A Mirror (2026) Programme Booklet

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STARRING (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

GHAFIR AKBAR

ANDREW MARKO

ZACHARY PANG

COCO WANG LING

CHARLOTTE GREENALL

PHUA YAO TING (YT)

SIM KEE JOO KJ

SETH ARRI AZHAR

LUCAS WAN

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

SET DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

TIMOTHY KOH

EUCIEN CHIA

JAMES TAN

SOUND DESIGNER & CO-COMPOSER

COSTUME DESIGNER

MUSICIAN & CO-COMPOSER

JING NG

L.A.C

VICK LOW

INTIMACY DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE SET DESIGNER

ASSOCIATE SOUND DESIGNER

RAYANN CONDY

SCOTT LEE

JEAN YAP

PLAYWRIGHT

SAM HOLCROFT DIRECTED BY

TRACIE PANG PRODUCED BY

TRACIE PANG & ADRIAN PANG

The duration of this performance is approximately 2 hours 30 minutes with no intermission.

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ARTISTIC DIRECTORS’ MESSAGE

ARTISTIC SUICIDE, LIKE CHARITY, BEGINS AT HOME. WE KILL THE ARTISTS WITHIN OURSELVES IN THE QUEST TO GET BY, TO WALK WITHIN THE LINES, TO MIND OUR MANNERS. — MARLON BRANDO Easy for him to mumble.

The fact is, in just about every society, there are prescribed and perceived lines for all artists to walk within. Art has the power to advocate, activate, motivate, influence, inspire, some say incite. And thus, many artists are under threat of censorship by the powers that be. While extreme and explicit forms of state censorship exist in countries around the world, censorship takes many forms. It’s not just a question of art being cancelled or banned – it can be subtle and opaque, with concerns around job security, funding, or the threat of public outcry, all contributing to a system of self-censorship.

There are those who fight the system. Visual artist Ai Wei Wei is infamous for creating works of art that are highly critical of the Chinese government. Some of Pablo Picasso’s most iconic works were commentaries on the Spanish ruling party of his time.

In the world of theatre, Belarus Free Theatre directors Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin stage underground performances in defiance of the Lukashenka regime, functioning as a "theatre of resistance" against state suppression.Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov endured politically motivated persecution, including house arrest, due to his work challenging the Russian government's artistic restrictions. Swiss theatremaker Milo Rau is known for confronting censorship by staging “guerilla” theatre, such as a banned play based on a sensitive violent true story.

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Singaporean Chinese contemporary theatre in the 1960s and 70s was influenced by the turbulent state reforms after Singapore's independence, and the increasingly political and revolutionary climate internationally, especially the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which viewed art, literature and drama as weapons of struggle and tools of social change. Singapore theatre pioneer Kuo Pao Kun's plays written from the late 1960s to the mid-70s were deemed "highly politicised" and "critical of social issues". One of his plays, The Struggle (1969), was meant to reflect the social turmoil resulting from rapid urban reconstruction and inflow of multinational investment, but its performance was banned by the authorities. Critics also noted that Kuo's early plays characteristically displayed a clear cut distinction between the "good" (tradition and class unity) and the "bad" (exploitative capitalists).

The growing force and increasingly political nature of Chinese theatre in Singapore culminated in the 1976 leftist purge, where many, including Kuo, were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act. Kuo spent four years and seven months in detention, and his citizenship was revoked. Kuo described the detention as "a moment of humbleness" and "a very sobering experience – you get cut down, you know that you don't know enough."

The Singapore theatre scene has undoubtedly evolved over the decades, with a discernible “lightening up” of social mores.

However, certain trigger points hold fast, and since Kuo, there have been numerous instances of Singapore theatremakers being held accountable for certain productions deemed to be against the public interest.

Specifically, any piece of theatre examining race (shock!), religion (horror!), drug use (paracetamol!), politics (umbrage!) or LGBTQ+ themes (101 damnations!) is considered having the potential to upset the delicate balance of Singapore society, and will be held under particular scrutiny.

The scripts of all plays to be performed in Singapore must be vetted in advance by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and subject to the following ratings: General: Content suitable for a general audience, including young children Advisory: Contains some mature content for which parental guidance is advised Advisory 16: Contains content with mature themes which are more suitable for audiences 16 years and above Restricted 18: Content restricted to audiences 18 years and above Refusal of Classification: In rare cases, a performance may be "refused classification," which effectively bans it from public staging.

Following the above guidelines, certain productions in the last few decades have been dealt outright bans; while there have been cases showcasing creative compromise: the 2016 touring production of Les Misérables at the Esplanade got into a pickle due to a quick peck on the lips between two male characters during a comic song. Following complaints by a few misérables audience members who got more for their money than the advertised “General” rated performance, IMDA reviewed the show, concluded that the kiss had not been highlighted in the script submitted for classification, and that its inclusion in performance meant that it should be rated "Advisory" (read reduced ticket sales).

To maintain the "G" rating for the remainder of the run, the show’s producer$ agreed to replace the offensive kiss with a "long hug". Power to the people named Karen.

We are happy to report that Pangdemonium and IMDA have always engaged in candid and constructive negotiation regarding ratings for our productions, often yielding telling insights and outcomes. For example, for our most recent family drama Force Majeure we graciously accepted that, purely due to a scripted kiss between two women, it would be rated R18; while for our 2017 production of The Pillowman we were able to convince IMDA that a kiss between two brothers was purely, erm, brotherly, and so the play (also containing depictions of physical violence, child torture, and 197 F-bombs) was gently slapped on the wrist with an Advisory 16. The power of negotiation.

A Mirror depicts an unnamed, fictionalised country in which plays must be submitted to an official state censor, with harsh consequences for those who cross the strict lines. We repeat: “unnamed”, “fictionalised”, “mirror”. No same-sex kissing. So why the “Advisory 16” rating? Well, as they say, there’s always politics. But be advised that this production is so ass-kicking that your buttocks will be refused classification. Don’t say we neh say.

Thanks to our cast, creatives, production/technical/ stage management teams – all bold and brilliant artists – for navigating numerous prescribed lines and fighting the good fight to make great art.

To the Pangdemonium family – we love you.

Sincere gratitude to our wonderful Friends of Pangdemonium and Corporate Donors for your support of our work and Singapore theatre.

And as this is Pangdemonum’s penultimate production, many thanks to IMDA for the open negotiations over the years about how best to navigate the lines. It’s been an irRit18 experience.

And heartfelt thanks to YOU – even if you’re a Karen.

Lots of love,

TRACIE PANG & ADRIAN PANG ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

The IMDA peeps are just doing their job. As are we.

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PLAYWRIGHT’S MESSAGE

I RISK ABRUISED EGO. THEY RISK A BRUISED FACE AND BROKEN BONES. An interview with Sam Holcroft, playwright of A Mirror.

Five years ago, playwright Sam Holcroft was diagnosed with autism. It came quite out of the blue, off the back of reading an article her husband stumbled upon over breakfast.

But the diagnosis has really helped Holcroft to unlock the way she fits into the world: her longstanding obsession with theatre and human behaviour; and the reason, perhaps, that lots of her works hover at the edges of things.

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“It’s only since being diagnosed with autism that I retrospectively wonder if the form of theatre has been one of my special interests,” she says. “A symptom of having an autism spectrum condition can be that you have special interests – things that you fixate on and focus on and can think about with a hyper focus for hours on end. I am coming to wonder whether one of mine is theatrical form.”

Mystery and dual realities shimmer through most of Holcroft’s writing. In her early work, Cockroach, the school biology lab and battlefield literally bleed into each other.

Comedy thriller Edgar and Annabel is about a couple under surveillance, while Rules of Living explored the unspoken rules by which we all live.

A Mirror was partly inspired by a “lifechanging” trip to North Korea that Holcroft took in 2011, alongside her husband and fellow playwright Al Blyth.

The trip was sanctioned by the government and was, says Holcroft, “a piece of theatre like nothing I’ve ever seen”. The couple were put up in a hotel on an island in the middle of Pyongyang city and told to stay inside.

Desperate for exercise, Holcroft’s husband marched up and down the stairs of their tower block… only to stumble upon a corridor packed with people with headphones listening in.

Holcroft and Blyth returned home to the UK shaken – and seriously questioning their work as writers. These questions grew louder when Holcroft travelled to Beirut with the Royal Court International Department writers’ programme from 2013 to 2015. Holcroft worked with playwrights from Lebanon and Syria, all of whom would expect to submit their work to the censorship bureau of their countries. On the night of the performance, some of the writers grew terrified there would be secret police in the audience and tore chunks out of their scripts, in fear of causing offence.

Later that night, Holcroft found herself crying in the toilets.

“I remember feeling ashamed by my tears,” she says.

“I think in the west we flatter ourselves that we’re quite brave as writers. But when I compare myself to these writers I met in Beirut, the risk I take is really no risk at all. I risk a bruised ego.

They risk a bruised face and broken bones.”

Their bravery of those writers stayed with Holcroft and forced her to confront some difficult questions: “Would I write in the same circumstances? I really don’t know if I would. I have two little girls and I don’t know if there’s anything I could ever write that could justify orphaning them or abandoning them. But I wanted to write about it because I was fascinated by the question and I wanted the audience to ask it, too.”

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WEAPONS OF

MASS DISRUP For artists around the world, censorship can take many forms, from overt interference and the pressure to self-censor to the grey areas that can restrict artistic freedom. Theatremakers from countries including Hong Kong, Turkey, Serbia, Hungary and Belarus explain how artists are fighting back.

In the UK, for more than half a century following the passing of the Theatres Act 1968, theatremakers have had the right of free expression enshrined in law.

Before that, since 1737, the Lord Chamberlain had the authority to veto new plays that were deemed indecent or posed a threat to public order.

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If theatres staged work that had been refused a licence, they could be prosecuted. Things started to shift in the 1960s, with private clubs allowing writers to perform their play in a ‘private’ setting as a way of getting around the censor. The late Edward Bond’s 1965 play Saved was among those staged in this way. Although the creators were eventually prosecuted, this only highlighted how dated the system was and paved the way for the passing of the Theatres Act. The American countercultural musical Hair was the first show to benefit from the new law, opening in the West End the night after the act was passed.

In the years since, however, a number of highprofile incidents in the UK have raised the question of just how free artists are in what they can put on stage. The 1980 National Theatre production of Howard Brenton’s The Romans in Britain was famously subject to an unsuccessful public prosecution for gross indecency and, in 2004, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s play Behzti was

cancelled by Birmingham Rep following protests from the local Sikh community.

Recently in Germany, an “anti-discrimination clause” was introduced by the Berlin senator for culture and social cohesion, which applicants for cultural funding were required to sign.

It made a commitment to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism – widely considered controversial – a prerequisite for accessing cultural funding. In response, 6,000 cultural producers signed an open letter expressing concern that this clause was essentially a means of excluding criticism of the Israeli

UPTION government’s policies and the war in Gaza from public discourse and, by extension, a form of censorship.

In many places, restrictions to artistic freedom can take multiple forms.

In countries such as Iran, which has a state censor, everyone knows what they are dealing with. In Turkey, things are less clear-cut. The lack of legal clarity surrounding censorship leads to grey areas that can be exploited by the government.

Public order and terrorism prevention legislation can be used to legitimise censorship and limit artistic freedom, and the way in which these rules are applied can feel quite arbitrary.

Grey areas exist in many countries, and it is important to be mindful of the topics a government deems sensitive at any given moment.

When Berlin’s Schaubühne took the original German production of An Enemy of the People to China in 2018, the engagement was cut short.

The show contains a section in which audience members are invited to debate, and at the performance in Beijing, the audience openly criticised the Chinese government.

Subsequent performances in Nanjing were cancelled for “technical reasons”.

In Hong Kong, the passing of the National Security Law in 2020 has had a significant impact on theatre and the arts, explains theatremaker Jeffrey Lin. “Prior to the NSL, Hong Kong’s performance arts scene was celebrated for its dynamism and diversity,” he says. “The enactment of the NSL introduced a climate of uncertainty and caution within the performance arts sector.” Since the law was passed, there have been several instances in which performances were either “cancelled or altered due to concerns over content that could be perceived as violating the NSL”.

Artists in Hong Kong, he explains, “now face a precarious situation where their career can be jeopardised by any actions in their lifetime, including social media posts criticising the government, participation in political protests or their involvement in productions deemed politically sensitive or contrary to the ideology of the Chinese government”.

People are encouraged to inform anonymously on those deemed in breach of the law, leading to “the emergence of a culture of informants or a ‘snitch culture’ within the arts community”, Lin says. “This environment has led to a heightened sense of vulnerability among artists.”

Productions are often abruptly cancelled, causing financial loss to the artist, explains Lin. 9

As in Turkey, there is ambiguity around what is permissible. This creates a climate of uncertainty.

In the absence of clear guidelines, says Lin, “the arts community must navigate this ambiguity, often looking to past incidents of complaints, legal actions or controversies as indicators of what might be considered crossing the line”.

A combination of factors result in work that errs on the side of safety, whereas directors such as former director of Hungary’s National Theatre Róbert Alföldi, who is openly gay and politically on the left, “can now work in almost only two private theatres in Hungary – the others dare not or will not invite him”, says Tamás. Actors have also found their opportunities of employment limited after speaking at opposition demonstrations, he explains.

Democratic backsliding tends to walk hand-inhand with an increase in state interference in the arts, as can be seen in several central and eastern European countries.

While there is no overt censorship in Hungary, the cultural sector depends financially on the policies of Viktor Orban’s government, which, as critic Jászay Tamás explains, “believes only in the centralisation and concentration of power and does not resist the temptation to assert its financial influence”.

“The state not only provides the necessary financial means, but also has an active say in how and in what way artists use them,” he says.

“In other words, if the state doesn’t like your art, it will not ‘order’ it.”

As a result, more than 30 years after the fall of communism, he says, “caution is becoming more and more conspicuous in theatre programming policy”. Even if a city’s government is liberal, the main priority is to avoid scandal. “A light comedy or operetta is less risky than a devised show about the conditions of living in today’s Hungary,” he says. “It can always be argued that audiences go to the theatre to be entertained, not to confront their otherwise unhappy lives, but there are two faces to the process: if we don’t even try to move the audience out of their comfort zone, we will never know what they are really interested in.”

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This form of financial censorship has hit the independent scene particularly hard. Few independent artists can afford to be openly political.There are exceptions, he says, citing Béla Pintér, who in a performance “called the prime minister, opposition leaders and other public figures by their names, inviting his audiences to a grotesque and bizarre cabaret-style danse macabre”. The Hungarian independent scene “has traditionally been a non-political zone: while right-wing governments have openly seen independent theatremakers as enemies for a decade and a half, they have nothing to fear, as independent voices are quiet and reach few people compared to the state propaganda machine”.

Slovakia has recently implemented troubling new policies designed to limit freedom of expression.

The Ministry of Culture is run by the ruling party and, according to critic Daria Fojtíková Fehérová, it has “slowly started changing leaderships of subsidised culture institutions and there is a new law on the table that suggests that the minister can withdraw any managing director of any state culture institution without any reason. The new laws they want to introduce will help them put their own people everywhere”.

When the then president Josip Broz Tito attacked a production at the Yugoslav Drama Theater that dealt with the then-taboo topic of labour camps for political prisoners, it was the actors – all members of the Communist Party – who called for the play to be cancelled.

This culture of self-censorship persists in Serbian theatre today. “Political criticism in Serbian performance is first of all realised through indirect means,” he explains.

“Oliver Frljić has said that he would only direct in Serbia again if it was to do a play about [Serbian president] Aleksandar Vučić.

He never received that invitation...”

For work to be presented at Belarus state theatres, it has to be put before several censorship committees. The restrictions placed on the independent sector are even more severe, making it all but impossible to operate. Previously, they explain, you only had to get permission from the city council, but now you have to receive an official registration from the Ministry for Culture.

Only if you pass all its checks can you apply for permission from the city council, with further checks on artists and texts.

The ministry has already stopped funding independent non-governmental organisations that deal with LGBT+ issues, but the impact is being felt more widely, with other NGOs also being affected. Once again, a climate of uncertainty leads to concerns about where ‘the line’ lies in terms of what work will be supported.

In Serbia, a system of selfcensorship has operated since the time of the former Yugoslavia, explains theatre scholar and critic Ivan Medenica.

While Yugoslav artists had comparative autonomy, there were limits.

Censorship is a sliding scale and the bead can shift quickly. Vigilance is required to stop rights to free expression being quietly eroded. While a lot of these examples concern grey areas and pressures to self censor, explicit state censorship does still exist. And there are artists who live in constant fear.

As expressed by a Belarusian theatre artist who asked to remain anonymous:

“You become paranoid and begin to suspect everyone and be afraid of everything, while still trying to realise some underground, non-dangerous activities in order to keep on going, to survive and preserve what we can.”

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/theatre-must-tackle-censorship-head-on-amanda-parker?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium= email&utm_campaign=The%20Stage%20daily%20newsletter 11

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CAST

(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

GHAFIR AKBAR CELIK / REGISTRAR

Ghafir is a Malaysian actor and director recently seen in Teater Ekamatra’s Tiger of Malaya (World Theatre Festival Shizuoka) and as ‘Macbeth’ (Singapore Repertory Theatre – Shakespeare in the Park). He is a two-time The Straits Times Life Theatre Award Best Actor recipient for his roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Singapore Repertory Theatre) and Accidental Death of an Activist (Wild Rice).

Selected credits include Disgraced; Julius Caesar; Guards at the Taj (Singapore Repertory Theatre), HOTEL; An Inspector Calls; MERDEKA/獨立 獨立/சுதந்தி​ிரம் (Wild Rice), Three Years in the Life and Death of Land; Acting Mad; Civilised (The Necessary Stage), Kingdoms Apart (Esplanade Presents), Temple; Being Haresh Sharma; Medea (Cake Theatrical Productions), Entourage (Dramalab), and Gold Rain and Hailstones (Instant Café Theatre).

Ghafir holds an MFA in Acting (Asolo Conservatory/Florida State University) and a BA in Theatre Performance (Western Michigan University).

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ANDREW MARKO BAX / BEST MAN

Andrew is an award-winning stage and screen actor, voice-over artist and musician who would not be where he is today if not for Pangdemonium. May the ass-kicking adventures remain alive in our hearts and souls until the end of all time!

Other notable theatre credits include: Into The Woods; Urinetown; RENT; Peter and the Starcatcher; End of the Rainbow; Falling (Pangdemonium), Title of Show; Little Shop of Horrors; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Sing’theatre), Lord of the Flies (Sightlines), National Day Charade; Peter Pan in Serangoon Gardens; Mama White Snake (Wild Rice), Every Brilliant Thing (Bhumi Collective), Electra; Rubber Girl Is On The Loose (Cake Theatre).

ZACHARY PANG ADEM / GROOM

Zachary is a London-born actor who grew up in Singapore and graduated from the BA Acting course at Mountview (London).

Theatre credits include: Kimberly Akimbo (Pangdemonium Theatre Company); Dear Evan Hansen (Pangdemonium Theatre Company); Aladdin (Assembly Halls Theatre); Storehouse (Sage & Jester); Julie: The Musical (Le Gasp! Productions); Snow White (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds); The Son; Spring Awakening; The Full Monty (all for Pangdemonium Theatre Company); Macbeth (SRT).

Theatre whilst training include: Oh! What a Lovely War; Boy; Circle, Mirror, Transformation; Mojo; and Julius Caesar.

Screen credits include: Zack & Xander Can! (Disney Channel Asia); Forensik; Code of Law (both for Weiyu Films); Me Myself and Isaac (Papahan Films); and Super4orce (Monochromatic Pictures).

COCO WANG LING MEI / BRIDE

Coco (she/they) is a multidisciplinary theatremaker and actor who graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) in 2022. Her creative practice focuses on play, world-building, and making connections.

She was most recently awarded The Straits Times Life Theatre Award for Best Actress for her lead role in The Serangoon Gardens Techno Party of 1993 (Wild Rice). Her other credits include: HOTEL (Wild Rice); Threads: The Emperor’s New Clothes Musical (Singapore Repertory Theatre, The Little Company); White, All White (The Necessary Stage); Mosaic (Esplanade), and many more.

She’s also still figuring things out, and loving it.

Zachary is extremely excited to be back in Singapore to perform in A Mirror.

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PHUA YAO TING (YT) AGENT

CHARLOTTE GREENALL WEDDING GUEST

Charlotte is a multiracial performer and writer, recently graduating with a Diploma in Performance from LASALLE College of the Arts. Her theatre credits include The Laramie Project (Pangdemonium); Shakespeare in the Park – Macbeth (Singapore Repertory Theatre) and The Good Citizen (Wild Rice).

She was nominated for Best Lead Performance at the 9th National Youth Film Awards for her role in After Still (Viddsee). This production marks Charlotte’s first and final mainstage appearance with Pangdemonium. She is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the company, and would like to thank her parents for their unwavering support in letting her dream big without limits.

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Phua Yao Ting (YT) is a bilingual actor proficient in both film and theatre. He holds a BA(Hons) in Acting from LASALLE College of the Arts, where he previously earned a Diploma in Performance. In 2024, he completed Wild Rice's "Young and Wild" program, led by Edith Podesta. He has strong interest in any forms of theatre, especially forum theatre and Drama therapy.

Selected theatre credits: "Hock" in PEOPLE (Young & Wild), "Mrs X" in The Stronger and "Mr B" in The Ring, presented as the double bill SAKE and PLAY (Theatre Boleh).

SIM KEE JOO KJ AGENT

SETH ARRI AZHAR AGENT

Seth Arri Azhar is a young Singaporean thespian with a passion for devised theatre and collaborative storytelling.

He brings energy, creativity and curiosity into his work. Seth was part of the inaugural batch of Pangdemonium’s Very Youthful Company as well as the 2023 batch of Triple Threats programme.

Kee Joo (KJ) recently graduated with a Diploma in Performance from LASALLE College of the Arts, and will continue his training with BA(Hons) Acting later this year. He made his professional debut as ‘Thet Tun’ in Radin Mas, Who? (Toy Factory), and also starred as ‘Fleance’ in Shakespeare in the Park – Macbeth (Singapore Repertory Theatre). He also acts for the screen, most notably in Lion Mums Season 3. He was nominated for Best Performance at the 8th National Youth Film Awards for his role in Go Home. This is KJ’s first performance with Pangdemonium, and he is honoured to be a part of this production.

He has contributed to productions such as Schooled; Monster in the Mirror (2021); Crack the Case: Backstage Betrayal and The Paper Bride. Beyond the stage, Seth has experience emceeing over 50 events, and facilitating interactive experiences, expanding his skills in audience engagement and live performance settings.

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LUCAS WAN AGENT

A studying actor, vocalist and writer, Lucas has had a deep love for music and theatre since secondary school. He is waiting to start his third year in LASALLE’s Diploma in Performance, and is self-studying musical theatre, playwriting, and composing on the side. Lucas has been in several teen productions: ‘Ram Sweeney’ in Heathers directed by Caleb Goh (Pangdemonium) and ‘Nick Piazza’ in Fame! Jr. the Musical directed by Ali Tompkins (Centre Stage).

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CREATIVES TIMOTHY KOH TRACIE PANG

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR

Directing: Singapore, Michigan (Best Director nomination, Life Theatre Awards); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Doubt: A Parable (Best Director and Production of the Year nominations, Life Theatre Awards), and more.

Tracie trained at Croydon Tango; Fun Home; The Father; College, London, and has Peter and the Starcatcher; clocked up more than 35 years Late Company; This is What working in theatre throughout Happens to Pretty Girls; the UK and Asia. In Singapore, Urinetown: The Musical; The she set up The Little Company, Son; Girls and Boys; The for whom she wrote and directed Mother; The Glass Menagerie; numerous productions for End of the Rainbow; People, children aged 3 –14. She was Places & Things; Into the Associate Artistic Director for Woods, Falling (2024), the Singapore Repertory Theatre Southeast Asian premiere of from 2006 – 2010.

Dear Evan Hansen, Kimberly Akimbo and Force Majeure.

In 2010 Tracie founded Pangdemonium Theatre Tracie was awarded the 2015 Company with her husband AWA International Woman of Adrian. At the Straits Times the Year for The Arts, and the Life Theatre Awards, she won 2017 Women’s Weekly “Great the Best Director Award for Women of our Time” Award Pangdemonium’s Falling (2016), for Media and the Arts. It has and received nominations for been the greatest of privileges Pangdemonium’s The Full Monty; growing Pangdemonium and Dealer’s Choice; Rabbit Hole; sharing our work with you, Next to Normal; Fat Pig; Tribes our audience over the last 16 and Dragonflies, and also for years. Thank you for watching.

SRT’s The Dresser; The Snow Queen and The Pillowman.

Other productions she has directed for Pangdemonium include Closer; Spring Awakening; Swimming with Sharks; Gruesome Playground Injuries; The Rise & Fall of Little Voice; Frozen; Circle Mirror Transformation; Chinglish; The Effect; Rent; The Pillowman;

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Assistant Directing: Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club. Fellowship at Playwrights Horizons. BFA from NYU.

JAMES TAN EUCIEN CHIA SET DESIGNER

Eucien is a long-time Pangdemonium collaborator, having designed over twenty of their productions since 2011 including Kimberly Akimbo; Dear Evan Hansen; Doubt; The Glass Menagerie; The Mother; Urinetown; and Spring Awakening.

Accolades: ST Life Theatre Awards Best Set Design winner for The Almighty Sometimes (Singapore Repertory Theatre); Company (Dream Academy); Dealer's Choice (Pangdemonium); December Rains (Toy Factory).

Original creative team for new commissioned works: Singapore, Michigan (Pangdemonium); Kingdoms Apart; A Good Death (Esplanade); The Commission (SIFA); Normal (Checkpoint); H is for Hantu (STAGES); A $ingapore Carol; The Emperor’s New Clothes (Wild Rice); Sleepless Town; Shanghai Blues (Toy Factory).

Selected design credits: Cinderella (Singapore Ballet); Falling (2024); Into The Woods; RENT; This is What Happens to Pretty Girls; End of the Rainbow; The Pillowman (Pangdemonium); La Cage Aux Folles (2017); Boeing Boeing (2017)(Wild Rice); Sing To The Dawn (I-Theatre); Tick, Tick...

Boom! (Sight Lines).

Eucien thanks God for his amazing family.

LIGHTING DESIGNER A Mirror marks James' final outing with the Pangdemonium family. Thank you, to the awesome “backstage technical personnel” for your professional company over the years, including but not limited to past and present production managers, venue production coordinators, stage managers, lighting programmers, lighting crew, followspot operators, lighting apprentices; and basically anyone who has been through the gruelling and extreme long hours of technical theatre work.

Since 2018, under the guidance of Tracie and Adrian, together with the support of the Victoria Lim, Sunitha Nayar and Leah Sim, Pangdemonium’s “Lighting Design Apprenticeship Programme” was born. The programme was collectively developed to support emerging talents in the field of Theatre Lighting Design, a sometimes overlooked theatre occupation that is seemingly not recognised amidst the glitz and glamour of successful productions. It is in good faith that the positive design and technical production practices that were once developed here will somehow find a life and place in the local theatre industry.

I sincerely thank Tracie and Adrian, for being one of the few theatre companies to actually reply that cold email pitch from this noob-ish fresh grad in 2012. Thanks for taking me on an ass-kicking adventure for over 35 main stage productions.

JING NG SOUND DESIGNER & CO-COMPOSER Awarded the National Arts Council Scholarship, Jing graduated with first class honours from Rose Bruford College (U.K.) specialising in Performance Sound.

Having designed for various companies and productions over 10 years of practice, he aspires to provide a wholesome sonic experience for the audience – what, why and how you listen through a live performance.

As an arts educator at NAFA since 2017, Jing has been teaching the core principles and techniques of production sound design. These modules fosters future practitioners in developing a deeper uderstanding of sound in various artistic mediums and discovering the infinite possibilities of sonic arts.

He was nominated for Best Sound Design in the 2014 Off West End Theatre Awards, and the 2018, 2022 – 2026 Singapore Straits Times Life Theatre Awards – winning both 2025 and 2026 editions.

Audio Portfolio: www.soundcloud.com/jingsound

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VICK LOW MUSICIAN & CO-COMPOSER Vick Low is a Singaporebased sound designer and composer whose work centres on crafting immersive sonic environments for theatre and performance. Trained in music technology and grounded in a background as a cellist, his practice combines acoustic instrumentation, cello, and electronic processes to shape rhythm, atmosphere, and psychological space.

His credits include Kwa Geok Choo and Titoudao (Toy Factory Productions), God of Carnage and Everything For You (Nine Years Theatre), and Third Man Syndrome (Gateway Arts), alongside Theatre for Young Audiences works such as Karung Guni Boy (Esplanade PLAYtime!, 2025) and The Dragon’s Dentist.

His interdisciplinary works include Windward Side of the Mountain and I Am Seaweed, presented at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival and Melbourne Fringe Festival. Internationally, his work has been presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Australia’s AWESOME Festival. He was also a resident artist at the National Gallery Singapore.

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RAYANN CONDY INTIMACY DIRECTOR Rayann (she/her) is a certified Intimacy Coordinator with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (USA). She is the first qualified intimacy professional in Singapore. As a very new role in Singapore she is honored to have worked on projects who are leading the industry to foster accountable, consent informed spaces that allow storytelling to flourish.

Highlights to date include The Serangoon Gardens Techno Party of 1993 (Wild Rice); The Season (Hulu); multi-award swimming short film Buah.

Rayann has a BA Hons in Acting at LASALLE College of the Arts and an MA Culture and Communication at Malmö University (Sweden).

She also works across film/ tv and theater as a director, casting director, producer and educator. Rayann volunteers with AWARE and is a lead facilitator of its Sexual Assault First Responder Training.

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CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) Celik / Registrar

GHAFIR AKBAR

Bax / Best Man

ANDREW MARKO

Adem / Groom

ZACHARY PANG

Mei / Bride

COCO WANG LING

Wedding Guest

CHARLOTTE GREENALL

Agent

PHUA YAO TING (YT)

Agent

SETH ARRI AZHAR

Agent

SIM KEE JOO KJ

Agent

LUCAS WAN

Musician

VICK LOW

THE TEAM

CREATIVE TEAM Director

TRACIE PANG

Assistant Director

TIMOTHY KOH

Playwright

SAM HOLCROFT

Set Designer

EUCIEN CHIA

Associate Set Designer

SCOTT LEE

Lighting Designer

JAMES TAN

Sound Designer & Co-composer

JING NG

Associate Sound Designer

JEAN YAP

Costume Designer

L.A.C

Co-composer

VICK LOW

Intimacy Director

RAYANN CONDY

PRODUCTION & STAGE MANAGEMENT TEAM

PANGDEMONIUM TEAM Artistic Director / Managing Director

TRACIE PANG

Artistic Director / Producer

ADRIAN PANG

General Manager

RENEE TAN

Associate Director

TIMOTHY KOH

Production Manager

LEAH SIM

Associate Production Manager

OTHMAN M. YUSOF

Company Stage Manager

KOH YI WEI

Marketing Manager

KRISTAL ZHOU

Marketing Executive

DEBBIE NG

Production Manager

LEAH SIM

Relationship Manager

GUINEVIERE LOW

Associate Production Manager

OTHMAN M. YUSOF

Ticketing Manager

MICHELLE SEETOH

Technical Manager

NUR ALIFF

Admin & HR Manager

HILMI SHUKUR

Stage Manager

KOH YI WEI

Accounting Manager

MARIEM TOUAHRIA

Assistant Stage Manager

ZAI

Production Apprentice

DILAISYA SUAL

Assistant Stage Manager

MARA KARMA

Ticketing & Customer Service Assistant

JOSH HUANG CHU SI

Props Master

DANIEL SIM

Associate Artist

JAMES TAN

Props Assistant

GERALYN TOH

Costume Coordinator

TAN JIA HUI

Dresser

DILYS ANG

Sound Operator 1

YAT

Sound Operator 2

TAN SUET PENG

Lighting Programmer

WEE (CTRL FRE@K)

Production Apprentice

DILAISYA SUAL

Make-up Consultant

BOBBIE NG (THE MAKE UP ROOM)

PANGDEMONIUM BOARD JOHN CURRIE DR. JADE KUA JACQUELINE CHAN HANMING WANG BEATRICE CHIA-RICHMOND TRACIE PANG ADRIAN PANG 25

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THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR FRIENDS! WHITE KNIGHTS

Dr Lena Lee

Drs Lim Kay Kiat & Nicola Ngiam

Shaw Foundation

Jacqueline Chan

Ee Yee

James & Rebecca Orme

WINGED CRUSADERS

John Currie & Hong Sun Chee

Emmett, Hazel, Emeric & Ethel Wong

Katherine A Krummert & Shawn Galey

Eugene Lee Fam Hui Jiung

Kelvin, Kayla & Natasha

Foo Yee Ling

Ken Cambie & Shou Sen Cheam

Gerry & Sharon Craggs

Kok Aun Koh

Goh Meixuan

LAKE

Greg Walters

Mr & Mrs Victor and Michelle Sassoon

In memory of KC Kok

Rachel & Wen Juin

Kelvin Tan & Sandy Chan

Holywell Foundation HCS Engineering Pte Ltd Jacqueline Ho, Esq. The Diana Koh Foundation The Grace, Shua and Jacob Ballas II Charitable Trust

CRUSADERS BinjaiTree Foundation Chew How Teck Foundation Dharmendra Yadav Irene Wee & Wee Chwee Heng Piyush Gupta Valerie Velasco, Esq.

SUPERHEROES

CHAMPIONS Aileen Tang Ajai Kaul Ajit Nayak & Subhadra Sethuraman AK & SC

Kevin Ong SH Low Eng Teong Lynce Tan Magnus Edison Tan Matt Wong Matthew Flaherty Mattopher Melanie Tan

Adeline & Timothy

Alois Schiessl

Clarence & Amelia

Angela Yap

Dr Jade Kua & Marion Isabelle Teo

Anjali Kuperan & Adrian Allen Joseph

Esmond Loon

Audrey Chng

Goh Swee Chen

Ben, Sharon, Goku & Bulma Low

Nithia Devan

Meng

Berlinda Gooi & Frank Schuurmans

Ojas Nitin Doshi Ong Pei San

Bernice & Alzone Ang

Pang Siu Mei

Beth Hollahan

Pauline Lim

Charles Koh

Pierre Colignon

Tania Wee

Chewng Wen Zhao

Rita E Silver

Christopher Pang

Ronald & Janet Stride

HEROES

Claire McColl

Saahil & Divya Patel

Daniela

Sabrina Soh

Daryl Lim

Sandra Gwee

David & Jessica Neo

Sardool Singh

Dominik von Wantoch-Rekowski

Sehr & Ashnil Dixit

Dr Christopher Chen

Sharon Tan

Dr Mandy Zhang

Sumitra & Pramod

Dr Tan Eng Thye Jason

Susan Sim

Russell H K Heng Shiv Dewan Shivani Manohara Sze Wei Goh

Amith Narayan Agnus Capt. Rahul & Smita Choudhuri CK & Sylvia David & Thuan Forrester Dr Irene Lim & Prof David Stringer 28

SL Chan

Joanne Pek

Michael Wong Michelle Shek & Harry Brilliant Mingcheng Lim Ng Yichun

Suzanne Lim

Eugene Ang

Nguyen Trung Huan

Tanya Tan

Ferlicia Ma

Nicolas Fanchon

Thara Gopalan

Geoffrey Baker

Nigel Ng

Toh Bao-En

Goh Siu Kiat (SK)

Ong Ai Ghee

Vanessa Seah

Gunjali

Ong Hwee Suan

Wilhem Lee

Hasan Orkan Akcan

Paul Gosling

Wu Peihui

HL

Preston Soh

Yan Zhiyan & Lim Hweeyong

Isabel Ong

Rainnie Zhou

Yvonne Soh

Jacq & Fel

Ramesh Shahdadpuri

Jane Hayes

Sarah Mei Ismail

Janice Goh

Sebastian

A&D

Janice Low

See Kuo Min Matthew

AB & J

Jason Chee

Sera Foo

AC

Jennifer King

Serene Thain

Adrian Toh

Joel Loong

Shanti & Rajesh Achanta

Ahmed Bahajjaj

Jolyn Moh

Siok Chen

Andre Gerard Ballesteros

Jolyn Teh

Steven Wong

Audrey Phua

Jorin Ng

Suen JM

Barry & YT Clarke

Joyce Tan Soo Yuen

Sze Shiang

Ben Veron

Juliana

Tamara & Cara Chang

Brian Selby & Angelina Chang

Jun Shea

Tan Hian Hong

Caleb & Gayle

Justin Edward Chong

Tan Siong Min Benjamin

Charmaine

Ken

Tan Tiat Hern David

Cheng Yiling

Kenneth Ong & Coral Yuen

Teo Xi Hui

Chiat Sian

Koon

The CheuNgs

Chin Jin Kiat

Kristy

Thechanmaleechans

Chloe Goh

Lance Lim

Toh Wei Seng

CHPY

Lau Chee Chong

Tok Li

Christopher Raj Rajadhran

Laura L

Tommy Koh

Clarence Ng

Lee Wen Long

Usha Joyrama & Samant Jain

Cynthia

Li Zhijing

Venetia Shio

Cynthia Wong

Lionel Heng & Chen Weiling

Wang Wei-lung

D Cheong

Liwen & Joee

Wee Cathleen

Daniel Chai

Lim Qian Ru

Wen

Dawn Seow

Lim Wei Ping

Yap Zhi Jia

Denise Asmira

Loh Soon Hui

Yong Hui Chua & Jia Qi Chua

Dennis

Lone

Zhenlin Lee

Desmond Ho

Lynn

Dhiraj & Chloe

Mikail Kalimuddin

Doreen Quiaoit

mOOn

Dr Francis Chin

Nadia Ingrida

Dr Teo Kien Boon

Nathan Ong

Drs Sylvia & Javier

Ng Hian Hui

Edwin Tan

Ng Yew Hoon

PANGDEMANIACS

We would like to express our sincere thanks to our new Friends who made their kind donations after this list went to print.

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FRIENDS OF PANGDEMONIUM As a proudly Singaporean theatre company, it has been a journey of a lifetime for us, making theatre for you, being a part of Singapore's arts industry, and giving towards our community. Your support as a Friend of Pangdemonium has been indispensable in keeping us going as a theatre company.

Even as Pangdemonium journeys through our final year, we graciously welcome every donation until 31 August – every single cent goes directly into producing our Finale Season to the very highest standards that we have always held ourselves to. As a registered charity, if there are any surplus funds at the end of our Season, they will go

DONATION TIERS

towards further supporting other charities within our theatre industry. So you are contributing towards the further development of the entire arts ecosystem in Singapore.

If you wish to make a donation in support of Pangdemonium’s Finale 2026 season, please scan the QR code above.

On behalf of the Pangdemonium family, for your faith, patronage and friendship, we THANK YOU. See you at the theatre and beyond, and we wish you ass-kicking adventures in life.

COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS Complimentary Tickets

PANGDEMANIAC $500 – $999

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CHAMPION $1,000 – $2,499

8

HERO $2,500 – $4,999

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SUPERHERO $5,000 – $9,999

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CRUSADER $10,000 – $24,999

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WINGED CRUSADER $25,000 – $49,999

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WHITE KNIGHT $50,000 – $149,999

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SEASON PATRON $150,000 and above

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Priority Booking

Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is a registered charity with IPC status (UEN.: 201229915M). Donations above $50 entitles you to a tax deduction 2.5 times the value of your donation.

Donate today at giving.sg/organisation/profile/ pangdemonium.

For more information, please visit pangdemonium.com/support-us/fop, or write to fundraiser@pangdemonium.com.

DONOR RECOGNITION Acknowledgement on Pangdemonium website and Programme Booklets

Patron of the Arts nomination

Other benefits include invitations to Friends of Pangdemonium events, pre-show receptions and more.

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UNDER

25 YOUTH FUND

At Pangdemonium, the heart of our work is growing a vibrant theatre community — on stage, behind the scenes, and in the audience.

The Under 25 Youth Fund provides affordable access to live theatre for young people aged 25 and below, ensuing that cost is never a barrier to experience the power of live theatre.

Under this scheme, eligible youths can purchase a ticket for just $25, thanks to the generous subsidies provided by donations from foundations.

We are deeply grateful to the Shaw Foundation, Chew How Teck Foundation, and BinjaiTree Foundation for their support as we launch the second production of our 2026 Season, A Mirror.

Contact renee@pangdemonium.com For more information, for corporate giving, sponsorship please contact opportunities, and in-kind donations.

guineviere@pangdemonium.com

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Tracie and Adrian would like to say a big thank you to the following for creating further pangdemonium with us on our production of A MIRROR.

CORPORATE DONORS

SUPPORTED BY

UNDER 25 PARTNERS

OFFICIAL STORAGE

PROUD PARTNER OF

OFFICIAL WINE

LOVINGLY FED BY

OFFICIAL ARTS & CULTURE MEDIA

Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is supported by the National Arts Council under the Major Company Scheme.

A Mirror is supported by the Cultural Matching Fund.

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BOOK, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY IRENE SANKOFF AND DAVID HEIN

DIRECTED BY TIMOTHY KOH

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll be a better person when you leave the theatre.

Don’t miss ‘Come From Away’.  BROADWAY WORLD

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