In line with the festival theme, which explores various futures – known, unknowable, imminent, and already-here – we are inviting playwrights to dream up their own headlines from the future, and write pieces in response to them!

Headline Acts: Tomorrow’s News is a fun and informal showcase of new short plays, open to writers of all experience levels wishing to respond to a given prompt. The public open call for playwrights to submit their play ideas and Headline titles ran from 20 February to 11 March 2024, and received 21 submissions!

sorin.scapes, Yu Xuan Tan and Siobhan Covey were selected from the Open Call, and will present their works alongside invited guest writer Nessa Anwar at a one-night only affair on 1 June 2024.

Here’s a preview of the Headlines they have imagined for this future:

Nessa Anwar: "Singapore enforces 'income-bracket curfew' for male citizens and foreign workers, in an unprecedented move to curb mounting civil unrest."

Siobhan Covey: “Woman Indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Conspiracy to Subvert Police Surveillance.”

sorin.scapes: “Man found dead at heritage house; prime suspect is octopus.”

Yu Xuan Tan: “Posters uncovered in a university bathroom hint at an undocumented revolution.”

Hosted by Irsyad Dawood whose debut play Kids, Gifts, COEs & Roast Duck was the rib-hurting sleeper hit of the 2023 edition, Headline Acts: Tomorrow’s News promises to be a raucous end to Centre 42's line-up at SIFA 2024:Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

"Educated Boys & Girls" by Nessa Anwar

Responding to the headline "Singapore enforces 'income-bracket curfew' for male citizens and foreign workers, in an unprecedented move to curb mounting civil unrest"

Synopsis:

Two journalists, with very different career trajectories, recount their time in Singapore-based newsrooms.

Written by: Nessa Anwar
Performed by: Sani Hussin, Nessa Anwar

Nessa Anwar

"Dead to Rights" by Siobhan Covey

Responding to the headline "Woman Indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Conspiracy to Subvert Police Surveillance"

Synopsis:

The year is 2037. The future (now present) is in a state of intense surveillance. A young woman finds herself facing a hefty jail sentence. The crime? Turning off her phone. As the scene unfolds, the woman and her lawyer contend with the fact that she may very well end up incarcerated for something so seemingly insignificant. But the question remains - was she unaware or was this an act of rebellion?

Written by: Siobhan Covey
Performed by: Sloane Covey, Siobhan Covey

Siobhan Jane Covey

"Letters to [redacted]" by Yu Xuan Tan

Responding to the headline "Posters uncovered in a university bathroom hint at an undocumented revolution"

Synopsis:

Year 2065: Posters championing marriage equality in Singapore discovered during the demolishment of a university bathroom lead 2 students to uncover an accidental time capsule. Is this the answer to their prayers? Or will this be the start of what tears them apart?

Written by: Yu Xuan Tan
Performed by: Sarah Siaw, Yu Xuan Tan

Yu Xuan Tan

"The Octopus at Beng Wan Road" by sorin.scapes

Responding to the headline "Man found dead at heritage house; prime suspect is octopus"

Synopsis:

A man is found dead at a heritage mansion. The only witnesses say they spot an octopus leaving the crime scene. As this news takes the nation by storm, countless curious-cats, self-professed detectives, table-bangers and religious fanatics gather for a glimpse of the elusive creature. Who or what killed the man?

The Octopus at Beng Wan Road is an off-beat piece of magical realism with fleeting characters and one core question: are we the strange ones?

Written by: sorin.scapes
Production Manager: Mark Benedict Cheong
Script Consultant: Eugene Koh
Performed by: Cheryl Ho, Genevieve Tan, Hu Yuheng, Ramzie Tahar

sorin.scapes

Documentation

Video documentation of Headline Acts: Tomorrow's News is available to view, by request. If you would like to view the archival video, please email info@centre42.sg for more information.

The Process: Behind the Scenes

A large group of people seated around tables, reading off their devices.

4 May: The first table read for Headline Acts: Tomorrow's News, where all four scripts were read, and the playwrights received initial feedback.

Two persons standing in front of a table deep in thought. Behind the table is another person dressed in black, resting a hand on the top of their head.

26 May: Playwright Nessa Anwar and performer Sani Hussin in discussion during a rehearsal for Educated Boys & Girls in the Black Box at 42 Waterloo Street.

A female-presenting person in black, standing and facing a seated person in orange.

29 May: The first rehearsal for Dead to Rights, featuring [from left] performer Sloane Covey and playwright Siobhan Covey, in the Rehearsal Studio at 42 Waterloo Street.

Four persons in a black box, in various positions and wearing different colourful clothes.

30 May: Performers [from left] Cheryl Ho, Hu Yuheng, Ramzie Tahar and Genevieve Tan in rehearsal for The Octopus at Beng Wan Road, in the Black Box at 42 Waterloo Street.

A female-presenting person gesturing and smiling at a shorter female-presenting person who looks stressed and concerned.

31 May: Playwright Tan Yuxuan and performer Sarah Siaw rehearsing a scene from Letters to [redacted] in the Black Box at 42 Waterloo Street.

A large group of people in colourful outfits posing in a dark black box.

1 June: The four playwrights, their cast members, and host Irsyad Dawood posing for a group photo after wrapping Headline Acts: Tomorrow's News! View more photos at Centre 42's Facebook.