Stall

Selected scenes from a play by Matthew Tan

Stall, set in contemporary Malaysia, portrays the love story of Kai and Nazra, a Chinese boy and Malay girl, as it starts to crumble when Nazra chooses to study overseas. Taking place entirely at Kai and his father’s hawker stall, the play delves into their relationship during their final “in-person” month together. Should they brave a long-distance arrangement or end things to explore life without the constraints of a relationship? The longer their decision-making stalls, unresolved and new issues stemming from their ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, and gender disparities emerge, intensifying the complexities they must confront.

Matthew Tan is a Malysian writer, photogrpaher, filmmaker, and researcher. As a writer, his practice primarily focuses on screenwriting. Through Exit 11’s GRIT residency, he is venturing for the first time into playwriting. Presently, he is working as a research and teaching assistant at NYU Abu Dhabi between film, comparative literature, and heritage studies, and considers hmself as someone who operates closely between theory and practice. Moving forward, he is very excited to delve into Malaysian and Southeast Asian culture, history, and philosophy through his writing practice. He graduated with a BA in Film and Philosophy from NYU Abu Dhabi ’21, and will be pursuing an MSt in Film Aesthetics at the University of Oxford ’24. Recent works include: Partition (director; Louvre Abu Dhabi ’23), A.I.: African Intelligence (assistant editor; Berlinale ’23), Angela Davis, A World of Greater Freedom (assistant editor; Sharjah Biennial ’23), Impromptu Op. COVID No. 19 (director; DocEdge Festival ’21).

Cast and Creative Team

Director – Tzy Jiun Tan
Kai – Chico Park
Nazra – Audrey Teong
Customer – Kevin Ke
Stage Directions – Trixie Balangao
Stage Manager / Project Producer – Ethan David Lee
GRIT 2023 Festival Producer – Ethan David Lee

This project was developed as part of the 2023 edition of the GRIT playwrighting program presented by Exit 11 Performing Arts Company. It is presented as part of the GRIT 2023 Playreading Festival.

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