A Black American influencer accuses a Malaysian bureaucrat of condoning blackface. A Singaporean-Indian teacher launches an Instagram feud calling out racial inequality at home, post-George Floyd. A privileged Singaporean-Chinese activist meets a compassionate White Saviour, and an ethnically ambiguous political YouTuber takes a DNA test for the first time.
A cross-cultural encounter involving artists based in Singapore, Malaysia, and the United States, Who’s There? uses Zoom as a new medium to explore the unstable ground between us and “the other”. In this pandemic contact zone, lines along race, class and gender bleed into one another, questioning the assumptions we hold of ourselves and the world around us. What sort of tensions, anxieties and possibilities emerge, and how can we work to reimagine a New Normal?
This piece contains content of a sensitive nature.
Click here if you wish to read the full content warning.
Created by The Transit Ensemble
டிரான்சிட் என்சொம்பல்
ذا ترنست أنسمبل
摆渡组合
Co-directed by Sim Yan Ying “YY” and Alvin Tan
Featuring: Camille Thomas, Ghafir Akbar, Neil Redfield, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai ரெபெகா சங்கீதா டொரை, Sean Devare, and Sim Yan Ying “YY”
Dramaturgy by Cheng Nien Yuan & J.Ed Araiza
Multimedia Design by Jevon Chandra
Sound Design by Jay Ong
Publicity Design by Sean Devare
Stage Manager: Manuela Romero
Stage Management Intern: Priyanka Kedia
Marketing & Multimedia
Intern: Ryan Henry
DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM
About the Lead Artists
Sim Yan Ying “YY” is a theatre artist based in New York and Singapore. She creates in the capacity of a director, performer, writer, and choreographer, and is particularly drawn towards intercultural works that challenge existing forms and boundaries. Original works include: I LOVE WHITE MEN (Caveat NYC, Ars Nova ANT Fest, Dixon Place), Without Reason (Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay), and 06:58 (The Substation). YY is currently an artist in the Mabou Mines SUITE/Space program and WILD RICE’s directing residency. BFA: NYU Tisch. simyanying.com
Alvin Tan is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage since 1987. One of the leading proponents of devising theatre in Singapore, Alvin has directed more than 70 plays which have been staged locally and at international festivals. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and in 1998, was conferred the Young Artist Award for theatre. In 2010, he was conferred the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, followed by the Cultural Medallion in 2014 by the National Arts Council in Singapore. necessary.org
