Mundur Singapura: The Second Wave of Queer Singaporean Theatre is a kaleidoscopic romp through the rabak 90s and early noughties of queer plays, mapped against the backdrop of loosening restrictions, daring experimentation and parliamentary debates about Section 377A.
This dramatised reading is presented in collaboration with Centre 42, as part of its The Vault series, and is a sequel to Desert Blooms: The Dawn of Queer Singaporean Theatre.
About The Playwright
Ng Yi-Sheng is a writer, researcher and activist with a keen interest in the forgotten histories of Singapore and Southeast Asia. His books include Lion City (winner of the Singapore Literature Prize) and SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century, as well as the forthcoming children’s book Twisted Temasek and novel Utama (shortlisted for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize). He has written plays like The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles (Wild Rice) and crafted lecture performances such as Desert Blooms: The Dawn of Queer Singaporean Theatre (the prequel to Mundur Singapura). He tweets and Instagrams at @yishkabob.
About The Rice Cooker
The Rice Cooker is an incubation programme that will be kicking off this year with a series of dramatised readings of new plays that are currently in development at Wild Rice. This is part of the company’s New & Now initiative, which is dedicated to developing new and original writing for the Singapore stage in a structured, sustainable way.
Under this scheme, plays are developed through rigorous dramaturgy and script workshops. They are then presented as dramatised readings, with actors reading early drafts in front of an audience so that playwrights can gather feedback on what works and what needs more work. This is the most effective way for plays to get an early test run, and for audiences to get involved in the otherwise unseen hard work that goes into creating a play: rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting.
For this inaugural Rice Cooker season of dramatised readings, Wild Rice is delighted to present four powerful new works-in-progress from playwrights both well-known and new to our audiences, as part of their ongoing development with us.
Rating: TBC
Duration: TBC
Recommended for patrons aged 21 and above
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