Rafta, Rafta, or Slowly, Slowly, is an award-winning British play that HuM Theatre is bringing to Singapore’s shores once again for Kalaa Utsavam 2026.
An Indian-Chinese newlywed couple navigates their new life together and between their two very different families. With a cadence similar to 2000s British Indian comedies, the play promises raunchy giggles and heartfelt moments.
“At its core, it remains a play just as relevant today as it was 16 years ago. Of course its been reinvented for a contemporary Singapore in many ways, but at its heart it looks at life in Singapore through the lens of comedy,” said Subin Subaiah, who adapted the script for Singapore and also plays the Indian father of the groom.
Actor and creative Karthikeyan Somasundaram also joins the cast, playing the character Rocky Menon, a social chameleon of sorts.
“I’ve always enjoyed observing people and their little quirks. Sometimes it’s the way someone laughs, the way they walk, or even something as simple as how they adjust their trousers! These little things stay with me, and I often borrow bits and pieces from people I’ve encountered to build a character,” said Karthikeyan.
The theatre company also chose the play for the festival as they felt it would cater to the wider Singaporean audiences through an interracial story.
Eleanor Tan, who plays the Chinese mother of the bride, said: “It is definitely significant that we’re doing it now, where mixed marriages are far more common. It is a familiar thing, but we are still navigating those lines.
“It’s a reminder that you can bring together people because we believe the same things, we care for the same things. But we also need to remind ourselves that that does not mean that we all see things the same way and respect that difference.”
Gerald Chew, who plays her spouse, also hopes that this play inspires the current theatre scene to look back at some of the bolder plays of the past.
“In (the) 80s and 90s, there was a lot of excitement about what theatre could bring and what is our identity, and so on and so forth. And whenever we did plays, it didn’t have any kind of specific classification,” said Chew.
Beyond all of the cultural subjects the play plans to cover, Director Daisy Irani hopes audiences will laugh and get some respite from the current stressful times. “With the nuances, with the challenges, with all the things you can say; you come for the show? It’s a riot,” she said.
Rafta, Rafta is playing at Esplanade Theatre Studio from Nov 18 to Nov 22. Tickets are available on SISTIC.
