Singapore’s rich cultural tapestry is a tantalising blend of the traditional and the contemporary, a world where East and West merge and collide. Our island’s talented thespians, playwrights and theatre companies regularly display this diversity through a slew of local productions.
Whether you’re looking to revel in Shakespeare beneath the stars or gain a new perspective on the modern world, these local theatre companies’ performances will have you on your feet and at the edge of your seat.
Pangdemonium
One of the stalwarts of Singaporean theatre, Pangdemonium is both labour of love and testament to the prodigious talent of our local scene. The company is helmed by veteran actor Adrian Pang—who gave up practicing law to become an actor—and his wife Tracie, the director and mastermind behind all of the company’s plays.
Besides being wildly entertaining, Pangdemonium’s annual line-up of plays are notable for their sheer diversity, with productions that will certainly change how you see the world.
In 2019 alone, the company has presented plays ranging from Peter and The Starcatcher—a family-friendly retelling of Peter Pan’s origin story—to This is What Happens to Pretty Girls, a thoughtful, provocative take on sexual violence.
To further involve the community in drama and the arts, the theatre also has numerous outreach programmes for the public—from musical theatre workshops to playwriting mentorship activities.
For more details on upcoming productions, click here.
W!ld Rice
Photo by: Wild Rice Ltd
Since its founding in 2000, W!ld Rice has been hailed as one of the pillars of the local theatre community, with accolades and performances at major art festivals around the globe. Its founder, Ivan Heng, began his love affair with theatre while studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, before conceiving W!ld Rice in 2000.
As its name suggests, the company presents productions with a uniquely Asian perspective, including remakes of theatrical classics like Boeing Boeing and literary works like Animal Farm.
The production house doesn’t fall short on original pieces either. Previous shows like Press Gang and G.F.E. unabashedly interrogate societal issues like trauma, media narratives and sexuality.
Lovers of the arts will be able to catch a performance at their brand new 358-seat theatre space, housed in Funan.
For more details on upcoming productions, click here.
Players Theatre
Parents with children who’re four or older can look forward to watching family-friendly shows from Players Theatre, a theatre company specialising in children’s plays.
The company’s founder, Carina Hales, hopes to expose children to the beauty of theatre from a young age, one story at a time.
Players Theatre stages three to four productions yearly, dramatizing popular children’s tales such like Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Three Little Pigs.
To keep the little ones entertained, the theatre also offers numerous artsy workshops from craft making to dressmaking, for both children and adults.
For more details on upcoming productions, click here.
Nine Years Theatre
To learn more about Chinese culture and the subtle beauty of Mandarin, attend a play by Nine Years Theatre.
This Mandarin-language theatre company has a small but passionate local following. Nelson Chia, the company’s artistic director, jettisoned his plans for a career in the Navy to commit himself wholly to his love for theatre.in
The company’s past plays tend to take inspiration from classic literature—Faust/Us reimagines Goethe’s diabolical tale with a female protagonist, while Lear Is Dead speculates on events after Shakespeare’s King Lear.
The troupe’s passion for the stage is evident in every performance, and Nine Years Theatre’s actors are trained in the Suzuki Method of Training, an intense physical method of training that centres on bodily awareness.
Non-Mandarin speakers will still be able to enjoy this company’s plays, as they are performed with English subtitles.
For more details on upcoming productions, click here.
The Necessary Stage
Photo by: Tuckys Photography
Since its founding in 1987 by artistic director Alvin Tan, The Necessary Stage has produced over 60 original works, many of which have gained local and international recognition.
Its resident playwright, Haresh Sharma, has turned his childhood love for literature and theatre into a vibrant career, with an output of over 100 plays. The prodigious playwright was awarded The Cultural Medallion, the pinnacle of local art awards.
Rolling out an average of two new plays a year, the stories here will certainly provoke new perspectives, with plays that explores issues like colonisation, income inequality and womanhood.
The Necessary Stage is also responsible for hosting the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, an annual event that celebrates contemporary arts and up-and-coming artists. Be sure to check out the line-up if you’re visiting in January.
For more details on upcoming productions, click here.
Singapore Repertory Theatre
The first theatre company from Singapore to have its shows premiere on Broadway, the Singapore Repertory Theatre has certainly set the stage as one of Asia’s leading English-language theatre companies. The company is a non-profit organisation fuelled by lovers of theatre, making its various awards all the more impressive.
Drama lovers who crave epic tales from across the globe should certainly check out the theatre’s repertoire. Past works have taken audience members from the courts of the Qing Dynasty in Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress to the streets of Victorian London in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
They’re also the folks behind Singapore’s Shakespeare In The Park Series, live performances of the Bard’s best-loved plays beneath the stars in scenic Fort Canning Park.
For more details on upcoming productions, click here.
Checkpoint Theatre
Checkpoint Theatre is the brainchild of Claire Wong and Huzir Sulaiman, famed artistic directors in the local performing arts scene.
Since its founding in 2002, the theatre company has released a string of productions with themes that often combine the personal and the political in a manner both heartfelt and humanizing. Past productions included Eat Duck—a meditation on loss and mortality—and Displaced Person’s Welcome Dinner, which brings to light the hidden struggles in humanitarian work.
For more details on upcoming productions, click here.