Page to Stage

Edipresse Media Singapore continues to champion English literacy among marginalised children and youth with the second act of its Words Without Walls project, which takes the form of a multimedia experience to be staged next month, in support of local charity Playeum.

- HASHIRIN NURIN HASHIMI

When Noorlinah Mohamed first read the book Words Without Walls, the theatre artist and arts educator was very taken by the eight stories written by incarcerated women who had been separated from their children and families. “Each of the stories tells a tale of love, hope and longing, and was filled with beautiful imagery. The first thing I thought of was that I would like to stage it as a multimedia experience with puppetry.”

This was just the project that Corinne Ng, managing director of Edipresse Media Singapore (EMS), which publishes Singapore Tatler, had been trying to get off the ground since publishing the children’s storybook in 2017 with non-profit organisation New Life Stories. “We had great material, so we thought of all the ways we could convert these stories into another format or medium, from songs to animated videos. As it turned out, we found the talents who could translate them into a theatre production.”

Corinne and Noorlinah had been introduced by Charlotte Goh, executive director of Playeum, a local charity which uses play and the arts to work with all children, including those from marginalised backgrounds and with varying disabilities. Its mission is aligned with EMS’ commitment to promoting English literacy among children and youth, particularly those from marginalised communities.