What a Singapore Play Reveals About the Nation’s Identity

From colony to global shipping hub, Singapore’s survival has depended on constant adaptation. Now, as President Donald Trump’s trade war threatens the era of globalization that it thrived under, a play about the city-state’s past shows how adaptability has been the key to its endurance. In a world turning inward, that remains the essential tool for its future.

Hotel spans a century of the island’s history through the conceit of a single hotel room. Performed over close to five hours in nine languages, theater company Wild Rice first staged the play in 2015, the year the Southeast Asian hub marked its 50th year of independence. Each tableau is set in a different decade, and explores a moment of change. The production was revived this year as part of 60th anniversary celebrations.