SYNOPSIS
It is the Young Women’s Empowerment Forum. Karina Teng, the youngest female partner in a prestigious law firm, is poised to impart her wisdom to the hordes of Gen Z women who regard her as a role model in a male-dominated industry. Unexpectedly, Karina is thrust into a Zoom breakout room with Sara Ismail, her former intern, whose experiences throw into question Karina’s #girlboss sloganeering…
#WomenSupportingWomen maps the vast expanse of greys behind the glib hashtag of solidarity, and unpacks the performances expected of women as leaders in the workplace—and as victims in the courtroom. The play’s hybrid staging explores the incongruities of communication in our post-pandemic world, where we are forced to project our public selves while in our most private spaces.
#WomenSupportingWomen was written as part of T:>Works’ annual 24-Hour Playwriting Competition in 2021, where it was awarded the First Prize. It was presented as part of a triple bill in 2022 titled How To Break A Window II.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Singapore: 72-13, 15–19 Feb 2022
Duration: approx. 120 mins
IMDA Rating: Advisory 16
Cast: Jo Tan, Tysha Khan
Playwright: Amanda Chong
Director: Sim Yan Ying "YY"
Set/Scenic Design Consultant: Pan Jingyi Johanna
Lighting Designer: Chong Wei Siong
Sound Designer: Chooi Wai Qi
Creative Director: Noorlinah Mohamed
Technical Manager: Varian Tan
Production Coordinator & Streaming Engineer: M. Nurfadhli Jasni
Stage Managers: Nurul Hanna Binte Daud, Nur Fatin Nabilah Binte Mohammad Rafie
Front-of-House Manager: James Jordan Tay
Producer: T:> Works
Download: Programme Booklet
Photography: Joseph Nair
PRAISE
2022 BAKCHORMEEBOY AWARDS BEST NEW SCRIPT NOMINEE
2021 T:>WORKS 24-HOUR PLAYWRITING COMPETITION FIRST PRIZE WINNER
“★★★★ Disturbing on multiple levels, #WomenSupportingWomen is a carefully-constructed critique on #feminism and society, and one of the best scripts in recent history to have emerged from the competition, and likely have legs to either be restaged, or even expanded upon in future.” — Bakchormeeboy
“It had all the elements, from the use of stimuli and technology to her sharp, concise and impactful writing. One of the highlights was how well she used Zoom. It is used not only as a platform for staging but also significant in heightening the dualities that are both separate and yet blurred in our lives. Zoom becomes a metaphor on what is seen, said, unsaid, private and public.
“[As the writing vividly presents] the complexities and tensions of facing and speaking truths to power in situations when nothing is obvious and seen, [the decision to award #WomenSupportingWomen the first prize was unanimous.]” — Noorlinah Mohamed
“Amanda Chong emerges as one of the strongest winners of T:>Works’ 24-Hour Playwriting Competition, with #WomenSupportingWomen an incredibly accomplished work from the multi-hyphenate lawyer/poet (her followup, Psychobitch, was also fantastic in the dramatised reading), and absolutely one to watch.” — Bakchormeeboy
PUBLICITY
“Bakchormeeboy Awards 2022: The Year of Resilience and Resurgence”, Bakchormeeboy, 31 Dec 2022
“Review: How To Break A Window II by T:>Works”, Bakchormeeboy, 1 Mar 2022
“Interview with Amanda Chong”, TWorks Singapore, 4 Feb 2022
“Churning out award-winning plays in just 24 hours”, Judith Tan, The Homeground Asia, 20 Jan 2022
PRODUCTION DETAILS
UK: Pembroke New Cellars, 7–11 Mar 2023
Duration: approx. 75 mins (with no intermission)
Cast: Lara Ibrahim, Allessia Mavakala
Playwright: Amanda Chong
Director: Isabella Ren
Set Designer: Ina Bi
Producer: Pembroke Players
PRAISE
“★★★★★ #WomenSupportingWomen adapts some elements of Amanda Chong’s original Singapore-set script, in particular making the show’s race relations more recognizable to the British viewer. Sara is Italian-Nigerian, her internship seeing her tokenised and mistreated. Testament to the strength of Ren’s direction, the change doesn’t feel shoehorned in. Rather, it makes #WomenSupportingWomen feel inescapably relevant. Many features of the production are eerily reflective of reality, allowing its social commentary to cut even deeper. Beyond its catchy hashtag focus, #WomenSupportingWomen indicts the #MeToo movement, the Weinstein trials, the legacy of Thatcher, and more.
“There is plenty to consider in this meaning-rich tapestry. #WomenSupportingWomen refuses to simplify, looking beyond the hashtag, beyond the platitudes, beyond the divisions between us all to take a magnifying glass to the possibility of compassion and solidarity.” — Varsity
PUBLICITY
“#WomenSupportingWomen is a meaning-rich tapestry”, Alexandra Picken, Varsity, 9 Mar 2023
