Photo: Moonrise Studio / Courtesy of Arts House Limited

Waiting for Audience was first presented as a work-in-progress as part of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2024 Tomorrow and tomorrow incubation programme. It returns this year as a full-fledged production as part of the lineup for SIFA 2025.

Nelson Chia (cast, playwright, and director) and Mia Chee (cast and producer) reveal more about the show over an e-mail interview.

Synopsis
An old theatre reaches its last performance night.
Two actors—A and O—find themselves sharing the stage. 
They bicker,
they compete,
they create,
they wonder,
and they
wait…
and wait,
and wait.
“We exist because they exist.”
“Every play has a beginning / And an end / Life is the same.”

But will the audience ever come?

Playful yet meaningful, Waiting for Audience challenges us to rethink the bond between performers and spectators, drawing inspiration from physical theatre, clowning, absurdist humour and Chinese crosstalk. 

Waiting for Audience invites us to step into the story and play a key role in completing a unique theatre experience, to join in the celebration of the power of live performance to connect what is on and off stage. Don’t miss this bold creation by Nine Years Theatre founders Nelson Chia and Mia Chee. 

What inspired you to create the work?

Nelson & Mia: Nine Years Theatre is known for its emphasis on the actors’ craft. At the same time, we focus a lot on the audiences’ experience. As such, we came up with an idea to create a work that was somewhat a “love letter” to the audience. Waiting For Audience turned out to be that fun and curious way of saying to our audiences, “You are the one that completes our work.”

What made you decide to test your ideas through SIFA’s Tomorrow and tomorrow initiative in 2024?

Nelson & Mia: After several rounds of discussion with SIFA’s Festival Director, Natalie Hennedige, we realised Tomorrow and Tomorrow was an invitation for the audience to come create this work with us — precisely what Waiting For Audience was about, and a quite perfect platform for our idea.

Photo: Moonrise Studio / Courtesy of Arts House Limited

Were there any unexpected discoveries or insights from the audience feedback in 2024? 

Nelson & Mia: We wouldn’t say they were unexpected, but we were really heartened to learn from the feedback that audiences found the work creative, humorous, and moving. More importantly, we were told by those who watched it that they felt that they were at the centre of the play—exactly how we liked it to be.

Now that the work is a full-fledged production in SIFA’s 2025 season, how has the work evolved since? 

Nelson & Mia: The latest version at SIFA 2025 is quite a new version in the sense that it is about 50% different from the previous one. There are new scenes being added, sequences become more complex, and the space is more exciting with designers Emanorwatty Saleh and Ng Jing coming onboard to design the scenography and sound respectively. I feel the work has grown in terms of its characters emotions and the theme’s dimension.

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Catch It!

Waiting for Audience by Nine Years Theatre runs from 30 to 31 May 2025 at SOTA Drama Theatre.