I wrote this in January 2016 for Speakeasy, a spoken-word event run by Pooja Nansi, responding to the theme of "envy". Once, over cocktails and cigarettes, it was laid down to me that a young Singaporean with means should live abroad for a spell before turning 30. I’m 29 this year. I tell myself every … Continue reading New York City Envy

This essay was first published in 2012 on POSKOD.sg A SUBSTANTIAL MAN: Fat and Gay in a Gym Bunny’s World There is, to my mind, a gay man’s debutante ball, except it’s quite DIY. Leisurely, at one’s own pace, coming out can be awkward or beautiful, ostentatious or quiet, but it’s a ritual all the same. … Continue reading A Substantial Man

Five years ago I went through a period of massive weight loss for a whole bunch of apparent reasons, the main one being heartbreak, followed, I now see, by a lack of self-knowledge. There's been a lot of talk lately about the epidemic of loneliness amongst gay men; and my own experience of it has … Continue reading Weight

This, like a few other essays that I've written over the years,was first published on Poskod.sg, We Could Have Danced All Night: Play And the Anatomy of Coming Out[1] The first time I saw strobe lights was at Play. That’s probably not true. But the first strobe lights I truly remember, green lasers that burned themselves … Continue reading We Could Have Danced All Night- Play And the Anatomy of Coming Out

I'm back from a whirling, too-short month away in cold, cold Europe! If you've missed me in any shape or form, here is a roster of events that I'm part of/conducting in the coming warm months (rain? what rain?) Friday, 10 Feb: SPEAKEASY #30: VALENTINE'S DAY EDITION Potty-mouthed poets, lovelorn loners, desultory drag queens, it's like … Continue reading Spring-Summer Collection

Here's a review of The Garden of Foolish Indulgences by Oh Yong Hwee and Koh Hong Teng that I wrote for Art Review Asia. A shortened edited version appears in the journal's Winter 2016 edition. == In Oh Yong Hwee and Koh Hong Teng’s new graphic novel, The Garden of Foolish Indulgences, the Garden in question is Singapore. More … Continue reading Review: The Garden of Foolish Indulgences

Today while thinking through some of the ideas and events in my new play Tango, a sudden recollection. It was my A levels, the General Paper exam, 2004. Teachers from other schools had come to supervise the examination. One teacher in particular, a man in his late 30s, kept stopping in front of my desk … Continue reading History is a swamp

  Time for that periodic round up of things I'm busy with in the coming months. 1. YOU ARE HERE, November 18-19 2016, Esplanade Recital Studio This show started out as a small Powerpoint confessional in the Living Room of the Arts House, commissioned by Checkpoint Theatre for their groovy What I Love About You Is Your … Continue reading Busyness

Caught this last night. I was super excited to see it because I first discovered Robert LePage's work through his production of Wagner's Ring for the New York Met Opera. I saw that on DVD but even then found it gorgeous, modern but also appropriately and goofily old-fashioned. Anyway, by the time I got into the theatre … Continue reading Hamlet|Collage

Wrapped up this show a week ago. Lots of trepidation going in, lots of uncertainty going out. I went in thinking to try painting with a different palette, using some of the tools (naturalism, conversation, banality) I'm familiar with, and the end result was something that I find hideous and monstrous. Responses from audiences and … Continue reading Cafe