The Necessary Stage » Gemuk Girls

Kartini and Juliana are not your typical mother-daughter pair - one loud and overbearing, the other straitlaced and on the threshold of entering politics. Together, they are Gemuk Girls and proud of it.

One day, they receive shocking news about Kartini’s father who had been arrested and detained in the 1960s. Suddenly the floodgates of the family’s emotional past are thrown open. Can a family survive as they struggle to reconcile the past with the present? Will Kartini and Juliana continue to be Gemuk Girls?

Gemuk Girls is a bold and often darkly humorous look at family politics and the politics of the day.

Recommended for 16 and above – Mature themes

Director: Alvin Tan
Playwright: Haresh Sharma
Cast: Aidli 'Alin' Mosbit Najib Soiman Siti Khalijah Zainal
Multimedia Designer: Loo Zihan
Lighting Designer: Helmi Fita
Set Designer: Vincent Lim

"There are few productions that have such power, that remind audiences of the possibilities of theatre to question, to move and to ask them to dream."
—The Straits Times Life!

“Gemuk Girls is cuttingly funny in places and bluntly devastating in others but more than that, it is a vitally important piece of work in the canon of Singapore theatre because of its courage and compassion. This is what political theatre in Singapore should be: urgent, intelligent, heartfelt and sobering.”
—The Flying Inkpot

“This play has weight, and the actors more than ably pull theirs to give us a classic in Singapore Theatre.”
—The Business Times

The play has garnered both critical and popular acclaim, winning Best Script, Best Actor and Production of the Year at the 2009 Life! Theatre Awards.

Premiere
Dates: 29 October – 1 November & 6 – 8 November 2008, 8pm 1, 2, 8 & 9 November 2008, 3pm
Venue: The Necessary Stage Black Box
Tickets: $27 \| $22* Concession for students, senior citizens & NSF
Re-staging
Dates: 9 – 12 & 16 – 19 November 2011, 8pm 12 - 13 & 19 – 20 November 2011, 3pm
Venue: The Necessary Stage Black Box
Tickets: $30 \| $22* Concession for students, senior citizens & NSF
Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
Dates: 4 – 6 December 2008, 8.30pm 6 & 7 December 2008, 3pm
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre Pentas 2