Esplanade

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is Singapore’s national performing arts centre, where Tamil arts have found a home. Tamil music, dance and theatre are regularly featured by this leading arts institution, with over 100 such performances presented annually. 

Opened in October 2002 with the vision of being a performing arts centre for everyone, it is guided by a social mission: to entertain, engage, educate, and inspire. Through its programming, Esplanade aims to enrich the lives of all, including seniors, youth, children, and underserved communities. About 3,500 performances and activities, which cut across diverse cultures, languages and genres, are presented by Esplanade annually, with over 70% of these offered free to the public. 

The centre’s signature cultural festivals include Huayi –the Chinese Festival of Arts, Pesta Raya – the Malay Festival of Arts, and Kalaa Utsavam – the Indian Festival of Arts, timed to coincide with Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, and Deepavali, respectively. These festivals celebrate Singapore’s cultural diversity and encourage communities to engage with the arts during festive occasions. 

Kalaa Utsavam, a 10-day multi-genre festival, showcases Indian dance, music, and theatre performed by both Singapore and international artists. Each edition features approximately 40 productions, totalling around 80 performances. Esplanade also presents Indian arts programming under its Raga series, which includes new works and collaborations with Singaporean artists. Annually, Raga offers around 20 productions, amounting to 30 performances. Kalaa Utsavamand Raga are curated by a team of three in-house producers from Esplanade’s Programming department. 

Esplanade’s Tamil theatre highlights include early presentations like Thondan by Miror Theatre and Ravindran Drama Group (Kalaa Utsavam 2007), as well as commissioned works such as Ravindran Drama Group’s theatre trilogy based on P. Krishnan’s iconic radio play, Adukku Veetu Annasamy(Kalaa Utsavam 2015, Raga 2016 and Raga 2018). It is noteworthy that ‘Twin Murder in the Green Mansion’, a co-production with Agam Theatre Lab (Kalaa Utsavam 2023), won the Best Ensemble Award in The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2024.



For more information
Esplanade. Accessed 1 August 2025. https://www.esplanade.com/ 
Cheong, Colin. Esplanade: Theatres On the Bay. Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2013. (Call no.: RSING 792.095957 CHE)

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.