By Georgia Ong (26S03O)

All images from Raffles Players unless otherwise stated.

On 20 May 2026, Raffles Players presented their annual college production, Friends. 

Written by Japanese playwright Kōbō Abe and later translated to English, Friends is an absurdist social commentary on loneliness and the extreme measures people take to eradicate it. 

The play centres around the Man getting his apartment infiltrated by a family of 8. Throughout the play, the audience witnessed how the family gradually worked away the Man’s mental fortitude, turning the world against him, till he was reduced to the point of utter desolation, physically and mentally. 

ACTING

The characters were nameless. Identifiable only by the roles they played; familial positions in the case of the family, one would think that the generic, detached naming style would make the characters feel very one-dimensional and impersonal. Yet, the audience was treated to a spectacular showcase of every cast member’s ability to bring their characters to life. 

Within minutes of the family ensemble entering the stage, the audience was able to quickly identify distinct characteristics of each of the members. This made them grow attached to the various characters. forming fondness for the various characters. 

Father was a sensible and grounded family man, taking charge when things got too tense, while Mother was the patient, tender one, silently taking responsibility in various ways. Grandmother always knew how to interject with the best one-liners, lightening up the audience’s mood with raucous laughter over her shenanigans. The brothers, rough and charismatic as they were, cared deeply for their loved ones—Older Brother was a charming and sly man, but a mommy’s boy at heart, whereas Younger Brother’s protectiveness for Eldest Daughter shone through in how he intervened in her various seductions. 

Eldest Daughter was constantly at loggerheads with Middle Daughter; both with different methods of charm and expressions of love, Act 2 truly saw them clashing with each other over the Man. Finally, Youngest Daughter, full of wit and vitality, was always ready to chime in with a few lines about the situation. Collectively, the family ensemble’s range of traits targeted each part of the man’s weakness, breaking him down. 

The spotlight was on Javier Ng (26S06T) who brought the Man to life. Having never played such a prominent role before, Javier recounted his initial surprise at landing the role, before expressing his personal pride in fully embodying his character. Throughout the production, the Man’s descent from a firm and independent individual to one of helplessness and desperation was reflected clearly in the character’s speech and expressions: he went from a shouting, angry man trying to protect his peace, to a defeated, weak man submissive to the family. 

BACKGROUND

The choice of Friends as their annual production came about from Players’ desire to showcase their range. Producing the tragedy, Death of a Salesman, in 2025, and coming from a long string of comedies in previous years, the 2026 Batch of Raffles Players wanted to produce something more experimental. Friends provided that, allowing members to display their acting chops. 

Directors Nayna Nesha (26A01C) and Diya Ashik (26S03G) also pointed out how the absurdist piece gave them greater freedom to experiment with the play’s more abstract elements, such as how the choice of the TSD for the performance allowed them to amplify the claustrophobia felt by the Man when being trapped in his apartment. 

CHALLENGES

However, all this didn’t come easy.

Everything was rushed. Very rushed. The production process kicked off in February, as members worked on the SYF and College productions simultaneously, until SYF finished in mid-April and they switched their focus towards the latter for the last month. Members across all departments were quick to share how they only had 2 full dress rehearsals prior to the showcase; specifically, this was the 3rd time they had fully run through everything. 

The Lights and Sounds department was particularly affected by this. I/C, Namrutha Senthil Kumar (26S03O), shared how the majority of the department was part of the main cast, pushing the inexperienced Y5s to step up to handle the lights and sound cues during the showcase. Namrutha recounted how the Lights Operators, Matin Nadryan Bin Maswadi (27A01D) and Hari Vengadesh S/O Ganasha Kum (27S03F), had joined the Lights and Sounds department less than 3 weeks before the performance. Only briefly trained, they took on the responsibility of handling lighting cues during the performance.  

Javier also noted his struggles in achieving the perfect balance of emotions for the performance. The Man’s moods ranged from utter fury to pure soullessness, and the short timeframe meant that it was hard for him to work on a majority of the performance.

Meanwhile, the smaller venue of the TSD also brought about problems of its own, and Nayna and Diya were vocal about their struggles putting everything together. At the TSD, they had to cater to 2 audiences in the front and side; blocking of characters required incredible detail to ensure both sides could see the characters. Each angle in each row on both sides had to be considered, making characterisation paramount to ensure all audiences could pick up on the characters’ emotions, interactions, and development at any point in the play. 

On the Costumes and Makeup side, I/C A’isyah Khan Binte Iman Nassir Khan (26S06S) brought up the harshness of the TSD lighting, which washed out cast members. This forced the team to continuously send cast members in and out of the Costumes and Makeup room to adjust their makeup to be visible under the lights.  

DETERMINATION

With such tricky situations, Players had only themselves to turn to in getting through each and every obstacle. 

Cue meet-ups over the weekend at the ends of Singapore: from Clementi to Punggol, no member was spared from needing to travel for work. 

Cast members also saw the opening of characterisation classes by Nayna and Diya. Available for booking, these one-on-one slots between the cast and directors allowed them to further refine each character’s little quirks. 

Nayna and Diya recounted how the lead-up to the production saw them staying back till as late as 6pm each day to conduct characterisation classes, and that there were even weeks where the entire CCA was seeing each other every day. 

But there was love. Time spent bonding with the CCA, friendship slipping in through the cracks.

It was visible in how every member spoke about the CCA, visible in how the cast smiled at each other as the performance drew to a close, visible in how everyone gathered in relief and joy over the successful performance. Each member accredited the play to the efforts of their friends, drawing the final chapter of Friends to a close. 

EPILOGUE

As the curtains fall on the Players Batch of 2026, the juniors will soon be stepping into the limelight again to prepare for next year’s production. 

One of Players’ CCA teachers, Ms Liyana, talked about the CCA’s longstanding culture of allowing for authenticity and openness of the members, something that was really exemplified by the 2026 batch. The Y6s took much initiative to integrate the Y5s into the CCA, and the EXCO was pivotal in preserving the well-being of the club members, especially when preparations got more intensive. 

In the fading spotlight, 2025-2026 Raffles Players’ Chairperson Yi Yuhuan (26S03O), reflected on her experience. The 2026 batch of Players produced 14 of the most incredible people she had met in her time in RI, and the time spent with them—be it informally over lunches (affectionately termed cacalulus) or formally during CCA—would be something she would always remember. Looking ahead into the future, she brought up the faith she had in the Y5 batch: “I think they will carry the torch on very well.” 

Indeed, as each batch of Players makes their debut, the friendships that emerge and get passed along to the next generation will truly be something that every member of the CCA holds dear.