There is no past without colonisation, and there is no future without it.
As we commemorate the bicentennial of the founding of Singapore, let us take a moment to express our gratitude to our founding father/s for their foresight in transforming Singapore from a small fishing village to a global metropolis. We are civilised!
Let's marvel at how, all over the world, our land has been plundered, our laws kept archaic and our freedoms curtailed by those in power. Let us honour our pursuit of economic success and excess [nothing less will do], as we continue to colonise today — through money, discrimination and land conquests, even in space. We are civilised!
Because after all, through colonisation, we are civilised! We are also schooled and silenced.
Written by Haresh Sharma and directed by Alvin Tan, Civilised by The Necessary Stage is a groundbreaking new work that takes you on a wild ride through the complications and violence of colonisation past, present and future.
Written by: Haresh Sharma
Directed by: Alvin Tan
Featuring: Edith Podesta, Ghafir Akbar, Koh Wan Ching, Lian Sutton, Siti Khalijah Zainal
Dramaturg: Melissa Lim
Set Designer: Vincent Lim
Lighting Designer: Adrian Tan
Costume Designer: Max Tan, Yuan Zhiying (MAX.TAN)
Multimedia Designer: He Shuming
Production Stage Managers: Azyyati Alias, Samantha Chia
Assistant Stage Manager: Jovetta Tan
Sound Operator: Manoj Kumar
Lighting Operators/Programmers: Tan Yi Kai, Chia Run Jin
Lighting Technician: Tai Zi Feng
Multimedia Operator: Jovyn Loh
Lighting & Multimedia Technician: Syahrudin Pasha Dasa
Crew: Ariel Lim, Cheryl Low
(Source: The Necessary Stage Archives)