11 pairs of strangers, 11 scripts, 11 storylines and 11 new relationships
Telok Ayer Arts Club, in collaboration with multi-hyphenate artist Dawn Ng presents 11 – a never-seen-before experiential performance piece with four exclusive showings commencing 17 January 2019, in the lead up to a Valentine’s Day finale. Taking its cue from the rhythm and pulse of city life, Telok Ayer Arts Club teams up with the mercurial Singaporean artist in an exquisite showcase of performance art and human relationships that brings together 11 pairs of strangers in a bid to find affinity.
Under Dawn’s artistic direction, the Arts Club will be transformed into a black box performance space as each night sees 11 pairs of strangers, immerse themselves in 11 intriguing storylines of city-life – each depicting interactions shot through with truth, hope, humour, vulnerability, loss and longing.
The evening’s performance begins at the bar—a prelude of sorts—where a stiff welcome cocktail is made exceptionally potent and mandatory for all. Once pleasantries are exchanged and faces are flushed, participants then proceed to the darkened dining room, which is converted into a literal “black box”. Here, they will sit in pairs on opposite ends of 11 confession booths, and share 11 intimate dialogues with 11 different strangers by reading from a script laid out before them. Penned by Dawn herself, the 11 scripts paint the artist’s personal vignettes of Singapore city life – where she deftly interweaves the concept of existential modernity, capturing the whimsical, the quotidian, the traumatic and the ironic aspects of our daily grind.
What is often a fleeting exchange at the bar is now intensified as participants become the “actors” within this performance; encountering 11 stories, playing 11 characters and unfolding 11 relationships as they move through the Dawn’s intricately-woven Singapore-scape—both real and imagined—from one booth to the next.
With 11, Dawn pushes the envelope on her ability to craft narratives using text and her longstanding fascination with nostalgia, emotion and time – in this instance through the medium of a captivating, first-of-its-kind elaborate performance piece that she instigates using scripts. She masterfully incorporates audience participation and the bizarreness of speed dating in this performance-meets-social experiment, teasing out the tensions, idiosyncrasies and joys of being human in this day and age. One can expect to leave with a hotchpotch of emotional experiences and intrigue that may reveal a new way of seeing themselves – albeit through a stranger or ten. Or as Dawn aptly puts it: “Some may get lost, some may find themselves, some may fall in love and some may want their money back.”
As a cheeky nod to the title of the show, music director Hasnor Sidik will also be organising a special day-to-night edition of Kelab Ma11am, the Arts Club’s signature club night on Saturday, 19 January 2019. Taking place from 11.00am – 11.00pm, Kelab Ma11am features SGD 11++ menu specials curated by head chef Bertram Leong and beverage manager Din Hassan alongside kelab beats dropped by 11 DJs including Aldrin, Daytime Dancing, DJ KFC, Dodgy Yamamoto, Ginette Chittick, Orio, Maurice Simon, Mr. Has, RAH, Shigeki and Brendon P – perfect for all your brunching to pumping needs.
Not forgetting the kids among us, before the transformation into Kelab Ma11am in the evening, the Arts Club is kid-friendly during the day! Featuring a tantalising brunch menu, and kids’ activities including GLO face-painting and glowsticks and, all parent DJs dishing out age-appropriate disco beats during the day, both parents and kids are in for a raving good time at the Arts Club.
‘11’ will take place on four Thursdays across January and February 2019—17 January, 24 January, 31 January and 14 February—from 8.00pm until 9.30pm at Telok Ayer Arts Club. Tickets are priced at SGD 48 per pax (includes a cocktail) and are available for purchase via email or calling +65 6221 0712.
’11’—A Performance Piece by Dawn Ng
Telok Ayer Arts Club
2 McCallum Street
Singapore 069043
Thursdays, 17, 24, 31 January and 14 February 2019
8.00pm – 9.30pm
Kelab Ma11am
Telok Ayer Arts Club
2 McCallum Street
Singapore 069043
Saturday, 19 January 2019
11.00am – 11.00pm
Admission: Free entry
RSVP