Joel Tan is a Singaporean playwright based in London. Described as one of the most exciting Singapore playwrights of his generation, his plays have received acclaim for their lyrical and incisive interrogation of his home city’s politics and society.

In Singapore, his plays have been produced by leading theatre companies like Checkpoint Theatre, Wild Rice, and Pangdemonium, and several are available in a collection, Joel Tan Plays Volume 1, published by Checkpoint Theatre.

Recent work in the UK includes LOVE IN THE TIME OF THE ANCIENTS, shortlisted for the 2019 Papatango Prize, and NO PARTICULAR ORDER, shortlisted for Theatre 503’s 2018 Playwriting Award. Joel is part of Theatre 503’s residency scheme, the 503 Five, and an associate artist with the London-based Chinese Arts Now Festival and Singapore’s Checkpoint Theatre.

Joel also works inter-disciplinarily, and has collaborated with visual artists, poets, musicians and dancers as a writer, director and dramaturg. Joel has an MA in Dramatic Writing from the Drama Centre, Central Saint Martins, which he pursued under a scholarship from Singapore’s National Arts Council.