Round, Round, The Unmerry-Go-Round
A sensitive puppetry performance about friendship, empathy and the cycle of hurtful behaviours, suitable for ages 7-12.
A sensitive puppetry performance about friendship, empathy and the cycle of hurtful behaviours
Alex and Charlie have lots of fun at the playground. They have recently been very into magic and spells, pretending to be monster-busting wizards with their robes, wands and all-powerful Book of Spellz – until the day someone else arrives, and everything changes. Someone pushes someone, someone says something mean and it goes round and round and round…
What happens when the playground is no longer a fun place to be? With no adults around, what can the children do? Will they ever be able to get off this unmerry-go-round?
Round, Round, The Unmerry-Go-Round is a new Theatre for Young Audience performance by The Little Players, the outreach wing of The Finger Players. Developed in conversation with researchers, social workers and children, it aims to examine experiences of hurtful behaviours among children, and untangle a little bit of the complex and multifaceted nature of these situations, where the lines between who is hurting whom are not always clear.
Round, Round, The Unmerry-Go-Round is written by playwright Thomas Lim and directed by TFP Core Team Member Ellison Tan, with dramaturgy by TFP Core Team Member Sindhura Kalidas.
DATE & TIME
19-20 Nov 2026 | 10AM & 2.30PM (School Exclusive)
21-22 Nov 2026 | 11AM & 3PM (Open to Public)
VENUE
Drama Centre Black Box
DURATION
1h 10mins
LANGUAGE
English
ADVISORY
General
1. Recognise different forms of bullying and understanding their impact on individuals, relationships, and the wider community
2. Develop strategies for expressing needs and emotions respectfully
3. Practice responses to conflict and people in need
4. Cultivate an appreciation for puppetry and the performing arts as tools for emotional expression, social reflection, and communication.
General Admission: $38
Promotions
15% Early Bird Discount (Valid from now to 14 Oct)
15% Family Package (4 tickets)
Schools Bookings
For every 20 student tickets purchased per performance, one complimentary ticket will be issued. Schools may apply for Tote Board Arts Fund Public Arts Programme for up to 50% subsidy.
Director
Ellison Tan
Playwright
Thomas Lim
Dramaturg
Sindhura Kalidas
Performers & Puppeteers
Cheryl Ho
Elennor Ee
Farez Najid
Puppet Designer & Maker
Oliver Chong
Costume Designer
Aida Sa’ad
Lighting Designer
Genevieve Peck
Set Designer
Grace Lin
Sound Designer
Bennett Bay
Production Manager
Kareen Low (The Backstage Affair)
Stage Manager
Marilyn Ang
Assistant Stage Manager
Wisely Chow
Props Master
Quek See Yee
Key Visual Designer
Beverley Ng
A post-show dialogue will be held after every performance, facilitating a guided conversation with young audiences about the themes and topics explored in the show.

Director

Playwright

Dramaturg

Performer and Puppeteer

Performer and Puppeteer

Performer and Puppeteer

Puppet Designer & Maker

Props Master
A sensitive puppetry performance about friendship, empathy and the cycle of hurtful behaviours, suitable for ages 7-12.

You’re invited to enter The World of Our Own, a non-verbal puppetry performance that explores how to

Inspired by the Southeast Asian folklore of the Penanggalan, Here is presented by The Finger Players, and

An Esplanade Co-commission | Theatre heavyweights Oliver Chong (Singapore) and Wang Chia-Ming (Taiwan) join forces to reimagine

The swan song of Puppet Origin Stories @ ONE-TWO-SIX

Commissioned by SIFA 2025 | Adapted and directed by Oliver Chong, Animal Farm is a classic tale
Ellison Tan Yuyang is a performer, puppeteer and teaching artist. Her performance, education and pedagogical practice spans across communities of all ages and needs. Ellison’s background is in puppetry, playwriting, the Suzuki Method of Actor Training and Viewpoints. She was Co-Artistic Director of The Finger Players from 2020 – 2023, and remains a Core Team Member. She is also Co-Founder of The Wanderlings – the first Singaporean collective to create baby theatre. Her latest directorial work was for Scenes from the Climate Era (Esplanade Studios). Ellison was conferred the National Arts Council Arts Scholarship in 2020, and graduated from Rose Bruford College with a Masters in Theatre for Young Audiences (Distinction).
Thomas Lim is a writer, director and arts educator based in Singapore. His works span across genres and languages, including plays, musicals, exhibitions and short films that have been performed in Teochew, Mandarin, Malay, Bahasa Indonesia, English and Pig Latin. He made his professional debut as a playwright and director with Grandmother Tongue, a semi-autobiographical tribute to his Teochew-speaking grandmother. Subsequent writing credits include Supervision, Straight Acting and National Day Charade. Thomas also makes theatre for families, such as musical pantomimes like Peter Pan in Serangoon Gardens, Pinocchio, and shows for young audiences like Red Riding Hood and There’s A Dinosaur In The Concert Hall. Education is at the heart of Thomas’s artistic practice. He enjoys teaching, collaborating and co-creating with students and young people. He is the Co-Programme Director of the Singapore Youth Theatre and teaches playwriting in secondary schools and tertiary institutions.
Sindhura Kalidas is a theatre practitioner and educator. She is a Core Team Member of The Finger Players (TFP) and was part of Centre 42’s inaugural cohort of Dramaturgs-in-Residence (2025/2026). Her dramaturgical credits include Wild Rice’s National Day Charade (2024), TFP’s Puppet Origin Stories (2022), and The Necessary Stage’s Acting Mad (2022). A recipient of the NAC Postgraduate Arts Scholarship, Sindhu holds an MA (Distinction) in Dramaturgy and Writing for Performance from Goldsmiths, University of London.
Cheryl Ho is an award-winning Actor, Theatre Maker and Facilitator. She loves reading, enjoying nature and spending time with her loved ones. She values Care, Fun and Inclusion and prioritises creating environments and setting up systems for people to feel supported to do their best work. Her recent works include Lao Jiu: The Musical (The Theatre Practice), SG Insecure (The Necessary Stage) and Phinny and Wally (Nine Years Theatre). She performed at the Light to Night Singapore Festival 2025 as part of the Resonates With Residency with National Gallery Singapore. She was also a Creative-in-Residence with Rainbow Centre and Superhero Me. As a facilitator, Cheryl has been facilitating performance & drama workshops for close to 10 years and in the last few years, has expanded to facilitating workshops that touch on Theatre Making, Artistic Practice, Wellbeing and Creative care. More Info at cherylhohuiee.com
Farez Najid is a Singapore-based theatre practitioner, performer and educator. He has performed with companies including Teater Ekamatra, WILD RICE, Drama Box and The Finger Players. His practice moves across acting, devised work, physical theatre and participatory performance. Alongside performing, Farez works closely with young people and communities through theatre and creative learning. He remains curious about play, collaboration and the relationship between performer and audience, and continues to explore new ways of bringing people together through live performance, storytelling and shared experiences.
Eleanor Ee is a freelance theatre practitioner and drama educator based in Singapore. She is passionate about exploring the possibilities of creating a universal language through theatre, to help form deeper connections between humans and the world around us. She is also interested in questioning identity, traditions and the structures that have been created around us, and their relevance today. She is an alumnus of Young and Wild (2023) and the Curious School of Puppetry (2026) and is currently a P7:1SMA Associate Artist.
Oliver Chong is a Singapore theatre-maker, playwright, and puppeteer whose work has helped redefine puppetry as a contemporary performance form in Asia. He was a central artistic leader of The Finger Players from 2004 to 2026 and holds the record for 30 Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards nominations across disciplines, with six wins. He now works independently across directing, writing, and pedagogy, developing new interdisciplinary performance works and puppetry methodologies.
Quek See Yee is an artist and designer. Trained in architecture, she works across drawings, objects, installations, interiors and set design, treating them all as one practice. Her sculptural work often begins with found or foraged materials, arranged or lightly altered rather than transformed, keeping their qualities legible rather than disguised. She also co-leads SOME CLUB, an artist collective that considers play as a method of practice.
