This November, The Necessary Stage is delighted to unveil the fruits of the labour of our new playwrights at Playwrights’ Cove 2026: From Page to Stage!
Over four intimate invite-only sessions, the works-in-progress of our four selected literary artists will be read to mark the final leg of this year’s programme and celebrates the transformation of their written works into scripts.
Through a series of workshops, clinics and consultations with The Necessary Stage’s Artistic Director and acclaimed playwright Haresh Sharma, our artists—Ahmad Syarif, Daryl Qilin Yam, Noonherd, and Rachelyn Gordon—have been thoroughly engaged in sessions, focused on character-development, dialogue, structure, and narrative, and are now ready to take their writings from page to stage.
Directed and read by seasoned theatre practitioners, this series of play readings will span across four days and delve into topics on the themes of friendship, family, and the tumultuous nature of navigating life’s many changes.
Post-show dialogues facilitated by Haresh Sharma will take place after every reading.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST TO ATTEND: go.necessary.org/pc2026
Programme Lead: Haresh Sharma
Playwrights: Ahmad Syarif, Daryl Qilin Yam, Noonherd, and Rachelyn Gordon
Directors: A Yagnya, Deonn Yang, Irfan Kasban, and Yvan Karlsson
Performers: Chew Shaw En, Fadhil Daud, Indumathi Tamilselvam, Izzul Irfan, Luke Kwek, Maya Nanthekumar, Moli Mohter, Salif Hardie, Sindhura Kalidas, Tan Rui Shan, Wayne Lim, and Zulfiqar Izzudin
Background
In 2001, TNS launched Playwrights’ Cove, a development and mentorship programme aimed at nurturing, processing and platforming contemporary playwriting for Singapore theatre. Many of its participants are well-known practitioners and educators today, including Jean Tay, Ng Yi-sheng, Natalie Hennedige, Kenneth Kwok and Matthew Lyon.
We re-launched Playwrights' Cove in 2020 and subsequently have had three successful iterations since then. The selected participants undergo intensive training and mentorship by Artistic Director Haresh Sharma, incorporating workshops, clinics, consultations and guest lectures.
More information about previous editions of Playwrights' Cove can be found at the links below:
Playwrights Cove 2020
Playwrights' Cove 2022
Playwrights' Cove 2024
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Thursday 19 November 2026, 8pm
Passersby by Daryl Qilin Yam
Performed in English
Recommended for ages 16 and above
Contains queer themes and some strong language
This is the story of someone who wishes to leave it all behind. No one in O's life, however, understands why he wants to change anything: he's got a great flat with his current partner, and the buzzy, well-reviewed exhibition he curated at the Singapore Pavilion of the Venice Biennale is coming back home, and to great anticipation. So why is he considering this job offer in Hong Kong? And, more importantly: why is he even thinking about ending his relationship?
Unfolding as a series of conversations across a single, pivotal day, O has to reckon with the deteriorating condition of his best friend while also confronting the ghosts of lovers past, all to get to the bottom of his pain, and the root of all his hurt.
Directed by Yvan Karlsson
Performed by Fadhil Daud, Luke Kwek, Sindhura Kalidas, and Wayne Lim
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Friday 20 November 2026, 8pm
Meander by Ahmad Syarif
Performed in English and some Malay
Recommended for ages 14 and above
Contains themes of death, grief and some strong language
A year after a ship technician is killed in a machinery accident offshore, his son Hadi has largely retreated from school, navigating the complex whirlpool of grief. Adept in his knowledge of water, he understands how water moves, but has no idea how to move himself.
Despite his absence from school, Hadi is accepted onto an OceanX expedition to Cabo Verde, a coveted opportunity his high-achieving classmate Alexa wanted but did not receive. Alexa’s jealousy complicates the opportunity further, while its financial cost threatens to put the expedition beyond Hadi’s reach.
Salmah, now the family’s sole breadwinner, supports them through the jamu business she runs beneath their block and cannot easily afford to send him halfway across the world. Even if they can find the money, she is terrified of letting him return to the same sea that shaped her husband’s life and eventually took it.
With the guidance of Shah, his geography teacher, Hadi begins to navigate grief and the obstacles surrounding the expedition as a geography of its own, shaped by pressure, resistance and movement, with no straight route towards an endpoint.
Directed by Irfan Kasban
Performed by Chew Shaw En, Izzul Irfan, Moli Mohter, and Salif Hardie
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Saturday 21 November 2026, 8pm
for the love of god by Noonherd
Performed in English and Tamil
Recommended for ages 16 and above
Contains queer themes, some strong and sexual language
Aruna's been doing fine. She works hard, eats hard, prays hard. But everything changes when her ex, Indu, comes crashing back into her life—Indu's getting married to a handsome guy in London, and she needs Aruna to sign their divorce papers.
Aruna and Indu have one week to figure it out. Will they burn each other and themselves, or rekindle old flames of dance, divinity, and dreams?
Directed by A Yagnya
Performed by Indumathi Tamilselvan and Sindhura Kalidas
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Sunday 22 November 2026, 3pm
Rosie and the Mamak Store by Rachelyn Gordon
Performed in English
Recommended for ages 6 and above
Rosie loves Uncle Hassan.
Uncle Hassan loves Rosie.
And they both love the Mamak Shop.
But big changes are coming!
Will Rosie, Uncle Hassan, and their beloved Mamak Shop adapt? Or will they give up?
Adapted from Rachelyn Gordon's picture book, Rosie and the Mamak Shop, come watch this heartwarming play about warm friendships, navigating change, and yummy snacks!
Directed by Deonn Yang
Performed by Maya Nanthekumar, Sindhura Kalidas, Tan Rui Shan, and Zulfiqar Izzudin