THE WRITERS' LAB
24-Hour Playwriting Competition - 2011



Judges’ Speech

(delivered by Natalie Hennedige)


A thriving theatre scene is vital for Singapore’s artistic landscape to keep evolving. Good theatre touches our hearts and invigorates our minds. It helps us look more closely at society and our humanity. We need to be fully convicted of the necessity of theatre and the arts in our contemporary world as a means of reflecting upon and exploring the complexities, tragedies and triumphs of life.

Discovering and nurturing new voices in our theatre scene is crucial. The TheatreWorks 24- hour playwriting competition is a wonderful and significant platform to exercise creativity and to discover exciting possibilities in new original writing. It is so important that we keep developing original Singapore writing that offers perspective of life and living in our city on all fronts. We need to be open to the entire range of perspectives even the ones that make us a little uncomfortable and take us out of our comfort zone or challenge our mindsets. We need to keep building our canon of Singapore plays. Celebrating the classics and looking forward to new works that will join the ranks of the plays that have jolted us and have made us question, think

Done skillfully and honestly, theatre has the power to reach into the spectator and stir something within- something, entirely personal, often private and unique to each person. Then, for a moment, the spectator (and the art) transcends and the theatrical event becomes a wondrous, inspired/inspiring experience.

This year we received 12 scripts from the Youth Category and 37 scripts from the Open Category. Dr. Seet, Tze Chien and I had the privilege of reading the scripts and taking in the varied perspectives that the writing offered. I’ll take the opportunity now to offer our combined feedback for each of the winning entries.


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Open Category

The Sins Of Our Children

The premise involving the public persona versus the private dilemma of a Singapore MP is engaging. What makes the script gripping is the uneasy tension between the minister's family and the decease's family. There is both buoyancy and rootedness in the writing and storytelling that makes it inviting and relatable. The writer can work on the pacing of the piece as it has the potential to be a story of tremendous heart and vocal power.

A Hope And A Wish

This play effectively reconciles an urban dystopia with myth-making. The setting is a rubbish heap cum landfill, in which two garbage men scavenge for items of value and encounter a genie in a pot. What each man subsequently asks for not only encapsulates shades of their morality but juxtaposes the fine distinction between a hope and a wish. Some edits will help tighten the script. Other than that, a delightful piece with a wonderful sense of theatricality.

We Were Balloons In The Sky

The script sparkles with originality and finesse; it turns what is essentially a classroom drama into a hyper-real universe with imageries of violence and carnage. The writing is confident and playful and offers very exciting possibilities on the rehearsal floor. A little more plot and character development would deepen the overall journey. Nonetheless, a delightful and imaginative work.

Accounting Principles

The piece astutely explores the notion of meritocracy in Singapore as this is tied to nepotism, connections and social background. The banter between the protagonists is sparkling and nuanced. The characters reflect a distinctly Singaporean psyche and capture rivalry, antagonism and soullessness in the rat race. Accounting Principles comes across as a vignette rather than a play, but it certainly packs a punch.


Youth Category

Saying Grace

The playwright demonstrates that he has a wonderful ear for dialogue. He depicts the emotional vulnerability of the protagonist with sharp writing and humour. In so doing, he elevates a conventional narrative of trauma and the faint hope of recovery into a vivid play. The fully realized main character ties the whole play together, delivering much emotional impact from start to finish. The other characters in the play are less fleshed out and could be more developed. Nevertheless, riveting and refreshing.

The Bad People Of Szechwan

The writing is fast and furious with a raw, biting energy. Paying homage to Brecht’s original masterpiece, this morality tale has a grand narrative design that is ambitious in its scope and treatment. The play should be credited for its attempts to engage with social issues of greed and class disparity. While not substantiating any of its diverse strands fully, it does attempt to answer some of the nagging questions posed by the original play. A commendable effort.

Hello, goodbyes

There is a charming simplicity and earnestness in this compelling whodunit. The playwright demonstrates a good sense of the stage and the theatrical language, employing conflict, suspense and tender moments to move the plot along. Particularly moving are the parentchild relationship and the tender conclusion. Some characters are more well rounded than others but still a tender, heartfelt exploration.


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On behalf of all the judges, I’d like to take the opportunity to commend and encourage all who took part in the 24-hour playwriting competition. The scripts offered us a wonderful glimpse into the ideas and inspirations that fuel each writer and we have appreciated the heart, passion and creativity that have gone into all the scripts that were submitted.

We encourage one and all to keep writing and to keep discovering the wonderful possibilities in the world of theatre.


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