The Vault: #3.1 In/Visibility

The first of the series, #3.1 In/Visibility is a light performance-presentation. Stripped of actors and spoken words, lighting designer Lim Woan Wen seeks to express the play in relation to the space of the Centre 42 Black Box based on the structure, circumstances, characters, emotions and themes of the script.

Invisibility, written by Quah Sy Ren, has been described as “a poignant tale about alienation and the search for meaning in modern urban society”. As a term, the word Invisibility alludes to the absence of bodies on stage; as a subject, it relates to the nature of a theatre designer’s work in a conventional production.

In this series of three installations, the focus is brought to a theatre designer’s response to text. In the absence of a prescribed directorial vision, design collective INDEX connects directly with the play, interprets its narrative and re-imagines it using their specialized language of design. #3.2 by sound artist Darren Ng and #3.3 by spatial designer Lim Wei Ling will be presented in July and September 2015 respectively.

Read more about the second of this series, #3.2 For The Time Being, here.
Read more about the third of this series, #3.3 scale 1:333333.333…, here.

About the Playwright
“Invisibility” was written by Quah Sy Ren and was first staged (in Mandarin) by The Necessary Stage in 1996. The mandarin play was translated into English by Sim Pern Yiau. A browsing copy of the published play is available in Centre 42’s Book Den. View it here.

Playwright Quah Sy Ren is an associate professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Chinese division at Nanyang Technical University. His main research interests are in Chinese Literature and the history of Singapore Theatre. Quah also sits on the board of directors for Practice Performing Arts Centre and The Finger Players. In addition to Invisibility (1996), Quah has also authored other plays as well as written and edited several books.