Joel Tan (Chinese: 陈文传; pinyin: ‘‘Chén Wén Chuán’’; (born 25 June 1987), 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 (NUS), 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 Checkpoint Theatre.
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 +PlaysYearTitleDirectorTheatre CompanyNotesRef2011Family OutingGlen GoeiW!LD RICE for Singapore Theatre Festival2012City Night SongsHuzir SulaimanCheckpoint Theatre and NUS Stage, SingaporeTan was a team writer, performer, musical director2013PostgradsJoel TanTake Off Productions, Singapore2013The HouseJoel TanFlamenco Sin Fronteras, Singapore2013The Voices Project -Australian Theatre for Young People, SydneyTan was a participating playwright.2013Jack and the Beansprout! Ivan HengW!LD RICETan wrote the book and lyrics.2013People Ng Yin Ling (March); Jonathan Lum (December) USP Productions (March), Singapore; I Theatre (December), Singapore2013Mosaic Chen Ying Xuan Take Off Productions, Singapore Re-staged in 2015 for M1 Fringe Festival2014Hotel Engie Ho, Rizman Putra, Peter Sau The Finger Players, Singapore; commissioned by The Arts House2014The Way We Go Claire Wong Checkpoint Theatre, Singapore2015Singapore Inside Out: The Actors' Tour Tan Kheng Hua Commissioned by Singapore Tourism Board Staged in Beijing, New York, and London2015The Emperor's New Clothes Pam Oei W!LD RICE2016Cafe Chen Yingxuan The Twenty- Something Theatre Festival, Singapore Nominated for Best Original Script, The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 20172017Tropicana the Musical Beatrice Chia Tan Kheng Hua, Singapore Lyrics by Tan, book by Haresh Sharma, music by Julian Wong2017Tango Tracie Pang Pangdemonium, Singapore Nominated for Best Original Script, The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 20182023G*d is a womanIvan HengW!LD RICEWon Production of the Year and Best Original Script, The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 20242025The Serangoon Gardens Techno Party of 1993Sim Yan YingW!LD RICE
+BooksYearTitleISBNNotes2016Joel Tan: Plays Volume 1Edited by Lucas Ho2018"Tango" in British East Asian PlaysEdited by Cheryl Robson, Amanda Rogers & Ashely Thorpe
References