Saving Face: Community, Culture and the Unspoken

Overcoming generational gaps and veils of silence, this performative reading brings together three playwrights and directors (Aswani Aswath, Othman M. Yusof and Ang Xiao Ting) in a multicultural programme that explores themes that are not often discussed openly within our communities.

Strawberry Girls by Aswani Aswath reflects on menstrual taboos and coming-of-age rituals in the Indian community, tracing the experiences of three generations of women. (Fill)ing by Othman M. Yusof looks at dementia within the Malay community, through a mother and son's relationship shaped by shared traditions and care. Extinction Feast co-created by Ang Xiao Ting explores environmental responsibility through the lens of family traditions and food culture in the Chinese community.

Through these excerpts, the programme invites audiences to reflect on how the cultural values we inherit shape our understanding of the world and our tendency to keep certain conversations beneath the surface.

The readings will be followed by a panel discussion with the playwrights, opening up a space for reflection, dialogue and shared understanding.