Art: Maria Taniguchi – Afterimage at Singapore Art Museum
There is a temptation to describe Maria Taniguchi’s work as meditative. For nearly two decades, the Filipino artist has devoted herself to painting what appears, at first glance, to be the same image: vast fields of carefully hand-painted rectangles, meticulously built one brushstroke at a time until they resemble endless brick walls. Their monumental scale, subdued palettes and rigorous repetition have often led viewers to … Continue reading Art: Maria Taniguchi – Afterimage at Singapore Art Museum
Dracula – Ballet at its Darkest: Joel Burke on reimagining Stoker’s classic and the rise of contemporary dance
Following its sold-out West End run, Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest arrived in Singapore with a bold reimagining of Bram Stoker’s gothic classic. Under the artistic direction and choreography of Joel Burke, the production traded traditional ballet conventions for cinematic storytelling, psychological tension and an evocative score featuring works by Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninov, Liszt and Debussy, inviting audiences into a haunting world where love, grief … Continue reading Dracula – Ballet at its Darkest: Joel Burke on reimagining Stoker’s classic and the rise of contemporary dance
★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Common Room by Checkpoint Theatre
Checkpoint Theatre tackles queer themes by presenting an honest depiction of queer co-living that succeeds more as an act of representation than a piece of theatre. Duration: 90min Although Singapore has made significant strides towards LGBTQ+ acceptance, many queer Singaporeans continue to negotiate conservative workplaces, families and social expectations. For those unable to live fully out in public, chosen family and queer kinship become not … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Common Room by Checkpoint Theatre
★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Be A Star – A Musical Fable by Musical Theatre Limited
A nostalgic musical throwback to a simpler time, when dreams were big and morality came a little too neatly packaged with a happy ending. Duration: 135min (including a 15min intermission) There is an admirable sincerity running through Musical Theatre Limited’s Be A Star, one that feels increasingly uncommon in contemporary musical theatre. Originally conceived as Lost in Transit in 2005 by lyricist Stella Kon and … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Be A Star – A Musical Fable by Musical Theatre Limited
Legally Blonde: Breaking stereotypes with stars Vanessa Kee, Sandra Riley Tang and Siti Khalijah Zainal
For a musical that’s become synonymous with pink outfits, pop anthems and perfectly coiffed hair, Legally Blonde spends surprisingly little time asking audiences to admire appearances. Instead, it focuses on dismantling them. Nearly every major woman in the show enters the story wearing a label. Protagonist Elle Woods is the most obvious example, quickly dismissed as the ditzy blonde. But while she may be the … Continue reading Legally Blonde: Breaking stereotypes with stars Vanessa Kee, Sandra Riley Tang and Siti Khalijah Zainal
Legally Blonde: An interview with director Kate Golledge and choreographer Simon Hardwick on bringing out the best of Singapore Repertory Theatre’s all-star cast
Everybody underestimates Elle Woods. That is, after all, the entire premise of Legally Blonde. Before she even speaks, people have already decided who she is: too blonde, too fashionable, too frivolous to be taken seriously. Yet for director Kate Golledge, that’s also the biggest misconception audiences have about the musical itself. “I love Legally Blonde. I honestly think it’s one of the best-written contemporary musicals … Continue reading Legally Blonde: An interview with director Kate Golledge and choreographer Simon Hardwick on bringing out the best of Singapore Repertory Theatre’s all-star cast
Music: Meet the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s newest musicians Bryan Chong, Martin Peh and Reina Teo
In the hearts of many young Singaporean musicians, performing with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an aspiration that begins long before they step onto the concert stage. For Bryan Chong, Martin Peh and Reina Teo, that aspiration has now become reality. Horn player Bryan joined in September 2025 after years of performing alongside the SSO as a freelance musician. Violinist Martin joined full time … Continue reading Music: Meet the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s newest musicians Bryan Chong, Martin Peh and Reina Teo
An interview with artistic director Shaza Ishak and actress Serene Chen on the complexity and social fault lines laid bare in Teater Ekamatra’s revival ‘Charged’
When Charged premiered in 2010, it did something few Singapore plays had dared to do back then. Set over a single night in an army camp during Chinese New Year, Chong Tze Chien’s drama placed one of Singapore’s most enduring fault lines of race within one of its most sacred institutions. The Singapore Armed Forces has long been imagined as a crucible of nation-building, a … Continue reading An interview with artistic director Shaza Ishak and actress Serene Chen on the complexity and social fault lines laid bare in Teater Ekamatra’s revival ‘Charged’
★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Slava’s Snowshow (2026) by Base Entertainment Asia
The modern classic of clown theatre returns to give Singapore a taste of Russian winter once more, exploring solitude, despair and hope in a singular, brilliant snowstorm of an experience. Clowns are often mistaken for entertainers when, in truth, they are philosophers. Their language simply happens to be slapstick. That perhaps explains why Slava’s Snowshow has endured for over thirty years. Returning once again to … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Slava’s Snowshow (2026) by Base Entertainment Asia
★★★★★ Dance Review: Dracula – Ballet at its Darkest by BIG Live
Bram Stoker gave us Dracula. Joel Burke made him ballet. Somehow, it feels like one of the most natural reinventions of the world’s most famous vampire yet. “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make.” Bram Stoker’s most famous line has echoed through popular culture for well over a century. Since Dracula was published in 1897, the Count has lived countless … Continue reading ★★★★★ Dance Review: Dracula – Ballet at its Darkest by BIG Live
