The Shows Will Go On

2021 is supposed to have been the year that kicks off the “new normal”, but we find ourselves still grappling with COVID-19 changing much of what we know. Much of the theatre industry has since embraced the digital space after experimenting with it last year. In charting the activity of Singapore Theatre in 2021, we have seen: 

• 44 digital theatrical performances (these includes performances that were performed live online or pre-recorded for streaming/video on demand)
• 87 live theatrical performances
• 13 hybrid theatrical performances (simultaneously performed live and online)
• 7 cancelled live theatrical performances 
• 7 postponed live theatrical performances (that were staged later on the year)  

For the fifth year running, Centre 42 is documenting Singapore Theatre’s year in a timeline. As with the previous iterations, we rely on the public to help us build a comprehensive picture of the year. If you want to suggest shows to add to the timeline, you can email us at info@centre42.sg.

You can scroll through the timeline below. If you’re experiencing problems viewing the timeline, you may download the PDF here.

This year, the spine of the timeline reflects theatrical performances that were presented in a multitude of ways: live in theatre, pre-recorded, in the digital space, and at times in a hybrid of modes. You’ll be able to track the different phases of COVID-19-related restrictions and their impact on our theatre scene. 

We mark the disruptive periods brought on by the emergence of the Delta variant – Phase 2, Phase 2 (HA), Phase 3 (HA), Phase 2 (HA ver2) – in grey, where pre-event testings (PET) were introduced, and live, unmasked performances were either severely restricted or not allowed. Performances that were originally scheduled then were either cancelled or postponed, and restaged at a later part of this year.

With COVID-19 becoming endemic, Singapore entered the ‘Stabilisation Phase’ in the last quarter of the year. Observe how Singapore’s Theatre picks back up as we try to live and work through it – facing the threats of being shut down or disrupted should cast or production members face health risk warnings, quarantine orders or worse, contract the virus.

It has been a suspenseful 21 months since the fateful Circuit Breaker happened in April 2020, and we’re truly hoping for a smooth recovery. With this timeline, Singapore Theatre in 2021 charts the cautious optimism of the theatre industry and the resilience of our theatre practitioners. As they say, the shows will go on!

Singapore Theatre in 2021 is released in conjunction with Year in Review 2021: Jeng Jeng Jeng, jointly presented by Centre 42, ArtsEquator and Channel NewsTheatre, in collaboration with Artwave Studio.

RESEARCH
KE WEILIANG
NADIA CARR

DESIGN & LAYOUT
CHARLOTTE TAN

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
CHARLOTTE TAN
DENISE DOLENDO
LEE SHU YU
MA YANLING
NABILAH SAID

2020 was not normal year in Singapore theatre. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all theatres were shut down and live performances were completely barred for seven long months in the middle of this year.

Against the backdrop of the unfolding public health crisis, SINGAPORE THEATRE IN 2020 charts the activity of Singapore theatre, specifically:

• 50 live theatrical performances,
• 27 known cancelled live theatrical performances,
• and 104 digital theatrical performances (which could either be archival footage, or digital productions that were performed live online or pre-recorded for streaming).

This is the fourth consecutive time that Centre 42 is documenting Singapore theatre’s year in a timeline. As with the previous iterations, we rely on the public to help us build a comprehensive picture of the year. If you want to suggest shows to add to the timeline, you can leave your suggestion at bit.ly/yir20padlet or contact us at info@centre42.sg.

You can scroll through the timeline below. If you’re experiencing problems viewing the timeline, you may download it here.

The spine of the timeline only reflects live theatrical performances, so you’ll be able to observe when Singapore theatre ground to a halt, and the tentative steps we’ve been taking in the last quarter of the year to bring back live theatre. Cancelled performances float above, faded, like spectres of what could’ve been.

The timeline also illustrates the surge in digital theatre activity as the industry tried to tide over the dark days of Circuit Breaker. You’ll also be able to observe the early attempts made to create theatre in a digital space.

And lastly, the tail end of the timeline visualises a strange in-between period as public safety measures are loosened. Some of Singapore theatre is slowly going back to the stage; but we’re also creating work online, much more than ever before.

2020 brought many challenges for Singapore theatre. With this timeline, SINGAPORE THEATRE IN 2020 documents the resilience of the people in Singapore theatre and their remarkable ability to adapt to unprecedented challenges.

SINGAPORE THEATRE IN 2020 is released in conjunction with Year in Review 2020, jointly presented by Centre 42 and ArtsEquator on 19 Dec on Zoom.

RESEARCH
KE WEILIANG

DESIGN & LAYOUT
DANIEL TEO

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
DANIEL TEO
DENISE DOLENDO
LEE SHU YU
MA YANLING
NABILAH SAID

This is our third consecutive year undertaking the mapping exercise to document all the local productions in the calendar year. Back in 2017, we started the timeline because we kept hearing from new audiences that there wasn’t much happening in Singapore theatre. But avid theatre-goers knew otherwise — some weekends were so chock full of theatre that it was impossible to catch them all.

SINGAPORE THEATRE IN 2019 maps a whopping 219 local productions, up from 163 in 2018 and 133 in 2017. It is a strong indication that Singapore theatre is producing more as a whole, but the increase could also be due to our mapping methodology. We began with the list of shows offered to our Citizen Reviewers, later cross-referencing that with online arts events listings like Arts Republic and the websites of various performance venues. The surge in this year’s total may be partly because more theatre performances (especially small productions) are documented online.
Starting last year, we’ve attempted to depict the daily level of performance activity going on in the scene. What we’ve come up with is a visualisation of the ebb and flow of Singapore theatre, with productions culminating to a fever pitch on weekends, before dying down on ‘dark’ days (Mondays) when the industry collectively takes a breather.

We’ve also had the unenviable task of deciding what could be considered “Singapore theatre”. We’ve settled on theatrical productions created and/or staged by local theatre-makers, which includes tertiary and arts schools, to independent theatre-makers, to the major established theatre companies.

But as with every year’s timeline, we rely on you to help us fill in the gaps. If you think a local theatre production is missing and should be included, or have any suggestions or spot any errors, please write to us at info@centre42.sg.

SINGAPORE THEATRE IN 2019 is supplemented with information from the following Centre 42 programmes:

• THE REPOSITORY is our digital archive of Singapore theatre ephemera. Several productions in the timeline are restagings, adaptations and sequels, and hence related to earlier works. These productions are accompanied by images of Repository artefacts from these prior stagings. View more information about the artefacts at repository.centre42.sg.
• CITIZENS’ REVIEWS is our critical writing programme. Productions in the timeline which have been reviewed by a Citizen Reviewer have been marked with “CR”. Read these published reviews at bit.ly/citizensreviews.
• BASEMENT WORKSHOP is our residency programme which supports the incubation of new theatrical work in our spaces. The shows this year which have developed work in the Basement Workshop are marked with “BW”. To find out more, visit bit.ly/basementworkshop.
• LIVING ROOM is a platform for conversations about Singapore theatre. This exhibition is held in conjunction with In the Living Room: Year in Review 2019. Presented on 8 December 2019, Year in Review 2019 invited the Singapore theatre community to chat about two key trends in 2019 — depictions of sexual violence, and decolonisation.

SINGAPORE THEATRE IN 2018: centre42.sg/singapore-theatre-in-2018

SINGAPORE THEATRE IN 2017: centre42.sg/singapore-theatre-in-2017

DESIGN & LAYOUT
DANIEL TEO

RESEARCH
LEE SHU YU
DANIEL TEO
MA YANLING

REPOSITORY ARTEFACTS
DRAMA BOX
NINE YEARS THEATRE
SINGAPORE REPERTORY THEATRE
THEATREWORKS
THE NECESSARY STAGE
THE THEATRE PRACTICE
TOY FACTORY PRODUCTIONS
W!LD RICE

When we created the first timeline last year, it was in response to naysayers claiming nothing much happens in Singapore Theatre. This year’s timeline is likewise a visual up-yours to anyone who thinks our theatre landscape is barren. In 2018, we’ve documented 163 local productions*, from small shows by independent theatremakers all the way up to main season offerings from established companies.

We sourced this year’s shows from what we ourselves had seen and heard about this year, from the reviews our Citizen Reviewers had written about, and from arts websites like Arts Republic. Now and then, we’d come across a production that challenged our ideas of what is “Singapore” and/or “Theatre”. But more often than not, we erred on the side of ‘the-more-the-merrier’ as our definitions stretched.

But we wanted to do more with this year’s timeline. As avid theatre-goers, there were times in the year when we felt that it was a challenge to catch every theatre production that may have been happening over a particular weekend. The 2018 timeline shows concentrations of productions on each day of the year — each bar, representing a day, grows in length the more shows run on that day. With more going on on some days than others, this year’s timeline is a sine wave depicting the ebb and flow of activity in Singapore Theatre.

In addition, we noticed an abundance of festivals this year. In the timeline, a total of 19 festivals for or related to Singapore Theatre have been shaded across their respective periods and labelled.

We also tracked the shows that received some form of support from Centre 42, from productions which rehearsed and/or staged work in our spaces, to works incubated in our Basement Workshop residency programme.

Singapore Theatre in 2018 was exhibited in the Centre 42 Front Courtyard from 4 December 2018 to 31 January 2019.

*As of 26 Feb 2019, eight more productions – suggested by the public – have been added to a timeline, taking it to a total of 171.

DESIGN & LAYOUT BY DANIEL TEO

FEATURED REPOSITORY ARTEFACTS CONTRIBUTED BY CAKE THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS, DRAMA BOX, SINGAPORE REPERTORY THEATRE, TEATER EKAMATRA, THE FINGER PLAYERS, THE NECESSARY STAGE & TOY FACTORY PRODUCTIONS

Singapore Theatre in 2017 is supplemented with information from the following Centre 42 initiatives:

• The Repository is a digital archive of Singapore theatre ephemera. Several productions in the timeline which are restagings of earlier works are accompanied by images of Repository artefacts from these prior stagings.
• Citizens’ Reviews is a critical writing programme. Productions in the timeline which have been reviewed by a Citizen Reviewer have been marked with “CR”.

Responding to public feedback, the panels have been revised. At this point, they capture 133 dramatic works that were staged in 2017. Click each thumbnail to view a panel.

January to March 2017

April to May 2017

July to September 2017

October to December 2017

Design & layout: Daniel Teo
Research: Gwen Pew, Ma Yanling, Daniel Teo

Special thanks to Max Yam (ArtsRepublic) and Ke Weiliang

Featured Repository artefacts contributed by Checkpoint Theatre, Drama Box, I Theatre, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Teater Ekamatra, The Finger Players, The Necessary Stage, The Theatre Practice, Toy Factory & W!ld Rice

Panels last updated 28 March 2018.

If you discover productions missing from the timeline, have any suggestions or spot any errors, please write to us at info@centre42.sg.

The interview was conducted on 17 February 2015 at the National University of Singapore.

1. What Makes a Reviewer

“So I took a technical theatre class where I rigged lights and drilled sh*t.”
Corrie talks about the training she received in school, as an intern at the Straits Times, and as a rookie reporter. She also reflects on the importance of “institutional memory” to the theatre critic.

2. Looking at the Theatre Critic

“Whenever you’re part of an establishment paper, there will always be a fence.”
Corrie discusses the perception and role of the theatre critic in the industry.

3. Reviewing Techniques and Strategies

“Never use a pencil, because it makes a noise.”
Corrie shares how she goes about reviewing a theatre production.

4. Corrie Reviews Her Past Reviews (Part 1)

“ST should never let – and they’ve stopped – never let interns write [reviews] ever again. I don’t know whether it’s because of me!”
Corrie candidly reviews her review of The Art of War, written in 2006 while interning at the Straits Times, and reflects on her growth as a theatre critic since then.

5. Corrie Reviews Her Past Reviews (Part 2)

“You just need two sentences. You need to tell people what they’re reading about.”
Corrie reviews her review of the dance theatre production Thunderstorm (2013).

6. Corrie Reviews Her Past Reviews (Part 3)

“It pains me a lot when I have to write a bad review.”
Corrie reviews her review of Tartuffe (2015) by Nine Years Theatre. In this clip, she shares how to write a negative but fair review.

Seminar 1 | 观看 Watching

• 什么是剧评？What is a review?
• 什么是剧场？What is theatre?

Seminar 2 | 概述 Overview

• 什么是文本？What is text?
• 什么是阅读？What is reading

Seminar 3 | 技巧 Techniques

• 有什么方法？What are the methods?
• 怎么样运用？How to apply them?

Seminar 4 | 步骤 Steps

• 怎么样选题？How to select a topic?
• 怎么样准备？How to prepare?

This is a programme presented under The Theatre Practice’s Practice Lab, in partnership with Centre 42. All sessions are conducted in Mandarin.

This sharing is led by Dr. Robin Loon, the Centre’s chief consultant for documentation, dramaturgy and discourse and contributed by reviewers Isaac Tan, Andre J. Theng and Gan Soon Rui.

The sharing session held on 22 December 2014 was part of a get-together for the 2015 batch of Citizen Reviewers.

Clarissa Oon is a Straits Times journalist with extensive experience covering the arts in Singapore. She also wrote a book tracing the history of Singapore’s English Language Theatre. This series of interviews were conducted by Dr Robin Loon on 11 February 2014.