It’s a good time to be a lover of theater in Singapore. Besides the big productions we get from established players, local theater company Toy Factory Productions is presenting us with a series of original plays that are the debut works of four young, aspiring local playwrights.
Cheekily titled The Wright Stuff, the series started out as an incubation program to nurture young theater talents in bringing their scripts to life. A year on, the winners of the open call that took place in June 2016—Gina Chew, Tan Jia Yee, Al Hafiz Sanusi and Samantha Chia—are all set to present their works onstage for the very first time.
Starting this weekend, you can expect quality productions packed with local flavor. The four writers went through an intensive series of creative writing workshops, mentored by Goh Boon Teck of Toy Factory Productions, to properly grasp scriptwriting for Singaporean theater.
The series kicks off with Gina Chew’s Permanence, from Jul 22-24, a poignant tale of self-actualization when past and present come to head. Then there’s Tan Jia Yee’s family-centric Chicken Curry, running Jul 27-29, which we’re already guessing will leave you wrecked and weeping by the final act. From Aug 1-3, you can catch Al Hafiz Sanusi’s Sejarah-Ku, an intersectional exploration of nationality, colonialism and gender told through the experiences of a Malayan-Anglican daughter. And finally, Samantha Chia brings the series to a close with A Piece of Cake from Aug 5-7, whose protagonist, a baker, tries to learn how to have her cake and eat it.
Four young talents, four important stories that have earned their right to finally take centre stage—certainly an achievement, given The Wright Stuff’s aim to harness theater as an avenue for important conversations. The four plays will be staged at Toy Factory Production’s newly renovated performance space NowPlaying@17 (otherwise known as 17A Smith Street) in Chinatown.
The Wright Stuff will run from Jul 22-Aug 7 at 17A Smith Street. Tickets are available at $20 here.
