Within Singapore’s tight-knit theatre scene, every production feels a little like a reunion. And for performers and backstage crew alike, familiar faces collaborating to tell fresh stories on stage lead to making new memories. Beyond sets or scripts, strong communities are being built too.

NUS alumni Mr Timothy Wan (NUS English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies ’13) and Ms Marilyn Chew (NUS Psychology ’19) concur. They first collaborated on local Mandarin theatre company Toy Factory Productions’ Old Songs of Redhill Market in 2021, and more recently, WILD RICE Singapore’s historical romp Dreamplay: Asian Boys Vol. 1. Moonlit City, an original Mandarin musical that marks Singapore’s 60^th birthday and Toy Factory Productions’ 35^th anniversary, will be their third production together as part of a larger working team.

Named after a popular Mandarin song, 城里的月光, written by well-known local composer Tan Kah Beng, Moonlit City blends local music, history and theatre to retell the enduring love story of Singapore’s founding leader Mr Lee Kuan Yew (HonLLD ’13) and his wife, Mdm Kwa Geok Choo (DipArts ’47). Helmed by Toy Factory Productions’ Chief Artistic Director Goh Boon Teck, playwright Jedidiah Huang (Arts & Social Sciences ’21) and music director Benny Wong, the production features an impressive ensemble including leads Mr Wan and Sunny Yang, joined by Katherine Tang, Joel Low, Misha Paule Tan, Clement Yeo, Mabel Yeo and Joel Tan. Ms Chew is part of the production team, serving as stage manager.

Both Mr Wan and Ms Chew relish the opportunity to work together again, to break new creative ground and strengthen a foundation of trust. “With rehearsal processes, when you’re working with people you’re familiar with, you always feel like it’s a safer space to sort of get into it as quickly as possible,” explained Mr Wan. “You know what you can expect.” He is familiar with the story of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, having taken on the role of trade unionist and Barisan Socialis leader Mr Fong Swee Suan in the 2022 staging of The LKY Musical by Singapore Repertory Theatre. Playing the lead role this time is “a nice return to the story,” he added. “Here we are, 10 years on, with another LKY production. It’s a story that resonates a lot with Singaporeans and something that they continue to have an interest in, and want to know a bit more about. I think it’s an exciting time to be able to tell it again.”

Opening Doors to the Arts
Their university experiences, which shaped their careers, were vastly different. Mr Wan majored in theatre studies, and his cohort was small, with just 11 students. “It felt like one big production stretched over four years,” he says, adding that he got to know everyone well. While some of his peers left the industry to teach or work in marketing, many still remain connected to theatre in one way or another.

Ms Chew, in contrast, pursued a major in psychology. “My cohort had over 300 people,” she said,  recalling the chaos of bidding for modules. For her, the thrill of independence was a highlight of her undergraduate days, living on her own for the first time, and heading to Sydney for a four-month student exchange programme at the University of New South Wales. “I think I really grew as a person at NUS,” she says, “not just through classes, but all the experiences outside of them.” Some of her closest friends to this day are from the Arts Camp recreational group she joined in her freshman year.

Both Ms Chew and Mr Wan acknowledge that their early taste of theatre set the stage for everything that followed. Their respective leaps of faith — one many young creatives will recognise — have turned into careers. Ms Chew had been convinced she would follow a path into counselling or social work after graduation. But a longing for the backstage world she had left behind after doing drama for her GCE ‘O’ Levels at St Nicholas Girls’ School and being in Anglo-Chinese Junior College’s Drama Club was a siren call that grew louder over time. “I didn’t think that I would pursue anything. Drama and theatre was a CCA I enjoyed,” she explained. “But after my first year at university, I realised I missed the theatre. Not necessarily performing, but just being in that environment. Even the chaos backstage!”

Encouraged by a friend, she started reaching out to theatre companies, offering to crew or support backstage.

“In this line of work, opportunities are through word of mouth. One project led to another. And I decided that while I really enjoyed psychology and what I was learning, being in the world of backstage theatre was a very nice combination of what I’m good at, what I love and what I can make to support myself financially.”

Her first professional experience was working with revered director Brian Gothong-Tan on a multimedia outdoor performance with a 360-degree stage at Gardens by the Bay during the 2016 Singapore International Festival of the Arts. “It was so far-removed from the classroom shows I was used to,” she said. “It opened my eyes to how professional theatre could be more than just behind a proscenium or within a studio theatre — it was outdoors, immersive, experimental. That changed everything.”

Mr Wan, who has trained with SITI Company New York and the Suzuki Company of Toga in Japan, had a different journey. He had imagined pursuing a general Arts degree with a major in history, but an elective in theatre studies intrigued him. “It felt like something different, and I wasn’t worried it would derail my trajectory by much. After majoring in it, I thought, can try lah,” he explained. “Subsequently, before my Honours year, I started auditioning. I was quite fortunate that, through the years, there was always work available.” Mr Wan, who is married to theatre actress Ching Shu Yi, has an impressive CV of over 40 English and Mandarin productions.

Maintaining Strong Ties with their Alma Mater
Beyond their studies, both enjoy a personal connection with NUS. Mr Wan, an adjunct lecturer at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, has returned to conduct physical theatre workshops for final-year NUS Theatre Studies students. “They were just one-day sessions, about three hours each,” he said. “But it’s always nice to go back.”

Ms Chew shares a more personal connection — she met her fiancé at NUS. They pursued the same degree programme but only got to know each other when they worked on a final-year module together. “Out of 300 people, somehow our paths crossed,” she said with a smile. Her fiancé now works in the social services sector, supporting underprivileged children through non-profit organisation KidSTART Singapore.

With support from their partners and families behind them, both are proud of how they have been part of Singapore theatre’s growth. Ms Chew believes that Singaporeans have grown more receptive to local productions as a great entertainment option beyond cinema offerings or touring international productions. “Of course, they still go to West End and Broadway productions, but in recent years, audiences have become more open to Singaporean works and homegrown stories,” said Ms Chew. “I do get a sense of this, and it feels good.”