The Necessary Stage’s ERROR 403: This School Is Mine imagines a secondary school testing an artificial-intelligence system called Vanguard to guide learning and behaviour. The interactive work asks students to consider what happens when convenience and performance begin to override autonomy and moral judgement.
Performances run from 20 to 23 July 2026 at Esplanade Annexe Studio. The English-language production is recommended for ages 13 to 19, with admission from age seven.
What Makes The Show Interactive
Before attending, educators receive questions for students through a pre-show activity kit. Submitted responses can be incorporated into the performance, giving a school group a visible connection to the choices being tested on stage.
The device is not simply a technology demonstration. It creates a route into questions about authority, data, peer pressure and whether an apparently efficient system can make ethical decisions for young people.
- Created by Deonn Yang and Sindhura Kalidas.
- Performed by The Necessary Stage.
- Themes include AI, autonomy and citizenship.
Dates, Tickets And School Support
Shows are scheduled at 2.30pm and 5pm on several dates from 20 to 23 July. Standard tickets are S$27. Mainstream school bookings receive one complimentary teacher ticket for every 20 student tickets bought in one transaction for the same performance.
Eligible secondary schools, junior colleges, centralised institutes and ITEs may use the Tote Board Arts Grant to subsidise up to 50 per cent of programme cost, subject to the programme rules.
- Run: 20–23 July 2026.
- Venue: Esplanade Annexe Studio.
- Standard price: S$27 before applicable fees.
Using The Performance In Class
Ask students to identify which decisions should remain human, what data Vanguard might collect and who would be accountable for a harmful outcome. The strongest discussion will distinguish an AI tool from the policy and incentives surrounding it.
More programmes for students appear in Little Big Red Dot’s Education & Career guides.
- Read the pre-show prompts before arrival.
- Plan a post-show discussion around one concrete ethical choice.
- Allow time to find the Annexe Studio, which is separate from the main theatres.
