Show Synopsis
She’s in control… only when her drag king alter-ego takes over.
KING is a one-hander telling the story of Geok Yen, a public relations executive who seemingly has it all – a stable job and a boyfriend who is about to propose. But one fateful office party, her life gets upturned when she goes in the guise of a man, Stirling da Silva. Emboldened by the alter ego, Yen discovers a newfound confidence to take up space and speak her truth…but which personality will have to deal with the consequences?
Jo’s experiences as a drag king sparked off an explosion of realisations about her own gender-identity – maybe she wasn’t a woefully inadequate Asian female, but just an individual with the right to navigate life her way. This inspired KING, where Jo singlehandedly plays multiple conflicting voices in the life of a socially-terrified woman: the unabashedly sexual and politically-incorrect King she dreams of being, her fabulous gay boss, her traditional chauvinist fiancé, his misogynistic drag queen friend, the mansplainer colleague… all accompanied by drag numbers of songs by beautiful K-Pop boys.
This August, KING is travelling to the Edinburgh Fringe as well as stops in Malaysia and Australia, but before that, Singaporean audiences will have the chance to see it first!
Winner of the Straits Times Life Theatre Awards for Best Actress and Best Original Script in 2022, KING was first staged as a live-streamed digital production in 2020 by renowned Singapore arts company T:>Works, reaching over 3000 online viewers both in and beyond Singapore, and was given a sold-out and highly acclaimed live staging in August 2023. This newest edition is an updated 70-minute version created specially for KING’s international tour.
Singapre Showcase Run Dates: 16 – 19 June 2025, 42 Waterloo Street Blackbox
Edinburgh Fringe Festival run: 12 – 25 August 2025, Summerhall Arts, Former Gents Locker room
Sydney Fringe Festival run: 24 – 27 September 2025
Duration: 70 mins
Performer/Playwright – Jo Tan
Director – Tan Shou Chen
Multimedia Designer – Brian Gothong Tan
Sound Designer – Sandra Tay
Producer – Lim Shien Hian
Lighting – Amirul Azmi, Lim Shien Hian
Production and Stage Management Team: Koh Tzee Yen, Owena Lim, Amirul Azmi, Brent Tan, Edward Choy
