No Particular Order
Written by Joel Tan
Directed by Sim Yan Ying “YY”
April 2023 as part of Esplanade - The Studios: TRIP, Singapore
A despot has come to power. The population is anxious, submissive and scared.
But beneath every violation of civil liberty, there are real human beings; behind every act of resistance, there is an individual willing to risk everything. And these people aren't heroic or remarkable – they're just like us.
Through a series of vignettes involving the lives of bureaucrats, soldiers, artists and tour guides, No Particular Order charts the fate of a society in turmoil to ask at every step of the way: is it empathy, or power, that endures?
Digital programme here
Production History
Joel Tan’s No Particular Order first debuted in May 2022 at London’s Theatre503. Described as “startling and apocalyptic”, the play was shortlisted for the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award as well as the 2022 George Devine Award. This performance marks its Singapore premiere.
Collaborators
Playwright: Joel Tan
Director & Costume Designer: Sim Yan Ying “YY”
Performers: Arielle Jasmine Van Zuijlen, Karen Tan, Pavan J Singh & Shrey Bhargava
Lighting Designer: James Tan
Sound Designer: Lee Yew Jin (Ctrl Fre@k)
Set Designer: Hella Chan
Production Manager: Evelyn Chia (The Backstage Affair)
Stage Manager: Carolene Ruth Liew (The Backstage Affair)
Assistant Stage Manager: Irish Alcantara (The Backstage Affair)
Costume Consultant: Anthony Tan
Photos by Tuckys Photography
Press
“This deeply convoluted reflection would be incomplete without mentioning YY’s masterful direction in setting up the space and highlighting both physical and social boundaries between characters where it matters, but yet leaving room for audience members to quietly (or not) contemplate the fragile yet significant moments of intimacy where conflict is occasionally absent, especially in moments where they matter as well.”
— Philippe Pang, Medium
”Sim animates the script’s 43 characters – played by just four actors – through slick costume changes. War zone morphs to art gallery morphs to supermarket in her use of Hella Chan’s multipurpose, four-piece industrial set. […] Forgo any attempt to piece events together and treat each scene as a distinct and surreal nightmare, and the play works better. That the work is full of inexplicable shadows mirrors the insidious way fear works in more subtle forms of despotism.”
Interviews & Features
“On choosing No Particular Order for her Esplanade debut, she says: “I had such a visceral reaction just reading the play on the page. The world of the play is very vivid and texturised. It feels quite epic, but each vignette is grounded in human truth and looks at the difficult choices that people have to make in dire situations.”
She says she has always been attracted to plays about power and conflict. “One of the things that Joel (the playwright) said to me was that throughout recorded history, there hasn’t been a time when the world wasn’t at war, somewhere, somehow. That was a very sobering fact for me and makes me question. Is this just human nature, this need for power and greed? If world peace is impossible, what do we make of this and how do we best carry on?”
