MOM AND I GO TO THE TEMPLE to Premiere at The Tank NYC

Singaporean screenwriter Michael Tay, creator of the International Emmy-nominated comedy series FAM!, will premiere his new one-man play, Mom and I Go to the Temple, at The Tank NYC from September 16-19, 2026.

Based on a remarkable true story, the play follows a seemingly simple trip into the secluded mountains of Malaysia, where Tay accompanies his conservative Chinese mother to a mysterious temple. As strange rituals and unsettling encounters begin to unfold, an even more personal truth quietly hangs over the journey: Tay has never told his mother that he is gay.

Set against a backdrop of Southeast Asian folklore and Chinese religious traditions, Mom and I Go to the Temple examines the emotional distance that can exist even within loving families. While mother and son share the same journey, they carry entirely different understandings of who the other truly is. As the trip spirals into the unexpected, Tay finds himself confronting the possibility that the greatest fear is not what awaits inside the temple-but what might happen if his mother finally discovers the truth.

"Coming out isn't a single conversation," says Tay. "For many queer Asians, it's something that follows you for years. Every family gathering, every holiday, every question about marriage becomes another moment where you have to decide whether to tell the truth or protect the people you love. This play came from one of those moments."

Although the play contains elements of mystery and suspense, Tay says its heart lies elsewhere.

"I wanted to tell a story about queer people who love their parents deeply, even when they don't fully understand each other. My mother isn't the villain in this story. She's someone shaped by her own upbringing, just as I was shaped by mine. The play is really about two people trying to love each other across an emotional divide."

Before moving to New York to earn his MFA in Film at Columbia University, Tay spent more than a decade writing television in Singapore. Much of his work has explored family, identity, and belonging through comedy and genre storytelling. His horror feature screenplay The Damned was recently optioned by Night Market Studios, with The Conjuring writers Chad and Carey Hayes attached as executive producers.

The production is directed by award-winning filmmaker Eunice Lau, a Singaporean journalist-turned-director based in New York. Her documentaries have received international recognition, including the Excellence in Documentary Directing Award at the 2024 Woodstock Film Festival, and have been featured on streaming platforms including Amazon, Discovery, and Apple TV. Mom and I Go to the Temple marks her stage-directing debut.

More than a coming-out story, Mom and I Go to the Temple explores the complicated realities many LGBTQ+ people continue to navigate within traditional families. Through humor, suspense, and deeply personal storytelling, the play asks whether love can survive the truths we spend a lifetime hiding.

Performance Information