Description
Praise
About the Playwright

Poor Thing, TNS' ground-breaking production by Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma, grapples with the issue of road rage. A unique production involving social media interaction, audiences of Poor Thing were invited to watch a video clip of an accident before they enter the theatre to catch the 'live' action on stage. During the performance, more clips were posted online which audiences could view and comment on.

Poor Thing challenges you to explore what drives road rage in Singapore.

Find more about The Necessary Stage at http://www.necessary.org
"... a pulsating, visceral production that swings steeply from taut silences to heart-pounding violence, and what becomes clear is that what is unfolding off-camera is just as important, if not more, than what is captured on camera and presented for the world to see.

... Poor Thing sharpens the focus on that undulating territory of conflict resolution both online and offline that we are still learning how to navigate, and the line between bullying and righteous anger."
—Corrie Tan, The Strait Times Life!

"Director Alvin Tan and playwright Haresh Sharma have always been sharp and sensitive social commentators. Their grasp of social issues and ability to transform these into gripping theatre is second to none... But the duo has been equally forward thinking when looking at theatre as a mode of communication... TNS has embraced and integrated these seamlessly into the show, raising some interesting pissibilities."
—Mayo Martin, TODAY

"... thoroughly gripping and unique production by The Necessary Stage that bitterly embraces the world of social media and explores the irrational rage that Singaporeans seem to have when dealing with each other..."
—Naeem Kapadia, Cristalwords
Haresh Sharma is Resident Playwright of The Necessary Stage and co-Artistic Director of the annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. To date, he has written about 100 plays. One of these, Off Centre, was selected by the Ministry of Education as a Literature text for ‘N’ and ‘O’ Levels, and republished by The Necessary Stage in 2006. In 2008, Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature, Vol. 6, was published by Ethos Books. Written by Prof David Birch and edited by A/P Kirpal Singh, it presents an extensive investigation of Haresh’s work over the past 20 years. A collection of Haresh’s plays was also translated into Mandarin and published as <<哈里斯·沙玛剧作选>> by Global Publishing. In 2010, Epigram Books published Those Who Can’t, Teach.

Haresh was awarded Best Original Script for Fundamentally Happy, Good People and Gemuk Girls during the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Life! Theatre Awards respectively. In 2010, the abovementioned plays were published by The Necessary Stage in the Trilogy collection. Most recently, two collections of short plays by Haresh, Shorts 1 and Shorts 2, were published as well. In 2011, Haresh became the first non-American to be awarded the prestigious Goldberg Master Playwright by New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. In 2014, Haresh was awarded the prestigious S.E.A. Write Award.

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Poor Thing