TheatreWorks (Singapore) Ltd was established in 1985. Since its establishment, the company has staged over 200 productions and about 2,500 performances in Singapore and overseas, and has reached an audienceship of close to a million over the years.
Under the Artistic Directorship of ONG Keng Sen since 1988, this international performance company based in Singapore, is known for its reinvention of traditional performance through a juxtaposition of cultures, along with its cutting-edge productions that sets new benchmarks of artistic excellence. Its works reflect a concern with cultural negotiation and artistic exchanges with artists, through a network of traditional and contemporary artists from different disciplines. It distinguishes itself from other local and Asian performance companies by encouraging creative partnerships and artistic risk-taking, pushing beyond the boundaries of one’s artistic and cultural comfort zone, and most importantly, to embrace and project the multiple realities of Asia with artistically strong works that its audiences can relate to.
Dedicated to the development of contemporary arts in Singapore and to the evolution of an Asian identity through a culture of difference, TheatreWorks is committed towards the nurturing of professional arts skills by providing residencies, encouraging collaborations and exchanges between artists. Since September 2005, the company’s new home at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road sees to this purpose by hosting the International Centre of Asian Arts (ICAA) and the Singapore Creative Arts Nucleus (SCAN). ICAA serves as a Research & Development Centre, a forum, a performance, and a platform for Asia’s expression and its relationship to the rest of the world, while SCAN is an incubator for emerging creatives.
Locally, TheatreWorks continues to support and nurture Singapore artists through developmental programmes such as The Writers’ Laboratory. Such programmes provide an avenue for writers to develop their concepts, themes and characterisation through interaction with an informed and critical audience at various stages of development.
Internationally, TheatreWorks continues to develop various productions and programmes that have gained international recognition. Homegrown research and development projects such as The Flying Circus Project have turned into an internationally known and sought-after laboratory process, while international programmes recently initiated the Continuum Asia Project (CAP) in Laos, and the Mobilising Arts Communities project (MAC) in the Mekong region have been initiated. The CAP helps to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Asia by reviving dying traditional art forms. TheatreWorks is assisting the Royal Ballet Theatre at Luang Prabang to revive the Laotian Ramayana. The MAC, on the other hand, serves to link artists and local communities through capacity building and harnessing skills of participating artists in Vietnam and Cambodia.
