Odeon: An Ode

Synopsis

Directly across from the Raffles Hotel Arcade was once a movie theatre that, for an evening at a time, whisked an entire generation away from the grimy streets of 1960s Singapore. In these cinematic pages, we delve into the many lives of 331 North Bridge Road: as rubber factory, postwar cabaret, trade union headquarters and more, tracing the stories of two individuals as they thread through this unlikely window between worlds. Will the old building give up its secrets? Part memoir, part historical reimagination, Odeon examines what it takes to build a life—or a nation—at the crossroads of fate.

About The Author

Theophilus Kwek has published five collections of poetry,two of which were shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. In 2023, he was the youngest writer and first Singaporean to be awarded the Cikada Prize by the Swedish Institute, for poetry that “defends the inviolability of life”. His essays have appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, Columbia Journal, Wasafiri and elsewhere.Odeonis his first book of creative nonfiction.