Plays in this collection:⁣⁣ 𝘈𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘹𝘹𝘹!!!⁣⁣ 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦⁣⁣ 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘬 𝘒𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘨⁣⁣ 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴⁣⁣ 𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 ⁣⁣ ⁣ Featuring five plays by Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma, created over a span of two decades, 𝘈𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘹𝘹𝘹!!! 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 is an audacious collection that casts a spotlight on LGBT lives and issues explored in The Necessary Stage’s productions. Yet these plays go beyond being simply out, loud and proud. Rather, they deal with a range of topics—from dealing with death in 𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮, to fissures within the community in 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴, to examining the limits of liberal ideals in 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦—and advocate tolerance and acceptance of difference in our midst.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ The collection also includes a foreword by Artistic Director Alvin Tan and an introduction by researcher Shawn Chua.

A young Malay-Muslim woman describes a day in her life – starting with a visit to the prison in the morning to see her cousin, and ending at the hospital to be with her mother who is undergoing chemotherapy. She shares her most immediate concerns, such as trying to settle a divorce with her husband through the Syariah laws in Singapore.⁣ ⁣ 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘖𝘧, although specific in its issues – grappling with divorce matters in Singapore's Muslim community – broaches more universal themes. It appeals to anyone regardless of identity markers such as race, class, gender and faith.⁣ ⁣ From the kindness of strangers to the staleness of familiarity, the protagonist reveals, through her encounters in this one day, the worst of and the best of, the people around us.

The Necessary Stage is at the forefront of social and community theatre in Singapore. Its plays, created through research and collaboration, actively engage different communities and empower audiences across all ages.⁣ ⁣ In recent years, The Necessary Stage has been creating and performing plays on specific medical issues such as dementia, suicide, biomedical ethics and palliative care.⁣ ⁣ 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦 is a brand new collection featuring six of these plays by award-winning playwright Haresh Sharma.⁣ ⁣ Drama is a very effective tool in raising public awareness on important social issues. The plays in this collection will especially appeal to schools and social service agencies because they are educational and reach out to a wider public.⁣ ⁣ The publication also contains notes on the plays by the writer as well as an introduction by The Necessary Stage's Founder and Artistic Director, Alvin Tan.

A young Singaporean man is making a journey to his father’s birthplace in Hyderabad, Pakistan. With him are his father’s ashes. As he makes the arduous trip, he retraces the original journey made by millions of people — including his parents and grandparents — in 1947, during the partition of India and Pakistan.⁣ ⁣ A play that looks at three generations of men struggling with their dreams and their journeys, 𝘌𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘦 is an intimate look at personal stories affected by historical events.⁣ ⁣ First staged to critical acclaim as a short play by Scotland’s 7:84 Theatre at Traverse Theatre, 𝘌𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘦 was developed into a full-length production and presented in Singapore as a Fringe Highlight of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2008.

A man stabs an MP at a Meet-the-People Session. But this is not their story. It is the story of the man’s girlfriend, an Indonesian maid who wants to get married and become a Singaporean citizen. It is the story of the MP’s wife, who tries to cope with her husband’s injury and the media spotlight. It is the story of the maid’s employer, who is also struggling with her own tragedy. These three women may mean nothing to each other, but they need one another to survive. The maid, the employer and the MP’s wife. Are they all model citizens?⁣ ⁣ Written by veteran Singaporean playwright Haresh Sharma, 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 won Best Director (Alvin Tan) and Best Actress (Siti Khalijah Zainal) at the 2011 The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards.

𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 was first staged by The Necessary Stage in 1993, under the direction of Alvin Tan. Despite some controversy on funding and censorship, the play was eventually performed to public and critical acclaim.⁣ ⁣ Over the past 13 years, 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 has been made into an experimental feature film, published as part of a one-play series, adapted into a television movie, given a full reading in the UK, taught at a University in Kuala Lumpur and translated and staged as 𝘖𝘵𝘢𝘬 𝘛𝘢𝘬 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 in Kuala Lumpur. As one of The Necessary Stage’s landmark works, 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 is part of the Singaporean canon of literary works, and now and “O” and “N” level Literature text. 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 is also the first ever Singapore text to be offered at “O” levels.⁣ ⁣ The creation of 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 owes much to a methodology and process that allowed a group of dedicated and passionate artists to research into matters beyond their life experiences, to build a body of emotional and psychological knowledge to draw from, and sufficient time to nurture the maturity of character, relationships and themes.⁣

𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 is the much-awaited guide to 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 , one of Singapore's most celebrated plays. This resource guide comprises material that will greatly benefit all educators and students of 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 . It features pedagogical notes, insights on the play, as well as a question and answer section with the playwright, Haresh Sharma. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 made history in 2007 by being the first Singapore play selected by the Ministry of Education to be offered as a GCE O- and N-Level literature text. The play, best remembered for presenting an honest and unflinching look at mental illness and the social prejudices surrounding it, is back on the syllabus since 2018. ⁣⁣ ⁣ 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 features: ⁣⁣ - Founder and Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage, Alvin Tan shares his insight on directing and staging 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 ⁣⁣ - Educator Laremy Lee provides a useful guide on approaching narrative, characters, themes, and theatrical and stylistic devices in the play ⁣⁣ - Journalist Akanksha Raja reflects on her experience studying 𝘖𝘧𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦

The Necessary Stage has been at the forefront of youth arts education since 1992. In 20 years, the company has created numerous plays which have toured primary and secondary schools. Six of these plays can be found in this brand new collection.⁣ ⁣ Award-winning playwright Haresh Sharma has created stories and characters that will entertain, delight and surprise the reader. The plays include contemporary adaptations such as 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘭𝘦𝘵, 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 (based on Shakespeare's 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘵), 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 (based on 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘰𝘰𝘥) and 𝘈𝘩 𝘉𝘰𝘺 & 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 (adapted from 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬). The collection also includes the hugely entertaining H𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺? and 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦.⁣ ⁣ 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 contains notes on the plays by the writer as well as an introduction by Alvin Tan.

Another day in Singapore. Another minor road accident.⁣ ⁣ Another incident of road rage?⁣ ⁣ Typical Singaporeans.⁣ ⁣ 𝘗𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, TNS' ground-breaking production by Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma, grapples with the issue of road rage. A unique production involving social media interaction, audiences of Poor Thing were invited to watch a video clip of an accident before they enter the theatre to catch the 'live' action on stage. During the performance, more clips were posted online which audiences could view and comment on.⁣ ⁣ 𝘗𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 challenges you to explore what drives road rage in Singapore.

Over the past three decades, award-winning playwright Haresh Sharma has written more than 120 plays, many of them created with the The Necessary Stage’s unique devising methodology.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘮: 𝘈 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵’𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 offers unprecedented access into the devising process, with keen insights and intimate reflections gleaned from Haresh’s artistic journey.⁣ ⁣This book describes Haresh’s devising process in meticulous detail, illustrated by production case studies and incorporating numerous archival artefacts, including photographs, early drafts of scripts and personal correspondences. It also features in-depth interviews with some of TNS’ most notable artist-collaborators.⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣ The chapters highlight different aspects of devising such as:⁣⁣ ⁣ Devising with Communities⁣⁣⁣ Devising and Verbatim Theatre⁣⁣⁣ Devising and International Collaboration⁣⁣⁣ Devising and Interdisciplinary Theatre⁣⁣.⁣ ⁣⁣ Written as an accessible how-to guide, 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘮: 𝘈 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵’𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 promises to be an invaluable resource for playwrights, directors, students, teachers and collaborative artists, as well as anyone curious about Singapore theatre history.

After the successful launch of 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, The Necessary Stage returns with another collection of plays, 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘐 by Haresh Sharma.⁣ ⁣ This collection of 6 plays contains some of Sharma’s best and most popular early works. 3 of them, 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘰 𝘖𝘶𝘵, 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 and 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 have been published in a previous collection, but which is no longer available.⁣ ⁣ The other 3 plays, 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘐 and 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘐𝘐 have never been published before.⁣ ⁣ The collection also contains an introduction by Alvin Tan as well as notes to each play by Sharma.

Following the successful launch of 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘐, The Necessary Stage presents 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘐𝘐, the second installment of short plays by award-winning Singapore playwright Haresh Sharma.⁣ ⁣ This collection of 8 plays includes some of Sharma’s best and most popular early works, including 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘨𝘰𝘥 which have been performed to rave reviews both locally and internationally. 3 other plays, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 and 𝘒𝘰𝘢𝘯 have also been performed at international festivals.⁣ ⁣ For 6 of the 8 plays, this will be their first appearance in print.⁣ ⁣ The collection also contains an introduction by Alvin Tan as well as notes to each play by Sharma.

“The marginal voice here is now one of exile, suspension and loss; more than just a dissonant whisper, it has the power of some fearsomely universal cracks” ⁣ - Clarissa Oon, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦!, 3 June 2000⁣ ⁣ 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 is an accomplished and thoroughly absorbing collection. Each play in this remarkable book tantalises the audience with its provocative and unique style. The plays in this collection are 𝘉𝘦, 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦, 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯, 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘩, 𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 and 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. Haresh Sharma invites us to enter the minds and lives of a range of startling characters: Susan, who is plagued with grief at the loss of her daughter; Jen, who is a manifestation of modern self-interest; Rosnah, balancing cultural priorities. These are just a few of Sharma’s powerful creations, through whom he addresses issues such as grief, racial tension, alienation and avarice.

𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵, 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 turns the spotlight on the madcap lives of teachers and students in a typical secondary school in Singapore. As the teachers struggle daily to nurture and groom, the students prefer to hang out and “chillax”. With upskirting and Facebooking, griping and politicking, school takes on a whole new meaning as the colourful characters struggle to prove that those who can, teach.⁣ ⁣ Written by Singapore’s most prolific playwright Haresh Sharma, 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵, 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 was first staged by The Necessary Stage in 1990 to critical acclaim. Twenty years later, Sharma revisits this classic to revitalise it for the Singapore Arts Festival 2010, transforming it into a powerful portrayal of the pressures and challenges facing teachers (and students) in schools in the 21st century.

𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 is a collection of three plays by Haresh Sharma that explore the fundamentals of text and realism by scrutinising pressing issues that affect contemporary society.⁣ ⁣ Written between 2006 and 2008, the plays –𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 and 𝘎𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘬 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴–feature simple but powerful narratives that question personal, social, cultural and political convictions.⁣ ⁣ These award-winning plays represent some of The Necessary Stage’s most critically-acclaimed works in recent years and are set to be contemporary classics of Singapore theatre.