CHARGED

23 Jul 2026 - 02 Aug 2026
The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, WILD RICE @ Funan

Synopsis: Written by Chong Tze Chien and winner of Best Script at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards in 2011, CHARGED is set during Chinese New Year and opens on a tense night in camp, where the only soldiers left on guard duty are Malay and Indian. The uneasy quiet is broken by the arrival of Corporal Russell Lim. Old resentments surface, insults escalate, and taboos are shattered. By dawn, two soldiers, one Chinese and one Malay, lie dead.

As Investigating Officer Victor de Souza pieces together the chain of events, he confronts a maze of half truths, silences, and conflicting loyalties.

Set within the suffocating hierarchy of army life, the play confronts the fraught question of race with unsparing candour and a sharp refusal of easy political comfort.

Cast & Creatives:
Playwright: Chong Tze Chien
Director: Mohd Fared Jainal
Lighting Designer: Adrian Tan
Sound Designer: Safuan Johari
Cast: Brendon Fernandez, Irsyad Dawood, Teo Jun Vinh, Krish Natarajan, Ali Mazrin, Izzul Irfan, Siti Hajar Abdul Gani, and Serene Chen
Sound Designer Assistant: Leon Gabriel Wan

Production Team:
Producer: Shaza Ishak
Co-Producer and Co-Production Manager: Khairina Khalid
Co-Production Manager: Anais Adjani
Stage Manager: Giovanni Harris
Assistant Stage Manager: Natalie Titus
Assistant Stage Manager: Mirra M Z
Production Assistant: Sofie Buligis
Surtitlist: Sharmin Norman
Set Drafter: A Kumarran
Fight Choreographer: Lian Sutton
Key Visual Designer: Akbar Syadiq
Marketing Executive: Mysara Aljaru

Review:
bakchormeeboy.com
www.timeout.com
citynomads.com
bakchormeeboy.com
www.straitstimes.com
www.beritaharian.sg
www.beritaharian.sg
www.channelnewsasia.com

TIGER OF MALAYA

25 - 26 April 2026
World Theatre Festival Shizuoka

Synopsis: In 1943, the Japanese film The Tiger of Malaya portrayed Tani Yutaka as a patriotic agent liberating Malay natives from colonial powers. Over 70 years later, actors will reenact scenes with thoughtful recasting: Malay actors take the place of the original Japanese actors, Chinese actors portray antagonists in a nuanced way, and a Japanese actor navigates the space between hero, villain, and victim. Through comedy and performance, the production examines how identity is shaped less by historical fact than by persistent myth.

Playwright: Alfian Sa'at
Director: Mohd Fared Jainal
Actors: Siti Khalijah Zainal, Ghafir Akbar, Rei Kitagawa, Ken Sugiyama, Darren Guo
Sound designer: James Lye
Lighting designer: Adrian Tan
Set designer: a.syadiq
Visual Media designer: Eric Lee
Producer: Shaza Ishak

Production Team:
Khairina Khalid
Anais Adjani
Deena Shaqinah
Mysara Aljaru

Production: Teater Ekamatra

LA LUNA

16-19 Apr 2026
Singtel Waterfront Theatre at Esplanade

Synopsis: Inspired by the acclaimed 2023 film by director M. Raihan (Clover Films and Papahan Films), La Luna follows the quiet upheaval of a small village after the arrival of a modern lingerie shop run by an unwelcome newcomer, Hanie. Her presence unsettles long-held social codes, awakening desires that have long remained unspoken.

As relationships deepen and tensions simmer beneath the village's carefully maintained façade, the community is forced to confront its own hypocrisies and contradictions between tradition and change, conformity and desire, belief and personal freedom.

Premiering in 2023, the film La Luna was Singapore's entry to the 97th Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2025, for the Best International Feature Film category. It has been screened at numerous film festivals including the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the Shanghai International Film Festival. This inaugural stage adaptation is led by an all-star cast of theatre heavyweights including Munah Bagharib, Fir Rahman, Farhana M Noor, Sani Hussin, Fauzie Laily, Siti Khalijah Zainal, Rizman Putra, Haziqah Hashir and Ali Mazrin.

Together with a powerhouse creative team comprising of playwright Ridhwan Saidi, director and production designer Mohd Fared Jainal, lighting designer Adrian Tan and sound designer Safuan Johari, La Luna captures the same spirit of its namesake film and promises to be a sharp, heartfelt comedy that is as provocative as it is entertaining.

Inspired by the motion picture La Luna by director M. Raihan with credit to Clover Films and Papahan Films.

Cast & Creatives:
Cast: Munah Bagharib, Fir Rahman, Rizman Putra, Siti Khalijah Zainal, Farhana M Noor, Haziqah Hashir, Ali Mazrin, Sani Hussin and Fauzie Laily
Playwright: Ridhwan Saidi
Director and Production Designer: Mohd Fared Jainal
Lighting Designer: Adrian Tan
Sound Designer: Safuan Johari
Assistant Director: Irsyad Dawood
Choreographer: Md Al-Hafiz Hosni
Vocal Coach: Babes Conde

Production Team:
Producer: Shaza Ishak
Production Manager: Khairina Khalid
Production Manager: Anais Adjani
Technical Manager: A Kumarran
Stage Manager: Keira Lee
Deputy Stage Manager: Wann Nurul Asyiqin
Assistant Stage Manager: Natalie Titus
Assistant Stage Manager: Jasmine Khaliesah
Mic Operator: Khairatun Nadhirah
Lighting Programmer: Paul L
Production Assistant: Putri Prizaiwati
Surtitlist: Sharmin Norman
Wardrobe Master: Theresa Chan
Dresser: Noor'Ain Afiqah
Dresser: Maya Husna Azman
Key Visual Designer: Akbar Syadiq
Marketing Executive: Mysara Aljaru

Review/Press:
www.straitstimes.com
bakchormeeboy.com
www.beritaharian.sg

Other activities

Festival Teater Antaranusa by ASWARA

Teater Ekamatra joins Festival Antarnusa, organised by Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA), with a programme of performances, workshops and conversations bringing together artists and practitioners from across the region.

Kedai Cerita Runcit

Balik
Playwright: Zulfadli Rashid
Director: Siti Khalijah Zainal
Cast: Rusydina Afiqah

Showcase

Rantai Emas
Playwright: Mysara Aljaru
Director: Siti Khalijah Zainal
Cast: Rusydina Afiqah, Haziqah Hashir

Workshop: Translation, Adaptation & Transcreation
Led by Zulfadli Rashid

This workshop introduces participants to the art of translation, adaptation, and transcreation through interactive activities, collaborative discussions, and hands-on practice. Participants will explore how language changes according to context, audience, culture, and purpose, while developing practical skills in adapting texts creatively and effectively.

Forum: Praktis Teater Kontemporari Nusantara: Menelusuri Perspektif Serantau

Teater Ekamatra's Executive and Artistic Director, Shaza Ishak, joins practitioners from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand for a regional forum exploring contemporary theatre practices across Nusantara. The discussion brings together perspectives from different cultural and artistic contexts, considering how theatre practitioners navigate the region's diverse histories, languages and approaches to contemporary theatre-making.