S'pore playwright Jonathan Lim dies aged 50

Jonathan Lim, the Singaporean playwright behind the "Chestnuts" parody show, passed away on Jan. 23, 2025.

He was 50.

Lim's passing was discovered on the same day by his close friend, Luke Kwek.

Kwek went to check in on Lim at his flat after his family members could not reach him, reported The Straits Times.

There, Kwek found his friend of 18 years unconscious.

According to an obituary published by Obituaries.sg on Facebook, Lim's wake will be held at the Pearl Hall of Singapore Casket from 3:30pm on Jan. 26.

His funeral service will be held at 5pm on Jan. 27, and his body will be sent for cremation thereafter.

Lim's bio

According to Singaporean author Kenneth Lyen, who featured Lim in his book, "Sing Musicals", Lim was also a singer, actor, and director of plays, revues, videos, and musicals.

He enrolled in the National University of Singapore (NUS) for theatre studies and won a scholarship to study directing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia.

While many knew Lim through "Chestnuts", which was dubbed "Singapore's longest-running live parody sketch show", Lim's oeuvres spanned books, musicals, pantomimes, and musical operas.

Some of his works included a book on the Chinese supernatural landscape in Singapore titled "Between Gods and Ghosts", musicals like "Oi! Sleeping Beauty" and "A $ingapore Carol", and "Kursed", a live interactive horror experience in an abandoned kampong.

Tributes poured in

Many in Singapore's arts scene paid tribute to Lim upon learning about his passing.

One of them was Singaporean poet and author Gwee Li Sui, who described Lim as "one of [his] nicest and warmest friends in theatre" whom he would never forget.

"It was hard not to smile around you because you were always smiling. And laughing. You made everything feel doable," wrote Gwee in a Jan. 24 Facebook post.

Gwee also bid farewell to Lim, calling him a "gentle giant" in Singapore's "arts kampung".

Referring to Lim as "a creative powerhouse", the company said he penned some of its "most beloved pantomimes" and "brought joy to thousands, capturing the heart of audiences with his sharp wit and heartfelt storytelling".

Besides playwriting, Lim also directed premieres of new plays for the Singapore Theatre Festival and served as the first artistic director of Wild Rice's Young and Wild programme from 2006 to 2010, where he mentored aspiring theatre-makers.

"[Lim's] immense contributions to Singapore theatre leave an indelible legacy. His creativity, generosity, and passion touched countless lives, and he will be deeply missed," wrote the company.

Top images via Wild Rice & Battlebox Singapore/Facebook