Ten years ago, on 21 April 2014, Centre 42 first opened its doors to the public. Over the past decade, we've run programmes and residencies that have brought hundreds of practitioners through our doors. We've supported many artists and collectives, and built a community that believes in our mission to support the creation, documentation and promotion of Singapore theatre. 2024 marks our 10th Anniversary, and we're celebrating it throughout the year with a series of programmes and events that celebrate
Sound Plot is Centre 42’s audio plays series, each edition drawing on a certain geographic area in Singapore. This edition, produced in collaboration with the NTU Museum, zooms in on Jurong West and its surrounding area, where the university is located. This is an invitation for two writers to respond through audio drama to this fascinating area, guided by the curatorial prompt “Ulu”. Selected writers will need to be available for an intensive 3-week script development phase in October 2024, and will w
Audio drama is an exciting form that can be as sweeping and ambitious as it can be intimate and personal. And for writers looking to produce their own work, it's a remarkably DIY form: all you need is a story and a laptop.This is a workshop that aims to familiarise participants with writing and producing audio drama, zooming in on the NTU campus as a source of inspiration. Over the course of three sessions, participants will learn about the storytelling techniques and potential of audio drama, generate idea
Cor Machina (Heart of the Machine) is an immersive and interactive experience combining poetry, sound, and light. Part of "Waterloo Street Stories 2024: Interplay" and Centre 42's 10th Anniversary celebrations, this event celebrates the rich histories and communities of Waterloo Street.Waterloo Street represents Singapore's diverse heritage, and Cor Machina explores the connections between communities and the arts, symbolised by the typewriter as a relic with the poet as its beating heart. The typewrit
Proletariat Poetry Factory
Start: 7 September 2024
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About Us
Centre 42 incubates original writing for production development, provides space and resources for artists and new work creation, and runs a functional archive documenting the histories and processes of Singapore theatre.
We are a registered charity with Institution of Public Character status, and depend on public donations to continue our work. Help us support the development and documentation of Singapore theatre by making a contribution.
In this book, you’ll find the annotated scripts of two acclaimed lecture performances written by Ng Yi-Sheng, exploring forgotten chapters of Singapore history.
Ayer Hitam: a Black History of Singapore explores the history and influence of the African diaspora in Singapore over two hundred years. It trawls the archive for stories of slavery, colonialism, jazz and nationalist struggle, reaffirming the value of black culture in our shared heritage. Collaboratively created with Sharon Frese and Irfan K
It was in April 1992, at the opening of the Singapore Press Holdings Young Playwright Series, when then-Senior Minister of Education Tay Eng Soon intoned, “Ours is still a traditional society which values what is private and personal and is not comfortable with public values and explicit discussions of sexuality and what it considers as deviant values. By all means, let our “cultural desert” bloom. But please let the blossoms be beautiful and wholesome and not be prickly pears or weeds.”
The mid-80s to t
Early queer-themed theatre works in Singapore often responded to events which directly affected the LGBTQ community. The Vault: Desert Blooms recounts several key moments in history between the years 1985 and 1995 which provided fodder and impetus for theatre-makers to create work. Here are three important events in Singapore queer history that influenced the work made in the local theatre scene during the period: