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Singapore’s longest-running topical comedy is back for its 18th year, bringing audience-driven chaos, sharp satire and an unpredictable theatre experience to Funan. What happens when you combine Singapore’s latest headlines, five quick-thinking performers, 31 short plays and an audience that gets to decide what happens next? You get Fat Kids Are Harder To Kidnap, one of Singapore’s most unconventional comedy productions, returning this October for two weekends of laughter, satire and theatrical surprises.
Presented by local theatre company How Drama, the production will run from 16 to 18 October and 23 to 25 October 2026 at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, Wild Rice @ Funan. Now celebrating its 18th year, the show continues to turn current affairs, viral moments and everyday Singaporean experiences into fast-paced comedy.
Unlike a traditional theatre performance where audiences sit back and follow a predetermined storyline, this production places viewers in control. The result is an experience where no two performances are quite the same.
Fat Kids Are Harder to Kidnap: 31 plays, one hour and absolutely no predictable order
The concept behind Fat Kids Are Harder To Kidnap is wonderfully simple and deliberately chaotic. The cast must perform 31 short plays within 60 minutes, but there is one catch: the audience decides the order. At the start, audience members receive a programme listing all 31 sketches. Numbers corresponding to the plays hang above the stage, ready to be called out as the evening unfolds.
Whenever a sketch ends, the performers shout “Next!” and the audience responds by calling out the number of the play they want to see. The actors must immediately switch gears and bring the chosen sketch to life, all while a countdown clock continues ticking.
If the performers and audience manage to complete all 31 plays before time runs out, everyone gets to experience the full production. Otherwise, the remaining sketches go unseen. It is part theatre, part improvisational challenge and part collective race against time. More importantly, it transforms the audience from passive spectators into active participants, making the energy in the room just as important as the performance itself.
From Viral Monkeys to BTS: Nothing is off-limits
One of the show’s defining characteristics is its ability to respond to the news almost as quickly as it happens. Rather than relying on a script finalised months in advance, the creative team continues developing material right up to opening night. This year’s production promises to draw inspiration from a wonderfully unpredictable mix of current affairs, pop culture and uniquely Singaporean conversations.
Audiences can expect comedic takes on the Roxy Square wanton mee drama, major moments from the World Cup, the much-anticipated BTS comeback and Singapore’s ongoing conversations about raising fertility rates. Even viral monkeys and raccoons are finding their way into the production.
The material is written by Jay and Melissa Sim, alongside contributions devised by the cast, allowing the production to incorporate fresh developments as they emerge. This immediacy is part of what makes topical comedy particularly entertaining. A story that dominated social media yesterday might become the subject of a sketch tomorrow, offering audiences a chance to laugh at the headlines they have been reading throughout the week.
A cast that must be ready for anything
Keeping such an unpredictable production running smoothly requires performers who can handle sudden transitions, impeccable comic timing and the occasional unexpected turn. The 2026 ensemble brings together Ross Nasir, Jo Tan, Teoh Jun Vinh, Fahim Murshed and newcomer Yeo Zhiyi.
Ross Nasir, co-artistic director of How Drama, brings more than two decades of experience across theatre, musical theatre and immersive performances. Jo Tan, an award-winning actor and writer, is known for using humour to explore complex and occasionally contentious social subjects.
Joining them is Fahim Murshed, whose work spans acting, theatre-making and music, including appearances in Makan Culture and Secondary: The Musical. Teoh Jun Vinh brings experience across Singaporean and Malaysian productions, while Yeo Zhiyi makes her professional theatre debut with this production. Together, the five performers must navigate an hour of audience-directed comedy, switching between characters, subjects and scenarios while racing against the clock.
Eighteen years of making Singapore laugh at itself
First staged in 2008, Fat Kids Are Harder To Kidnap has developed a distinctive place in Singapore’s theatre scene by turning everything from political developments to internet culture into material for comedy. Over the years, the production has travelled beyond Singapore, appearing at international venues and festivals including the Kennedy Center and Singapore Embassy in Washington DC, Paris Fringe and DC Fringe.
It has also received Best in Theatre nominations at the Sydney Fringe Festival in 2019 and Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2020. Behind the production is How Drama, a Singapore-based theatre company founded in 2007 with a focus on interactive, immersive and unconventional performances.
In an entertainment landscape where audiences have endless options available at their fingertips, the show’s longevity highlights the enduring appeal of live comedy, particularly when the audience becomes part of the experience.
Its appeal lies not simply in making people laugh, but in capturing the peculiarities of the moment. The humour feels familiar because it draws from conversations happening in Singaporean homes, workplaces, social media feeds and neighbourhood coffee shops. And because the news never stops changing, neither does the show.
Planning to catch the show? Here are the details
For anyone looking to add something different to their October entertainment calendar, Fat Kids Are Harder To Kidnap offers an interactive alternative to a conventional night at the theatre.
- Event: Fat Kids Are Harder To Kidnap 2026
- Dates: 16–18 October and 23–25 October 2026
- Venue: Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, Wild Rice @ Funan, Singapore
Showtimes:
- Evening performances: 7.30pm on all performance dates
- Matinee performances: 3pm on 17, 18, 24 and 25 October
- Language: English
- Tickets: S$35, excluding booking fees
- Bookings: Book tickets via BookMyShow Singapore
With just 60 minutes to get through 31 sketches, there is little room for hesitation, and certainly no guarantee of what audiences will see next. For those who enjoy topical humour, live theatre or simply the thrill of something unexpected, Fat Kids Are Harder To Kidnap might be one of the more entertaining ways to spend an October afternoon or evening in Singapore.
Also read: 5 reasons why Bharatanatyam still matters for children growing up in a fast-paced world
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