Theatresauce welcomes its tenth year with the Malaysian premiere of No Particular Order, a dystopian play by Singaporean playwright Joel Tan. Previously produced in Singapore, Australia, and the United Kingdom, this iteration is set in an intimate, media-rich environment at klpac’s Indicine and features a constellation of characters played by a seasoned ensemble. The project is led by Theatresauce founder Kelvin Wong, who is currently pursuing his PhD abroad and is home for the winter break.
The play zooms into a city uncomfortably close to our own, tightening under a newly rise dictator. As freedoms narrow and uncertainty grows, everyday gestures, offline and online, begin to invite scrutiny. And yet, across shifting timelines, seams begin to show. Soldiers steer between conscience and protocol, parents weigh devotion against duty, and teachers press questions
against policy.
Below the radar of newsfeeds and algorithms, the play traces everyday lives under duress and makes visible the quiet, often conflicting choices people make to endure another day.
No Particular Order approaches authoritarianism less as a distant “what if” and more as a slow arrival already shaping the global climate through softened language, habitual compromises, and a
hardening public mood fueled by far-right resurgence. As Big Tech polarises people into factions and erodes empathy through echo chambers, those with the least power are left caught in the crossfire.
The play foregrounds nuanced individuals rendered invisible by culture wars, in lives where survival and resistance blur. When power tightens above, how might regular folk reorder from below?
The performance unfolds through modular, event-based vignettes rather than a conventional dramatic arc, echoing the way algorithmic feeds deliver posts and clips in no particular order.
Rather than a static set, the space is constantly reconfigured by the ensemble, moving through multiple locations, viewpoints, and timelines. Lights and projections are integrated into the action, deepening the space into an immersive, media-saturated environment that captures our zeitgeist of screens, surveillance, and feedback loops. Audiences are implicated, not merely passive observers.
No Particular Order features a dynamic ensemble comprising Anne James (God’s Waiting Room), Alfred Loh (Sucks to Dream), Putrina Rafie (Fault Lines), Kamini Senthilathiban (Titus Andronicus),
Nabil Zakaria (Entourage), and Dexter Zhen (Beware: Si Oompur Lumpur). Lee Si Jin (Will You Be My Witness?) stage manages the project, while Jazzie Lee (Siapa Cacat?) assists. Naque Ariffin (Muzikal Paduka Cik Siti) designs the lighting.
Drawing on insights from Kelvin’s doctoral work, No Particular Order is a testing ground to explore how a playtext can speak to media-shaped audiences.
This production is presented in collaboration with klpac, by arrangement with Nick Hern Books Ltd.
Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur and Sans Collective provide additional technical support.
NO PARTICULAR ORDER runs March 12-15 at klpac’s Indicine. Evening performances begin at 8.45 pm from Thursday to Sunday, with additional weekend matinees at 3.00 pm. Standard tickets are RM70, with RM60 per ticket for a bundle of four. Each performance runs for approximately 80 minutes, with no intermission.
