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STRAIGHT ACTING

16 Jun – 2 Jul 2022

Wild Rice @ Funan

“Straight Acting is the most honest and intelligent play about the struggles of the LGBTQ community in Singapore in recent history.” – The Business Times

From award-winning playwright Thomas Lim (Grandmother Tongue, Supervision) comes Straight Acting, a hopeful, heartfelt comedy about the drama of trying to keep things straight… when you’re anything but.

All Olivia and Jaime want to do is start a family and make a life together – something they can’t easily do in straight-laced Singapore. To make the system work for them, Olivia and Jaime get their gay best friends, Russell and Jia Ming, in on the act. Together, they pretend to be two happy, heteronormative couples living in wedded bliss.

At first, blending a little fiction into the facts of their lives seems to go well. But things start to fall apart when Jia Ming’s mother visits unexpectedly. Suddenly, the four friends find themselves wondering: is living a lie really living at all?

Bitingly funny, moving and thought-provoking, Straight Acting boldly examines – and redefines – what home truths and family values mean in Singapore. Fresh off a sold-out premiere run in 2021, this sensational new play makes its eagerly anticipated return to the Wild Rice stage in June. Don’t miss it!

Duration: approximately 1 hour 30 minutes (with no interval)
IMDA Rating: R18 (Homosexual Theme)

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Tue, Wed & Thu, 7:30pm
$25, $35, $40, $50

Fri, 7:30pm /  Sat, 2:30pm & 7:30pm / Sun, 2:30pm
$30, $40, $50, $60

Goh Guat Kian
Darren Guo
Tan Shou Chen
Eve Voigtlander
Deonn Yang

Written & Directed by Thomas Lim
Dramaturg Alfian Sa’at
Set Designer Wong Chee Wai
Lighting Designer James Tan
Sound Designer Jing Ng
Multimedia Designer Rachel Ng
Hair Designer Ashley Lim
Make-Up Designer Bobbie Ng

Reviews

“Straight Acting is the most honest and intelligent play about the struggles of the LGBTQ community in Singapore in recent history. Rising young playwright-director Thomas Lim has once again couched a complex and sensitive topic in very local, very human terms.”

The Business Times

“Thomas Lim has a deep empathy which has served him well in his storytelling thus far… There is a lot more comedy here than was on offer in Lim’s previous plays… What anchors the story in deeper waters is Lim’s ability to write nuanced characters with just a few lines of dialogue.”

The Straits Times

“Thomas Lim’s skill as a playwright is more evident than ever, tackling such a stressful and sensitive subject with nuance and a healthy amount of wit and humour. Much of the play’s success is derived from his ability to write realistic, recognisable characters and dialogue, and how the cast’s strong chemistry makes it feel as if they’ve truly spent years living together.”

Bakchormeeboy

“A very visceral and emotional journey of laughter and tears... tonight’s show really inspired and touched me so much… this was one of the most honest and beautiful shows I’ve ever watched… I am thoroughly moved.”

KEAT (@kid.keat)

“Thomas Lim’s funny, tender and ultimately life-affirming drama gently upends the heteronormativity that pervades so much of our society and shows that everyone should have the right to live life on their own terms.”

Naeem Kapadia (@nkapped)

“11/10 would recommend! [Straight Acting is] funny, sad, heartwarming and heartbreaking – sometimes all at the same time.”

Teo Yu Sheng (@heckin.unicorn)

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