Play Reads

Melanin and the Hungry Ghost - Presented by The Necessary Stage, Playwrights Cove

19/12/2020

Synopsis:
All Madhavi Shankar has ever wanted to be is to be Chinese. Systemic racism, microaggressions and even biases with her own Indian community have haunted her throughout her life.

During the Hungry Ghost Festival, Madhavi invokes a spirit to execute her request. Meanwhile, her co-worker, Victoria Tay, gets her privileges checked when forced into an Indian body. How far will this racial pretence take them?

How do various forms of racial discrimination manifest within and across different ethnic groups? Is inclusion possible in a society with deeply entrenched prejudices? What happens when we walk in each other's shoes?

Cast: Pramila Pam, Gloria Tan, Mumtaz Maricar, Jaisilan Sathiasilan, Julius Foo
Mentored by: Haresh Sharma, Directed by: Alvin Tan
Many thanks to the team from The Necessary Stage!

Fridays are Good for Indian Daughters

27/5/2020

This play was written as part of my Master of Arts in Creative Writing thesis and a short reading was presented at our graduation showcase via Zoom (thanks Covid). I do not have any photos of the read unfortunately, but here's a picture of my shiny thesis booklet! :)

Synopsis:
For most of their lives, sisters Sindhu and Ruby have roleplayed the “Good Indian Daughter,” abiding by their single father’s overbearing rules. Ruby, who is wheelchair-bound and has cerebral palsy, yearns to explore the dating world. Her caregiver, Sindhu, is at the family’s beck and call and entertains the idea of a life beyond the walls of her family home. All hell breaks loose when Sindhu decides to pursue a fancy degree overseas and Ruby falls in love. How will the sisters carve their own lives while reconciling with their father’s unorthodox ways?

‘Fridays are Good for Indian Daughters’ explores the challenges women from traditional Indian households face in modern-day Singapore and how they must straddle between the old world and the new to pave an identity for themselves.

Read by: Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Hasisha Nasir
Thank you to programme leader Prof. Darryl Whetter, Ng Swee San (my thesis supervisor) and Lasalle College of the Arts!

Well of Silence - Presented by T:>Works

28/7/2019

25-year-old Sanjeevan doesn't believe in many things – that men can run home to look after their babies, do household chores and perform Hindu prayer rituals at home. His single mum, Suseela, believes her breast cancer is a punishment from the gods. She tells him to hide her shame. Suddenly, Sanjeevan is left with a caregiver role he didn't sign up for and struggles to grapple with his dilemma. What happened to "manning up"?

Part of N.O.W. by T:>Works, Well of Silence explores caregiver challenges of adult-children, mortality and deeply entrenched beliefs on masculinity. Who is enabling these cultural systems to thrive? From when? And why?

Cast: Ruban Maniam, Mumtaz Maricar, Sharda Harrison, Hemang Yadav
Directed by: Grace Kalaiselvi
Thank you to T:>Works and Noorlinah for this amazing opportunity!

Absence Makes the Heart... - Presented by Centre 42

28/10/2017

Written by Aswani Aswath and dramaturged by Alfian Sa’at, Absence Makes the Heart… is an attempt to trace the presence and absence of Indian roles in Singapore English-language theatre, from the early days of its birth to the present moment. Featuring the actors Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Sivakumar Palakrishnan and Grace Kalaiselvi, the work will ask: How much do we miss those who have gone missing?

Cast: Sivakumar Palakrishnan, Grace Kalaiselvi, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai
Dramaturg & Exhibition Curation: Alfian Sa’at
Photography, Research, Exhibition Layout: Daniel Teo
Thank you to the team at Centre 42 for making this possible!

More details

Play Reads

Melanin and the Hungry Ghost - Presented by The Necessary Stage, Playwrights Cove

Fridays are Good for Indian Daughters

Well of Silence - Presented by T:>Works

Absence Makes the Heart... - Presented by Centre 42

Playwright's Note

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