Joel Tan


Joel Tan, is a Singaporean playwright and dramatist.

Biography

Tan is the second son of three; his mother is a nurse and his father is a manager at a maritime company. He was educated at the National University of Singapore, and spent one semester abroad at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Dramatic Writing at Central Saint Martins.

Literary career

During his time at NUS, he was mentored by Huzir Sulaiman. He is currently an Associate Artist with .
Tan is often termed a rising star; his work is described as "beautiful and admirably complex", and has spanned a range of topics, such as single-sex parenting in Singapore, and younger Singaporeans grappling with the impact of progress. His body of work also frequently straddles genre boundaries, including drag theatre, naturalistic plays, and musical theatre.
He has also worked as dramaturge and director for a range of productions.

Works

YearTitleDirectorTheatre CompanyNotes
2011Family OutingGlen GoeiW!ld Rice, Singaporefor Singapore Theatre Festival
2012City Night SongsHuzir SulaimanCheckpoint Theatre and NUS Stage, SingaporeTan was a team writer, performer, musical director
2013PostgradsJoel TanTake Off Productions, Singapore
2013The HouseJoel TanFlamenco Sin Fronteras, Singapore
2013The Voices Project-Australian Theatre for Young People, SydneyTan was a participating playwright.
2013Jack and the Beansprout!Ivan HengW!ld Rice, SingaporeTan wrote the book and lyrics.
2013PeopleNg Yin Ling ; Jonathan Lum USP Productions, Singapore; I Theatre, Singapore
2013MosaicChen Ying XuanTake Off Productions, SingaporeRe-staged in 2015 for M1 Fringe Festival
2014HotelEngie Ho, Rizman Putra, Peter SauThe Finger Players, Singapore; commissioned by The Arts House
2014The Way We GoClaire WongCheckpoint Theatre, Singapore
2015Singapore Inside Out: The Actors' TourTan Kheng HuaCommissioned by Singapore Tourism BoardStaged in Beijing, New York, and London
2015The Emperor's New ClothesPam OeiW!ld Rice, Singapore
2016CafeChen YingxuanThe Twenty- Something Theatre Festival, SingaporeNominated for Best Original Script, The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2017
2017Tropicana the MusicalBeatrice Chia-RichmondTan Kheng Hua, SingaporeLyrics by Tan, book by Haresh Sharma, music by Julian Wong
2017TangoTracie PangPangdemonium, SingaporeNominated for Best Original Script, The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2018

YearTitleISBNNotes
2016Joel Tan: Plays Volume 1Edited by Lucas Ho