{"id":1930,"date":"2020-08-17T08:28:31","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T08:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/?post_type=product&#038;p=1930"},"modified":"2025-05-21T09:28:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T09:28:12","slug":"off-centre-9789810560393","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/product\/off-centre-9789810560393\/","title":{"rendered":"Off Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"product-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1930\" class=\"elementor elementor-1930\" data-elementor-post-type=\"product\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d300b04 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d300b04\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-829a985\" data-id=\"829a985\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca90581 elementor-widget elementor-widget-woocommerce-breadcrumb\" data-id=\"ca90581\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"woocommerce-breadcrumb.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<nav class=\"woocommerce-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">Home<\/nav>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0ee7ff0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0ee7ff0\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-08b3f19\" data-id=\"08b3f19\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-47bafab yes elementor-widget elementor-widget-woocommerce-product-images\" data-id=\"47bafab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"woocommerce-product-images.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"woocommerce-product-gallery woocommerce-product-gallery--with-images woocommerce-product-gallery--columns-4 images\" data-columns=\"4\" style=\"opacity: 0; transition: opacity .25s ease-in-out;\">\n\t<div class=\"woocommerce-product-gallery__wrapper\">\n\t\t<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393-100x100.jpg\" data-thumb-alt=\"off centre\" data-thumb-srcset=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393-150x150.jpg 150w\"  data-thumb-sizes=\"(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" class=\"woocommerce-product-gallery__image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"248\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393.jpg\" class=\"wp-post-image\" alt=\"off centre\" data-caption=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393.jpg\" data-large_image=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393.jpg\" data-large_image_width=\"248\" data-large_image_height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393.jpg 248w, https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393-100x161.jpg 100w, https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/9789810560393-150x242.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-96fdb92\" data-id=\"96fdb92\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-10c98bb elementor-widget elementor-widget-woocommerce-product-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"10c98bb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"woocommerce-product-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"product_title entry-title elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Off Centre<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50c1c19 elementor-widget elementor-widget-woocommerce-product-short-description\" data-id=\"50c1c19\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"woocommerce-product-short-description.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"woocommerce-product-details__short-description\">\n\t<p>Author: Haresh Sharma<\/p>\n<p><strong>Product details<\/strong><br \/>\nFormat Paperback | 160 pages<br \/>\nPublication Date 2006<br \/>\nPublisher The Necessary Stage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-866d084 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"866d084\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9789810560393\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a1fc926 elementor-widget elementor-widget-woocommerce-product-additional-information\" data-id=\"a1fc926\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"woocommerce-product-additional-information.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<h2>Additional information<\/h2>\n\n<table class=\"woocommerce-product-attributes shop_attributes\" aria-label=\"Product Details\">\n\t\t\t<tr class=\"woocommerce-product-attributes-item woocommerce-product-attributes-item--weight\">\n\t\t\t<th class=\"woocommerce-product-attributes-item__label\" scope=\"row\">Weight<\/th>\n\t\t\t<td class=\"woocommerce-product-attributes-item__value\">300 g<\/td>\n\t\t<\/tr>\n\t\t\t<tr class=\"woocommerce-product-attributes-item woocommerce-product-attributes-item--dimensions\">\n\t\t\t<th class=\"woocommerce-product-attributes-item__label\" scope=\"row\">Dimensions<\/th>\n\t\t\t<td class=\"woocommerce-product-attributes-item__value\">210 &times; 132 &times; 15 mm<\/td>\n\t\t<\/tr>\n\t<\/table>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-88431e2\" data-id=\"88431e2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8d331db elementor-widget elementor-widget-woocommerce-product-price\" data-id=\"8d331db\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"woocommerce-product-price.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"price\"><span class=\"woocommerce-Price-amount amount\"><bdi><span class=\"woocommerce-Price-currencySymbol\">&#36;<\/span>14.95<\/bdi><\/span> <small class=\"woocommerce-price-suffix\">Price Inclusive of 9% GST<\/small><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f38f245 e-add-to-cart--show-quantity-yes elementor-widget elementor-widget-woocommerce-product-add-to-cart\" data-id=\"f38f245\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"woocommerce-product-add-to-cart.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-add-to-cart elementor-product-simple\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"stock available-on-backorder\">Available on backorder<\/p>\n\n\t\n\t<form class=\"cart\" action=\"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/product\/off-centre-9789810560393\/\" method=\"post\" enctype='multipart\/form-data'>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"quantity\">\n\t\t<label class=\"screen-reader-text\" for=\"quantity_6a221b787308c\">Off Centre quantity<\/label>\n\t<input\n\t\ttype=\"number\"\n\t\t\t\tid=\"quantity_6a221b787308c\"\n\t\tclass=\"input-text qty text\"\n\t\tname=\"quantity\"\n\t\tvalue=\"1\"\n\t\taria-label=\"Product quantity\"\n\t\t\t\tmin=\"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstep=\"1\"\n\t\t\tplaceholder=\"\"\n\t\t\tinputmode=\"numeric\"\n\t\t\tautocomplete=\"off\"\n\t\t\t\/>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" name=\"add-to-cart\" value=\"1930\" class=\"single_add_to_cart_button button alt\">Add to cart<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t<\/form>\n\n\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4fe815f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4fe815f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8f261ec\" data-id=\"8f261ec\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24a7abc elementor-tabs-view-horizontal elementor-widget elementor-widget-tabs\" data-id=\"24a7abc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"tabs.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-tabs\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-tabs-wrapper\" role=\"tablist\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-3841\" class=\"elementor-tab-title elementor-tab-desktop-title\" aria-selected=\"true\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-3841\" aria-expanded=\"false\">Description<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-tabs-content-wrapper\" role=\"tablist\" aria-orientation=\"vertical\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-tab-title elementor-tab-mobile-title\" aria-selected=\"true\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-3841\" aria-expanded=\"false\">Description<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-3841\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-3841\" tabindex=\"0\" hidden=\"false\"><p><em>\u201c<\/em>Off Centre<em>\u00a0marks a new maturity in Singapore theatre, addressing an audience prepared to be challenged\u201d<\/em><br \/>\u2014Hannah Pandian, The Straits Times, 3 Sept 1993<\/p><p>\u200d<em>Off Centre<\/em>\u00a0is The Necessary Stage\u2019s landmark play in the history of Singapore theatre. First staged to great acclaim in 1993 under the direction of Alvin Tan, it is best remembered for bringing mental illness and its patients\u2019 plight to the attention of the media and the general public. Over the past 24 years,\u00a0<em>Off Centre<\/em>\u00a0has been made into an experimental feature film, adapted into a television movie, given a full reading in the UK, taught at a University in Kuala Lumpur and translated and staged as\u00a0<em>Otak Tak Centre<\/em>\u00a0in Kuala Lumpur. As one of The Necessary Stage\u2019s landmark works,\u00a0<em>Off Centre<\/em> is part of the Singaporean canon of literary works, and is also first-ever Singapore play to be offered as part of the GCE &#8216;O&#8217; Levels literature syllabus.<\/p><p>The play uses effective techniques of flashbacks; moving the characters in and out of of their schizophrenic and normal selves to elicit the rational and emotional experiences of Vinod and Saloma, the two young protagonists. It is not an exaggeration to say that the play touched every person in the audience when it was staged in 1993\/1994.<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>Off Centre<\/em> has also been selected by the Ministry of Education as first Singapore play to be offered as a GCE \u2018O\u2019 Level literature text from 2007, and has been republished by The Necessary Stage. Two editions are now available \u2013 a generic edition as well as a student&#8217;s edition which includes resource notes by Dr Christine Hatton of the National Institute of Education, a special introduction from A\/P Kirpal Singh of the Singapore Management University, as well as a foreword by The Necessary Stage\u2019s Artistic Director, Alvin Tan.<\/p><p>\u200d<strong>Articles on Off Centre<\/strong>\u200d<\/p><p>In 1993, The Necessary Stage (TNS) was commissioned by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to create a work on mental illness and the challenges mental patients face when trying to reintegrate into society. When the script was submitted, MOH wanted some &#8220;technical changes&#8221; to be made. However, TNS felt that these alternations would not do justice to the process or the portrayal of mental illness in the play. As a result, TNS and MOH mutually agreed not to collaborate on <em>Off Centre<\/em>, and TNS staged the play in its full version on its own.<\/p><p>TNS and MOH agreed that they might work on another project the following year on mental illness.<\/p><p>A collation of articles and a review about the controversy surrounding\u00a0<em>Off Centre<\/em>\u00a0can be found below for reference.<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cOur mad, mad world\u201d<\/em><br \/>City Weekly (p. 7), Thursday 26 August 1993<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cPlay loses R(A) rating and $30,000 sponsorship\u201d<\/em><br \/>The Straits Times, Friday 27 August 1993<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cPlay\u2019s nude scene gets the ok\u201d<\/em><br \/>The New Paper, Monday 30 August 1993<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cMinistry corrects report on vetting of drama scripts\u201d<\/em><br \/>The Straits Times, Tuesday 31 August 1993<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cTwo fly over the cuckoo\u2019s nest\u201d<\/em><br \/>The Business Times, Wednesday 1 September 1993<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cA hard nut to crack\u201d<\/em><br \/>The New Paper<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201c<\/em>Off Centre<em>\u00a0on target about mental ills\u201d<\/em><br \/>The New Paper, Tuesday 21 September 1993<em>\u200d<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cPlay on mental health to be staged again\u201d<\/em><br \/>1994<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author: Haresh Sharma<\/p>\n<p><strong>Product details<\/strong><br \/>\nFormat Paperback | 160 pages<br \/>\nPublication Date 2006<br \/>\nPublisher The Necessary Stage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[44],"product_tag":[50],"class_list":{"0":"post-1930","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-plays","7":"product_tag-plays","8":"desktop-align-left","9":"tablet-align-left","10":"mobile-align-left","12":"first","13":"onbackorder","14":"taxable","15":"shipping-taxable","16":"purchasable","17":"product-type-simple"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1930"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5074,"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1930\/revisions\/5074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=1930"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=1930"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pma.com.sg\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=1930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}