Odeon book launch: The Secrets in the Building

Through the years, 331 North Bridge Road has had many lives. The one that many still recall: a marquee, alight, spelling the name ODEON.
About this Event

In Odeon: An Ode, Theophilus Kwek’s first book of creative nonfiction, we delve into the building's many lives, and those of the enigmatic characters who have sought refuge in these walls. Join us for the book launch, where Theophilus and anthropologist Amali Ibrahim excavate the site and pull at the threads of history—both personal and national—that reveal the building/s of Singapore. Their conversation and a following audience Q&A will be moderated by lawyer and advocate Charmaine Yap.

About the Book:
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 Speakers:
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. Odeon is his first book of creative nonfiction.
Amali Ibrahim is a professor of anthropology at the National University of Singapore. His recent writing and creative projects have been about low wage migrant workers.
Charmaine Yap is a lawyer and Fulbright Scholar whose work focuses on transnational justice and corporate accountability. She advocates for stronger protections and access to justice for low-wage migrant workers through pro bono casework and scholarship on labour migration.