Rajkumar Thiagaras is a bilingual actor and playwright. His plays are often approached from the lenses of queerness and brownness in Singapore.

His notable playwriting credits include Ashes, Ashes (Toy Factory Productions) and Chandramukhi (Avant Theatre). His short play Onthakan – The Blue Hour won the third prize in the open category of the 24-Hour Playwriting Competition by T:>Works, and was subsequently staged by Theatresauce in 2022 as part of the Emerging Director’s Lab Showcase.

He took on the roles of co-devisor, actor and playwright for Never The Bride (The Necessary Stage), which was staged as part of the M1 Fringe Festival 2023.

What was the first play you’ve ever written?

In English, I had written Ashes, Ashes during my undergrad days at Nanyang Technological University as an assignment for playwright Jean Tay’s playwriting module. Later on, I submitted it for Toy Factory’s Write Stuff Mentorship programme and it got selected and underwent further development, leading to its staging in 2019.

In Tamil, I had written Chandramukhi as part of a creative writing mentorship programme with Avant Theatre. A few years later, the same company picked it up for further development before doing a dramatised stage read in 2019, and subsequently a full staging in 2021.

Why write plays?

I started out as an actor in theatre, and didn’t really think about writing plays as I thought I needed to concentrate on one craft. I have always enjoyed creative writing since young and have experimented with other genres before; I even got a short story published in an anthology. But somehow playwriting just never felt right to me.

However, once I attended a playwriting workshop out of curiosity and went down the rabbit hole, it then felt instinctual to write in this genre, to imagine endless possibilities that could jump out of the page and come to life on stage. That’s why I love being a playwright even more than being an actor now—because of the creative freedom it gives me to voice my fantasies, rage and hopes in a dramatic form.

What themes do you find yourself returning to in your work?

I am a fan of mythology and classical literature (plus a Shakespeare nerd), so I often find inspiration from these narratives. Oftentimes, I’m pulling a thread (or various threads) from themes in these works that I then try to apply in my understanding of life in Singapore. Tragic love stories, existential crises and the conflict between fate and self-determination feature frequently in my plays.

What do you like about Singaporean playwriting and being a Singaporean playwright?

I like that it goes against the grain of respectability and what is deemed acceptable. Local playwriting has evolved a lot in the last decade, focussing on microaggressions and existential crises which correlate to macro concerns of nationhood. The critique of authority, examination of self-identity and the messy tangling of families and relationships—complicated by Singapore’s need for breakneck development and progress—are prevalent in local playwriting and has given room for more experimental work that challenges form and function. It is great to be a part of that social fabric, and to weave my small works as part of that larger tapestry.

Can you share what you hope to see in the future of Singapore theatre?

I wish to see more minority-led intercultural theatre that takes inspiration from traditional forms and yet produces critical work that is true to the sensibilities of our multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-sexual identities. I also hope that our local talent can be celebrated on our home ground and not only when they achieve success internationally.

Additionally, it’ll be awesome if there could be more playwriting competitions or festivals such as Short + Sweet (an annual fringe festival of 10 minute plays based in Sydney, Australia), so that emerging playwrights can have equitable platforms to showcase their works and to be discovered!