Last Luncheon

“The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A man, 

a table, 

a pack of instant noodles, 

a can of luncheon meat, 

a cassette tape recorder. 

This is a journey of life, about reflection and acceptance. 

When the present meets the past, perhaps the future becomes clear. 

Every day, an elderly man eats a can of luncheon meat, to keep a promise to his wife. Alone and adrift, he revisits past moments and memories, in search of meaning and closure. As the days pass, he gets closer to his last can of luncheon meat.

 After decades in the scene honing his craft, Singapore theatre practitioner Alvin Chiam writes, directs, and performs in his first solo work, a rumination on the meaning of solitude.

Inspired by Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, Chiam invites the audience on this groundbreaking journey with him. Choosing a minimalist approach, Chiam compels the audience to focus on him, to delight in his exterior actions, but more importantly, to look beyond that and see his character’s inner world. 

Alvin Chiam: “It has been an unconscious goal to explore solitude since the very beginning of this creation; the sheer realisation that loneliness is ubiquitous, is silently by our side since the day we were born…When change hits us, there is grief, remorse, or emptiness…Solitude will take us into her arms. A quiet world as such, some remain vanquished, some are redeemed, while some may still be waiting…”

Last Luncheon is a commission by the inaugural Huayi Brewery, an incubation programme that aims to provide support for and cultivate deeper relationships with independent artists creating works in the Chinese language.

Writer, Director and Performer: Alvin Chiam

Dramaturg: Robin Loon

Script Editor / Documenter / Archiver / Researcher: Neo Hai Bin

Sound Designer / Music Composition: Jing Ng

Lighting Designer: Liu Yong Huay

Scenographer / Production Design: Ian Tan

Graphic Designer: Ric Liu