“These arms used to be wings;
Where were the muscles that could have carried me over continents?”
We speak of a bird who’s lost in the sky.
tapping on bone is an excavation of the stories we tell ourselves as we evolve — the realisation that growing up isn’t all it’s cut out to be. Reaching each milestone as we age has always seemed like something to celebrate. Why does it feel like we are moving in circles, still?
The play unravels fraying ideals of what it means to have “made it” in life, and the expectations that tailor our rib cages – making it harder to breathe. Grounded in personal history, and entirely devised, it dissects the rituals that bind us through a fusion of surrealist performance and explosive physicality. We invite you to escape with us on flights of the imagination.
Tender, poetic, and immersive all at once, tapping on bone is a dream of finding closure, driven by the incessant rhythms beneath our skin.
Commissioned for A Mirage, a pop-up pub theatre concept for original fringe / experimental work, the production was staged from 20th - 26th June 2022 after an intense three-month R&D and rehearsal process. It was produced in partnership with Projector X: Riverside, an indie cinema / event space where arthouse films and international titles are platformed. The production was designed in response to the performance site – an empty hall devoid of the usual theatrical trappings, with a tabula rasa charm all its own. tapping on bone closed with a completely sold-out run, welcoming hundreds of audience members to an immersive communal experience within a found space. A dedicated programme, with more information about the show and its creatives, can be found here.
The team comprised of the diverse cast of performer-playwrights Alysha Chandra, Audrey Teong, and Shirin Keshvani, producers Pearlyn Tay and Theo Chen, production consultant Lum E-Sean, with our artistic director Rebecca helming the team as director and dramaturg. The key visual was a collaboration with designer Lim Shi-An. Photography by Christopher Chee.
Supported by:
reviews:
"Enlightening on the ideas surrounding womenhood, sense of self, pain, and even the metaphor of flight. The script was absolutely beautiful, and was really
well supported by the amazing trio of actors. Kudos!"
"I had a really great time and the show was amazing."
"I really enjoyed it. It felt honest... moved to tears."
"Authentic, personal... very poetic and heartfelt."
"I felt an outburst of emotion all over me... it's such a great performance!"
"A lot of food for thought fed to us from the symbolism, metaphors, allegories used around flight, birds, travel, aerodynamics, and how these explore the experiences of being a female young adult... The incorporation of (desires written by) the audience made it interactive, and invited them to kickstart the thinking process, priming them to enter the play from a primed state of mind - prompts the audience to relate the themes more closely to their lived experiences."
"A beautiful and new way of presenting theatre and constructing theatre as you go..."
"I know for a fact I loved it, and I love how personal their stories are to them but how universal the themes explored and emotions are."
"It was beautiful! Dream-like, a strong sense of yearning and searching."
"I felt seen, and it gave me the vocabulary to describe this difficult period of my life I am going through."
"I enjoyed it very much, it felt fresh and also intimate at the same time."
"I could resonate with the notion of striving to meet expectations, to be perfect. I enjoyed the abstract style of this play."
"I think that the lighting was creative and the usage of limited space was great. The pre-show audience segment was a nice touch of direct engagement."