Playing With Fire by Checkpoint Theatre

With climate catastrophe on the horizon, why would anyone want to work in oil and gas?

Having secured interviews with several employees of the petrochemical industry, this is the question a determined young writer expects to answer. Instead, Sue Rozario finds herself uncovering a troubling web of connections between the oil and gas industry, Singapore’s modern development, and her own family history. As she delves deeper into her research, she is forced to confront layers of hidden truths—not only of her interviewees’ personal and professional lives, but also of her own.

Playing With Fire shares a profoundly human look into Singapore’s industrial past and present, while placing the complexities of a just energy transition under a microscope.

Cheyenne Alexandria Phillips’ sharp, sophisticated writing shines in this new play that interrogates the relationships between people and industry with empathy and nuance. Claire Wong’s skilful direction anchors an exceptional cast, comprising Rebecca Ashley Dass, Cheryl Lee, Gosteloa Spancer, Rafaat Haji Hamzah and Nora Somasir, who bring the complexities and tensions of this thrilling work to life.

Timely and compelling, Playing With Fire examines how we have become implicated in the climate crisis, and asks what it would take to break out of it.