SINGAPORE - Since it was founded in 2010, home-grown theatre company Pangdemonium has always had its plays directed by co-founder Tracie Pang.

That is, until Muswell Hill - its latest play opening on June 24, which is helmed by young up-and-comer Timothy Koh.

Koh, 28, makes his directorial debut with the satire by English playwright Torben Betts, in which guests at a swanky party wine and dine, even as the tragedy of the 2010 Haiti earthquake occurs elsewhere in the world.

Koh met Pangdemonium's artistic directors Tracie and Adrian Pang through his internship with the company in 2014, which was also his first professional theatre experience.

"I have long admired the work that Tracie and Adrian have done for the local scene," says Koh, who became Pangdemonium's associate director in January 2022 and is the director of the Very Youthful Company, Pangdemonium's club for emerging young theatre-makers.

"It is a great honour to fill these big shoes. This is a responsibility that I don't take lightly."

He has served as assistant director on other Pangdemonium plays, such as The Mother (2021) and The Glass Menagerie (2022).

Tracie Pang, 54, says: "Tim understands and enjoys the Pangdemonium artistic sensibilities, and he is very much in tune with the work we do. Having had him as my assistant director over the past year, I felt it was the right time for him and Pangdemonium to take the next step and let him take the reins of Muswell Hill."

The play, which stars Jason Godfrey and Straits Times Life Theatre Award Best Actress nominee Nikki Muller, depicts the characters' privileged lifestyles through a humorous lens.

Koh describes the characters' concerns with their drinks, outfits and parties as "upper-middle-class trappings".

"When I say 'trappings', I think a lot about what Sondheim says about living this lifestyle fixated on drinks, dinners and parties," he adds, referring to the late American composer Stephen Sondheim and his musical Company. "It is easy to get caught up in and it is something our characters find themselves trapped in."

Though it was written as a comedy, the inclusion of the Haitian natural disaster contributes to the play's "strain of darkness", further distinguishing it from physical, slapstick comedy.

The play also explores what it means to be an ordinary person, with characters trying to break out of their vastly different lifestyles.

For example, a character named Simon is a former vagabond who returns to Britain to study to become an "ordinary" teacher. At the other end of the spectrum is Annie, a receptionist who wants to lead a less "ordinary" life as an actor, singer and star.

Koh thinks good plays should ask difficult questions without forcing an answer, allowing audiences to come to their own conclusions.

But he also believes that watching plays should be a fun night out. "I hope people don't see theatre as a stuffy place for posh people. It is not something you have to dress up to go to. It should be a part of our regular social calendar."

Muswell Hill

Where: Drama Centre Theatre, Level 3 National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street
When: June 24 to July 10; Tuesdays to Fridays, 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 2.30 and 8pm
Admission: $35 to $85 from this website
Info: Pangdemonium's website