Dragons, Truth, and Donald Trump. A cat’s demise by loveless hands. Google’s guide to dealing with a bully. When untruths begin at home.
These are some elements explored in four plays performed at the 2026 Human Values Drama Festival (HVDF) finals held on July 8 at the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Campus at Sennett Road.
Previously held in 2018, the festival featured original productions by four secondary schools: St Gabriel’s Secondary School, Yishun Town Secondary School, Jurong Secondary School, and Woodlands Secondary School.
Organised by Sri Sathya Sai Global Organisation Singapore, a non-profit organisation that promotes human values education, the plays performed were inspired by the five universal human values of Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love and Non-violence.
More than a competition, the festival provides a platform for youth to reflect on modern-day issues through theatre. “Rather than teaching values through lectures, encouraging students to express their challenges more creatively through storytelling is the main aim of this event,” Ms Aarti Jagtiani, 24, a member of the organising committee, said.
“Truth is an important value that everyone should uphold,” Mr Krithikesan Balamurugan, 15, a student from St Gabriel’s Secondary School said.
Inspired by Asian puppetry and Indian cinema, his school’s play intertwined realities as a father explains the importance of truth to his son through a mythical story, where an ancient prince must slay a dragon.
Meanwhile, another student, Mr Dhruv M Desai, 15, wrote some of the lines himself including a jest on a United States President Trump. “Participating was an amazing, fun, and great learning experience,” he said.
Yishun Town Secondary School examined the value of ‘Love’ in their production. The play – inspired by a true story – followed Valerie, who resents that her cat receives more affection than she does from her family, leading her to throw the cat off the roof of her HDB.
Drama teacher and script writer Mr Sufiyan Mohammed, 32, said, “We did not want to dramatise it and take advantage of the story itself but wanted to shed light on what must be going through the child’s mind.”
Ms Himani Dhimant Patel, 25, another organising committee member, was pleasantly surprised by the students. “I don’t recall myself having such mature thinking at their age,” she said.
Jurong Secondary School, the competition champions, tackled non-violence and bullying. The production highlighted the consequences of being a bystander to avoid getting bullied.
The lead, Alex, seeks advice from the internet for dealing with bullies that comically proves ineffective. Mr Ilamukil Ilayaraja, 15, was very proud of their win, which included $2,000 in prize money. “We gave the most of what we could give,” he said.
Woodlands Secondary School presented the value of truth through contrasting parenting that distorts a child’s reality. For Mr Srinivasa, 14, the experience of participating in the festival was invaluable. “I learned values, new skills, and I got to hang out with my friends,” he said.
The festival depicted how theatre is a powerful platform to reflect on contemporary issues creatively through storytelling. “Human Values Drama Festival is all about building empathy, confidence, teamwork and character through the creative arts,” Ms Aarti said.
