This mid-August, catch an original play by first-time playwright and veteran actress Jo Tan. Presented by local theatre company The Finger Plays and developed under their two-year playwright incubation programme Watch This Space, Forked will be overseen by many seasoned creatives, including the theatre’s programme director, Chong Tze Chien.
Adventure alongside Jeanette Peh (played by the multi-talented Jo Tan herself) in Forked, who gives up an education in law, and embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she leaves Singapore for the UK to study theatre. But the road to success is riddled with hurdles. Besides being labelled as an “Asian student”, Peh also struggles to fit in with her fellow British schoolmates. And when she gets into a particular class that requires her to speak her native language in order to provide an honest performance, Peh realises that not only is she unfamiliar with her native language, she doesn’t know who she is either.
The play was first written during a six-week writers programme by Checkpoint Theatre, then performed as China Wine, as part of Saga Seeds Theatre’s Seed Incubator Readings. It was also later staged as a five-hander at the M1 Fringe Festival 2018.
In few words, Forked is a coming-of-age, local story. But more importantly, it’s one that will resonate with Singaporeans, with subjects and issues revolving around our unique, Singaporean identity.
So following the National Day long weekend, tap into your seasonal patriotism, and find delight in this light-hearted yet heart-warming original comedy.
Forked will run from Aug 15-18, at Drama Centre Black Box. Tickets are available here.
