Upon entering Centre 42’s black box theatre, one is greeted by performer Sharon Frese, playing a drum with a troubled look on her face.

When the lights go up, she sheds her African garb, revealing a Singapore Airlines stewardess uniform to chuckles from audiences.

Ayer Hitam, with a script by Singaporean writer Ng Yi-Sheng, delves into the obscure presence of the African diaspora in Singapore’s history.

“Ayer hitam”, or “black water” in Malay, is derived from the Hindi phrase “kala pani”, the name Indian convicts and indentured labourers gave the oceans they crossed to their new, unknown futures.