Synopsis:

Over the past decade, a new crop of Malay playwrights has emerged, making their mark on Malay Theatre. Works from these theatremakers raise interesting questions about the state of Malay Theatre in Singapore.

Is Malay Theatre defined purely by language? What are the politics and aesthetics of Malay Theatre? Is it situated at a margin to mainstream English Theatre, and how does this marginality shape production? Given the widespread use of surtitling, are those works still primarily written to address a Malay audience? And are there certain taboos that exist because of religious sensitivities and 'community standards'?

Join Alfian Sa'at and fellow Malay playwrights Aidli 'Alin' Mosbit, Irfan Kasban, Nabilah Said, and Nessa Anwar in our Living Room as they explore the issues they grapple with in their works.

Alfian Sa'at
Alfian is well-known for frank, insightful, and provocative literary and dramatic works, written in English and Malay. As the Resident Playwright of W!ld Rice, he has written acclaimed plays such as the Asian Boys trilogy (2000, 2004, 2007), Cooling-Off Day (2011), and the historical epic Hotel (2015, co-writer). Alfian is also an author with published collections of short stories and poems such as Corridor (1999) and The Invisible Manuscript (2012). He is a four-time winner of Best Original Script at the annual M1-The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards and a 2001 recipient of the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award for Literature.

Aidli Mosbit
Aidli Mosbit graduated with a degree in Drama from Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia). Aidli writes, directs, acts, teaches, and designs lighting and costume. She has worked extensively with many local theatre companies like The Necessary Stage, W!ld Rice, Teater Ekamatra, and Drama Box. Together with Noor Effendy Ibrahim and Alfian Sa'at, Aidli published an anthology of Malay plays in the book BISIK. Aidli is the Founder and Director of Panggung ARTS and she is the recipient of the Young Artist Award for Theatre in 2008. Aidli is currently working in Temasek Polytechnic as the Section Head of the Arts Division, in the Student & Alumni Affairs department, while pursuing her Master of Education.

Irfan Kasban
Irfan Kasban is a freelance theatre maker who writes, directs, designs and, at times, performs. His unwavering dedication to art is a celebration of space and time, we call life. The former Associate Artistic Director of Teater Ekamatra attended the prestigious La MaMa Umbria International Symposium for Directors 2012, and have written and directed several works. These include Hantaran Buat Mangsa Lupa (M1 Fringe Festival 2012), 94:05 (Kakiseni Festival 2013), and Trees a Crowd (Twenty Something Festival 2016). Last year Irfan's play TAHAN (2012), was selected for Esplanade's Fifty – a celebration of Singapore's seminal works.

Nabilah Said
Nabilah Said was guided by pure instinct and methodical madness when she ventured into the world of theatre in 2010 as part of Teater Ekamatra's youth wing, Mereka. She was part of Mentah, a platform to help nurture young playwrights, from 2012 to 2015. There, she was blessed with opportunities to show her work to unsuspecting audiences, such as Tart (2015), Next Station (2014) and Lost (2012). She is now foolishly addicted to the fear and thrill of writing for the stage, and is hungry for more. She is one of two applicants selected to take part in Centre 42's Boiler Room programme for playwrights via an open call in 2015. She is also a full-time writer at The Straits Times Life!, and writes poetry and short stories on the sly.

Nessa Anwar
Nessa Anwar has written, acted, produced and directed for theatre, television, digital content and short films. Currently a multimedia journalist by day, she believes wholeheartedly in the content she creates. Nessa began acting first, under companies like Singapore Repertory Theatre's Young Company and Teater Ekamatra. Nessa also wrote and acted in a play commissioned for a Singapore Writer's Festival Checkpoint Theatre 2015 event entitled Riders Know When It's Going to Rain, which was restaged for the 2016 Singapore Theatre Festival under W!ld Rice.