In 2001, The Necessary Stage (TNS) launched Playwright's Cove, a development and mentorship programme aimed at nurturing, processing and platforming contemporary playwriting for Singapore theatre. Many of its participants are well-known practitioners and educators today, including Jean Tay, Ng Yi-sheng, Natalie Hennedige, Kenneth Kwok and Matthew Lyon.

The return of Playwrights’ Cove in 2020 is part of TNS' effort to consolidate and boost its skills development and creative exploration programmes through the launch of the TNS Devising Platform. This series of play-readings will showcase the new works of the participants that have emerged from the programme. Please note that each session will feature different works.

Playwrights' Cove is a five-month playwriting training and mentorship programme led by Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma for 10 selected participants.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent safe management measures, the play-readings will be screened via Zoom.

Thursday 17 December 8pm: Isaac Lim Jue Hao & Mohamed Saleem s/o Abdul Hadi

What is Sex? by Isaac Juehao Lim

A national athlete. A kindergarten teacher. An undergraduate. A community club manager. They are all average sexual beings navigating the beautiful (or sometimes nasty) world of their sexuality and sexual activities. What is Sex? is an exploration of the sexually sidelined, the unspeakable and the not-so-taboo. Will race, disability, money or kinks define them?

Directed by Thong Pei Qin. Starring Fadhil Daud, Rajkumar Thiagaras, Shannen Tan and Zee Wong

Where are my crows and pigeons by Saleem Hadi

We are all ticking time bombs. It’s just a matter who explodes when, how and to whom. We see people ‘exploding’ nowadays—in trains, in buses, at work, at home and many more. So much of pent-up anger in each of us that we ‘explode’ at the unexpected of moments. Where are my crows and pigeons? explores the silence people carry with themselves as they travel through the day. But only time can tell whether this silence a peaceful or destructive one. The play explores the unsettled issues of individuals whose moods and actions create a domino effect.

Directed by Saleem Hadi. Starring Ali Khan, Amit Arun Joshi, D Piriyadarisini, Danny Yeo, Mark Seow and Saleem Hadi.

Friday 18 December 8pm: Euginia Tan & Jaryl George Solomon

Fortunes by Euginia Tan

A spa assistant struggles to reveal a fortune teller’s reading to her client when social and language barriers cause a rift.

Directed by Aswani Aswath. Starring Grace Kalaiselvi, Jo Tan, Sangeetha Dorai and Victoria Chen

kink by Jaryl George Solomon

People say that two’s company and three’s a crowd. But gay men have very different ideas. Three spells sweaty romps of carnal exploration. Three means bodies taking turns to unravel themselves. Or perhaps, could three be the very number that exposes how hypocritical and humiliating humans can be?

Equal parts humorous and horrifying, Jaryl George Solomon’s kink examines the power play that hides in plain sight within the gay community, especially when it comes to the bodies that house our desires—in their various shapes, sizes and shades.

Directed by Tysha Khan. Starring Eatsham Ahsan, Fadhil Daud and Henrik Cheng

Saturday 19 December 3pm: Shireen Abdullah & Aswani Aswath

Sengsara (Samsara) by Shireen Abdullah

An inexplicable mass disappearance shakes pragmatic Singapore. As the government springs into action, the media explodes with speculations on the fate of the missing. A man, his daughter and a foreign domestic worker seek comfort though routine and ritual, as they struggle to make sense of what has happened. They grapple with loss, fear and an increasing sense of alienation, questioning the very foundation of their beliefs.

Inspired by The Vanishing, a short story by Dave Chua from his collection, The Beating and Other Stories (2011).

Directed by Serena Ho. Starring Michael Tan, Michelle Tan and Siti Khalijah Zainal

Melanin and the Hungry Ghost by Aswani Aswath

All Madhavi Shankar has ever wanted is to be Chinese. Systemic racism, microaggressions and even biases within 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?

Directed by Alvin Tan. Starring Gloria Tan, Jaisilan Sathiasilan, Julius Foo, Mumtaz Maricar and Pramila D/O Krishnasamy

Saturday 19 December 8pm: Rajkumar Thiagaras & Teo Pei Si

The Cove by Rajkumar Thiagaras

Ela goes cruising one night at a secluded cove, expecting nothing more than a moment of pleasure, or even to find love. What he doesn’t expect is to be arrested by police constable Ben during an undercover operation that will change the life of one, and destroy the life of the other—forever. Based on the true case of the 1993 Tanjong Rhu anti-gay operation, The Cove is a fictional account of one man’s trial as he is outed, shamed and ultimately ruined, thus blurring the lines between morality and humanity for all concerned.

Directed by Rajkumar Thiagaras. Starring Shanjeevi Ganesan and Zulfiqar Izzudin

searching... by gongxin 弓心 (Teo Pei Si)

Five strangers died in an accident and were told that they have to process their applications for reincarnation.

However, they have one problem: they can’t remember their names. And this is the key factor for their application to be approved. If they can’t recall their names in 49 days, they would be banished to the place of no return.

As they set off on a journey of searching, they soon realise that they have to confront their identity as a Chinese in Singapore. Would they be able to untie the knots in their lives within 49 days?

Directed by Nelson Chia. Starring Angelina, Chng Yi Kai, Jodi Chan, Johnny Ng, Koh Wan Ching, Kwan Chun Long and Melody Chan

Sunday 20 December 3pm: Mark Benedict Cheong & A Yagnya

White Moth by Mark Benedict Cheong

I heard it from my father, that white moths carry the spirits of our loved ones.

Jeremy and his daughter Alex visit their family home where his sister Monica has been looking after Paul, their father with dementia, for close to half a decade. In running from his own issues at home, Jeremy finds himself forced to confront his failures and his role as a father, brother, and son. White Moth examines sibling relationships, caregiving, how we hold on to those gone before, and how we continue to be present to those here today.

Directed by Thong Pei Qin. Starring Ashley Fong, Joshua Lim, Julius Foo, Miriam Cheong and Neo Swee Lin

Hi, Can You Hear Me? by A Yagnya

Nyajira Utama is a Malayan Tiger running a mysterious bar in limbo that seems to attract an odd mix of patrons. Maria's life keeps ending prematurely and she is desperate escape from this tragic loop. Shimizu's memory is failing him as he grapples with the loss of his wife and tries to keep up with his AI caretaker. Sindhu is struggling to regain a semblance of a "boring" life since experiencing an earthquake over video conference that resurfaces past trauma. Benjamin tries to find some control in his otherwise uncontrollable life as a broadcast journalist but is stuck in a hotel room.

The play follows various characters whose normalcies have fractured due to various happening beyond their control. How and why do their paths cross? When everything that was going smoothly gets disrupted, what is there left to cling onto?

Directed by Alvin Tan. Starring Gloria Tan, Jaisilan Sathiasilan, Lian Sutton, Nishihara Ryo, Sangeetha Dorai and Sharda Harrison