grand Theft Theatre (Singapore Edition) by Miriam Cheong and Adeeb Fazah. The residency officially ended on 15 June 2025 with a work-in-progress showcase at the Black Box, 42 Waterloo Street.Over the course of two interviews, we spoke with lead artist Miriam Cheong about her journey creating and staging Grand Theft Theatre, her takeaways from the process, and the next steps for her, the team, and the work.
From 12 - 16 March 2025, we attended our very first Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM)! 2025 marked the sixth edition of BIPAM since 2016, and the overarching theme was 'Tip of an Iceberg', calling for awareness and responsibility towards our human and natural environment, and deeper understanding of the complex systems and processes involved in the arts.Â
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 heartf
This essay accompanies our devised performance piece, PE*IS, created as part of TS3103 Theatre Lab (a core module for Theatre Studies students in NUS) and as a part of The Vault Residency with Centre 42. It serves as a critical and reflective inquiry into the thematic, conceptual, and artistic concerns that have shaped our work. This essay focuses on the why: our perspectives as artists, the insights gained throughout the entire process (which comprised a mixture of structured research and organic improvisa
Brian Ko, Chong Shen Hao, Hannah Rose Lee, Kah Seng Lian, Leoson Lee, Yi Xuan Lock
As part of our continuing efforts to document Singapore theatre, and ensure that practitioners, educators, and other stakeholders have resources to learn about the history of the theatre ecosystem, Centre 42 has commissioned an article about a major event that took place in 2024 - Singapore Repertory Theatre changing their name to Singapore Theatre Company. This article provides a timeline of key events, and more information regarding the context in which these events took place.
From June to October 2024, Centre 42 ran our Creation Residency, Privacy Settings – An Original Musical by Myle Yan Tay and Nathaniel Mah. The residency officially ended on 14 October 2024 with a final read of an updated draft at The Theatre Practice Studio. On 13 November, we spoke with Nat and Yan about their experience throughout the entire process, their learning points and reflections, and what's next for them and for Privacy Settings.Â