Iran’s Blind Runner and Malaysia’s Fragments Of Tuah headline Esplanade’s The Studios season
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Fragments Of Tuah is a documentary drama based on research into the life of the legendary Malay hero Hang Tuah.
PHOTO: MESHALINI
SINGAPORE – Award-winning works from Australia, Iran and Malaysia headline the Esplanade’s The Studios, which returns from July 24 to Sept 6.
Following the land-themed trilogy that ran from 2023 to 2025, the 2026 season kicks off a new three-year story arc exploring aspects of power, themed Precarious Bodies. Early-bird tickets are on sale from May 7 till June 7.
Senior producer Shireen Abdullah says the umbrella theme, as well as 2026’s focus on precarity, feels particularly resonant given current global uncertainties. “In the world today, there are certain structures, ideals and values that we used to hold dear that seem to be shifting quite a lot. Borders are redrawn, allegiances are in flux, what is true and what isn’t – all that is being contested. It’s a very evocative theme that we would like to dissect over three years.
“Precariousness is inextricably linked to the relational aspect of power. It’s a personal lens with which we experience power. By looking at what makes us precarious and how we cause others to become precarious, we also consider this relative power that each has with respect to others.”
The long-running showcase of contemporary theatre and performance works organised by the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay will launch on July 24 with a work from across the Causeway.
Fragments Of Tuah, directed by Malaysian theatremaker Mark Teh under the auspices of Five Arts Centre, is a one-man show which examines the facts and fiction underlying the legendary figure of Hang Tuah. The work won five awards at the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards in Malaysia on May 4, including for Best Original Script for Teh’s meticulously researched narrative.
Ms Shireen describes it as “a very poetic documentary theatre that peels back the layers of this composite image of a hero, drawn from archival texts, songs and stories”.
What will also pique theatre fans’ interest is Iranian-led production Blind Runner, which will be on from July 31 to Aug 2. Written by one of Iran’s leading playwrights Amir Reza Koohestani, Mehr Theatre Group’s show won a special citation at the 2026 Obie Awards, which honours off-Broadway theatre in New York City, where it was staged.
Incorporating live cinema, the work is built on a series of conversations between a female political prisoner and her husband, who visits her in detention. Encouraged by the wife, the husband takes on the task of guiding a blind female runner in a Paris race.
The work deals not just with themes of surveillance and oppression, but also examines a marriage under pressure.
The Esplanade’s decision to programme Blind Runner was made before current hostilities between the United States and Iran broke out, and Ms Shireen says the team is very conscious of how difficult things are for the theatre group. “We just have conversations on a regular basis with our artists.”
It helps, she adds, that some of the members are based in the US and Europe, but there are two members who are based in Iran.
Blind Runner is written by Amir Reza Koohestani, one of Iran’s leading playwrights.
PHOTO: BENJAMIN KRIEG
Rounding out the award winners is Australian Back To Back Theatre’s Multiple Bad Things, which won the International Ibsen Award 2022 and the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale 2024.
Three workers tackle a task in an anonymous warehouse and, as the workday progresses, questions about inclusion and identity arise.
Back To Back Theatre has earned acclaim with an ensemble of performers who identify as having an intellectual disability or as neurodivergent.
Multiple Bad Things by Back To Back Theatre explores an ordinary workday in the lives of three workers.
PHOTO: JEFF BUSBY
On the home front, Monstress is written by visually disabled performer Claire Teo, who has drawn from her life experience for a story about a blind girl who moves in with a single mother raising a son who has autism. Ms Shireen says this production by ART:DIS is “an examination of the harm that could be harboured within the systems that we trust”.
Monstress is written by visually disabled performer Claire Teo based on her lived experience.
PHOTO: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY
Last but not least in the season is Handle With Care, a work that comes in a box of instructions, has no performers and demands audience participation. Audiences who remember the interactive £¥€$ (LIES) at the 2023 Singapore International Festival of Arts will recognise the inventive hand of Belgium troupe Ontroerend Goed.
Ms Shireen says it is a deliberate choice to end the season with this work that puts power in the hands of the audiences, who can choose their role in co-creating this shared experience in a performance space.
As with previous editions, there will be companion programmes, what Ms Shireen calls “the gravy to our rice”. These will be confirmed at a later date.
Book It/The Studios
Where: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, 1 Esplanade Drive
When: July 24 to Sept 6, various timings
Admission: Free and ticketed
Info: str.sg/LP8i
