The Orange Production launches with exciting new collaborations with young artists

Local theatre company The Necessary Stage (TNS) will be working with young playwrights Nabilah Said and Faith Ng as part of the company’s new project, The Orange Production.

Launching as part of TNS’ 30th anniversary celebrations, The Orange Production is an exploratory platform where the company collaborates with new artists on smaller, portable works. The inaugural edition in 2017 will showcase a double-bill featuring Nabilah Said’s Drip, together with Whale Fall, a new play by Faith Ng.

Helmed by two Cultural Medallion recipients, The Orange Production will see TNS’ Artistic Director Alvin Tan directing Whale Fall and Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma for Drip.

“I’m really enjoying working with Nabilah on her play. Her writing is simple yet incisive. She captures the joy and pains of everyday life in very unexpected ways. Plus, her play is really very funny,” says Sharma, who will be sitting in the director’s chair for Drip. This will be the first time that he is directing a play that is not written by him.

Drip, a play about the intricacies of family dynamics as they navigate through waters affected by an interracial marriage will feature actors Deonn Yang, Faizal Abdullah, Shafiqhah Efandi and Nurijah Sahat.

“Just last November, I was telling people about this play I had written but didn’t know if anyone
would want to stage. So it feels surreal to be working with The Necessary Stage, who have been
nothing but generous with their support for me and this new work. It feels like the beginning of a
new relationship,” adds Nabilah who will be working closely with Sharma.

In Whale Fall, a meditative play about loss and the search in life, two characters explore the
redemptive power of art and friendship. Written by Faith Ng and brought to life by US based
Singaporean actors, Liz Lazan and Jeane Reveendran, it will be directed by Alvin Tan.

“I am looking forward to working with Faith, Elizabeth and Jeane because I’ve not worked with
them before on a full-scale production. There’s a freshness I’m experiencing that I believe will be
both terrifying and exciting that I hope to transform to creative and innovative energies for the
production,” says Tan.

Faith, who will be premiering Whale Fall as part of The Orange Production noted, “I’m excited to be working with Alvin for the first time. This project has given me the space to take artistic risks and to push myself to try something exciting and different.”

Also working on the productions are Costume Designer Loo An Ni, Set Designer Azy Alias and
Lighting Designer Liu Yong Huay (for both Whale Fall and Drip) as well as Sound Designer Jing Ng
(for Whale Fall). All four will be collaborating as designers with TNS for the first time.

Through The Orange Production, TNS aims to provide the support and boost young artists need to produce their works. By creating a dynamic relationship where all parties are able to share their artistic visions and ideas, the company hopes that the platform will inspire young artists and theatre practitioners to collaborate with TNS for future projects.

Performances will run from 10 to 13 August 2017, 8.00pm at The Necessary Stage Black Box Theatre.

For more information, visit www.necessary.org.

The Necessary Stage presents
 THE ORANGE PRODUCTION Drip and Whale Fall – A Double-Bill

The Orange Production

The Orange Production is a collaborative platform featuring young artists working closely with The Necessary Stage under the guidance of Artistic Director, Alvin Tan and the company’s Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma.

For 2017, TNS is proud to present a double-bill featuring Drip by Nabilah Said and Whale Fall by Faith Ng.

Drip

What makes a marriage? The fully-furnished HDB flat, the mutual secret keeping, the mother-in- law? Azam and Xiaoyan have to confront their differences when Azam’s mother and sister make a surprise visit at home. Clashes of culture, religion and gender lurk within the still waters of everyday life and threaten to undo familial ties. Heartbreaking and humorous in turns, Drip is an unflinching look at the sacrifices – big and small – that we make to be at peace with one another and with ourselves.

Drip was first conceived in July and August 2016 as part of a playwriting masterclass led by Huzir Sulaiman, Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre. It was written over six weeks under the guidance of Huzir, with the help of classmates Kimberly Arriola, Joses Ho, Debbie Ng, Dora Tan, Jo Tan and Nanda Yadav.

Whale Fall

Two best friends and fellow actors perform the first scene of a play and decide to change it. As fiction and truth become interwoven, they share stories, secrets and sweets. A meditative play about the things you lose and the things you search for in life, Whale Fall explores the redemptive power of art and friendship.

Tickets

$28 | $20*
Concessions:
 Students, NSF, senior citizens, PWD card holders: 20% discount off any tier

Get your tickets now at http://theorangeproduction.peatix.com 

For school, group and corporate booking offers, please contact The Necessary Stage at (65) 6440 8115 or via email at [email protected].