Handle With Care presents theatre packed into a shoebox with no cast and crew
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Belgian experimental theatre group Ontroerend Goed is presenting Handle With Care at Esplanade’s The Studios season in 2026.
PHOTO: JOELLE DESMET
- Handle With Care is a unique theatre show packed into a shoebox, with no cast or crew, allowing audiences to create the experience themselves.
- The show has toured 16 countries in 10 languages since 2025, using audience interaction to shape the performance differently across cultures.
- Created during the Covid-19 pandemic, it challenges traditional theatre by trusting audiences to engage and handle the show with care, making each performance unique.
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SINGAPORE – It is a suspicious package. It is your Taobao parcel. No, it is Belgian experimental theatre company Ontroerend Goed’s latest show.
While audiences worldwide are gorging on flashy immersive gimmicks, Handle With Care is deliberately low-maintenance fare. Zero cast and crew will fly into Singapore when the work plays nine shows from Aug 7 to Sept 6 at the Esplanade as part of the arts centre’s latest Studios season. The single-use “set” fits into a paper crate not much larger than a shoebox, which costs approximately €600 (S$885) to make.
