2023

A Triple Bill

The Puppets Are Alright

“Peepbird cuts right into the chrysalis of whatever this current time is, and made a space for me to confront this strange new world as it swivels, in all its decays and joys.” – Centre 42

Synopsis

The Puppets Are Alright is a celebration of all things puppetry. Featuring a triple bill of puppetry-led works, The Puppets Are Alright marks the final production of Ellison Tan and Myra Loke’s 2019-2023 stint as The Finger Players’ Co-Artistic Directors.

The show is a culmination of The Maker’s Lab from 2020 to 2023, an initiative by TFP to nurture and grow builders and designers of puppets and objects.

ARTIST’S LINE UP

THE BENCH

Playwright: Ellison Tan
Director: Myra Loke
TML Maker / Puppet Designer & Maker: Marilyn Ang
Performers / Puppeteers: Ian Tan, T. Sasitharan

On a bench, Paul and his father tell each other stories, disregard their unhappiness with reckless abandon, and allowed their souls to be healed by each other.

PARTING

Playwright & Director: Oliver Chong
Puppet Designer & Maker: Loo An Ni
Performers / Puppeteers: Alvin Chiam, Angelina Chandra, Jo Kwek, Rachel Nip

A relationship has run its course and a man sits at his desk to finalize a separation.

MY FATHER THE AI MACHINE

Playwright: Chong Tze Chien
Director: Liew Jia Yi
Puppet Designer & Maker: Sim Xin Feng
Performers / Puppeteers: Doreen Toh, Neo Hai Bin

She clings on to her dead husband’s memories, lovingly preserved in an electronic shell of him in her house. He lives on in a fictional world that she tenderly and tirelessly recreates, while their son is caught in between, unable to move on.