★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Base Entertainment Asia
From rap battles to nightmare squirrels and chocolate waterfalls, this Roald Dahl adaptation is is weird, whimsical, and delightfully emotional. There is something inherently magical about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Whether through Roald Dahl’s original novel, the beloved 1971 film, or the many adaptations that followed, the story has always lived in that strange space between fantasy and cautionary tale; whimsical on the surface, … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Base Entertainment Asia
★★★★★ Dance Theatre Review: Dream In The Peony Pavilion by Suzhou Song and Dance Theatre (HKAF 2026)
Li Xing’s Dream in The Peony Pavilion transforms theatre into a living, visually stunning poem about love, desire and transcendence. HONG KONG – Watching Dream in The Peony Pavilion feels less like witnessing a dance production and more like entering a dream that slowly swallows the theatre whole. Before the show even begins, smoke blankets the stage, already creating this dreamscape as though we are … Continue reading ★★★★★ Dance Theatre Review: Dream In The Peony Pavilion by Suzhou Song and Dance Theatre (HKAF 2026)
★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Makan Culture by Jo Tan and Krish Natarajan (SIFA 2026)
Earnest, wry and smile-inducing commentary on pride, joy, and criticism in the local arts and culture scene. Singapore has long measured success in terms of efficiency, practicality and polish, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the local arts scene often finds itself trapped in an exhausting cycle of comparison. Why watch a homegrown production when there’s Broadway and West End to assure us of ‘quality’? Why … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Makan Culture by Jo Tan and Krish Natarajan (SIFA 2026)
★★★☆☆ Dance Review: Tempo by Kalle Nio and Fernando Melo (SIFA 2026)
Moments stretch, reverse and repeat through magic, circus and dance in this frustratingly slow meditation on time. Time is supposed to be objective, but more often than not, it is deeply relative; stretching, compressing and slowing according to emotion, attention and memory. Presented as part of the 2026 Singapore International Festival of Arts, Tempo takes that idea and turns it into a performance experiment, where … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Dance Review: Tempo by Kalle Nio and Fernando Melo (SIFA 2026)
Theatre Review: The Lighthouse by Patch Theatre (SIFA 2026)
Surreal, interactive series of experiential light installations that turn physics into magic, ideal for younger audiences. For those who have never quite learnt about reflection and refraction in science class, interactions with light can feel like pure magic. That sense of innocent mystery is exactly what Patch Theatre harnesses in The Lighthouse, an experiential promenade work that guides audiences through a series of interconnected rooms … Continue reading Theatre Review: The Lighthouse by Patch Theatre (SIFA 2026)
NAC, UOL and PPHG forge three-year partnership to expand arts experiences in their commercial and hospitality spaces
The National Arts Council (NAC) yesterday signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UOL Group Limited (UOL), and its subsidiary Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), collectively referred as the Group, to integrate the arts more deeply into Singapore’s commercial and hospitality spaces. The MOU was signed in conjunction with the International Society of Performing Arts (ISPA) 2026 Singapore Congress, held from 19 to 22 … Continue reading NAC, UOL and PPHG forge three-year partnership to expand arts experiences in their commercial and hospitality spaces
Singapore Takes Centre Stage as Global Performing Arts Leaders Gather for ISPA 2026 Congress
Singapore’s arts scene stepped into the international spotlight this week as more than 400 performing arts leaders from over 40 countries arrived for the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) 2026 Singapore Congress, the first time the global gathering has returned to Southeast Asia in more than two decades. Held from 19 to 22 May and hosted by the National Arts Council, the Congress … Continue reading Singapore Takes Centre Stage as Global Performing Arts Leaders Gather for ISPA 2026 Congress
Becoming Willy Wonka: An Interview with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Daniel Plimpton
Roald Dahl’s beloved tale of golden tickets and chocolate rivers is finally making its Southeast Asian debut, as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical opens at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, for a strictly limited season from 19th May 2026. Presented by Base Entertainment Asia in association with Broadway International Group and Broadway Asia, the production brings Willy Wonka’s fantastical chocolate factory to life … Continue reading Becoming Willy Wonka: An Interview with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Daniel Plimpton
SIFA 2026: Strangely Familiar《熟悉的陌生》 – An interview with choreographer Kuik Swee Boon on coexistence and projection
In Strangely Familiar, the stage becomes a meeting ground between worlds. A shifting digital presence, neither fully human nor entirely machine, moves alongside five dancers, blurring the boundaries between body and projection, instinct and invention. Created by Kuik Swee Boon, founding artistic director of T.H.E Dance Company, the work unfolds less as a linear narrative than as an evolving encounter: a space where the human … Continue reading SIFA 2026: Strangely Familiar《熟悉的陌生》 – An interview with choreographer Kuik Swee Boon on coexistence and projection
SIFA 2026: Last Rites – An interview with director Liu Xiaoyi on the temporality of live performance and preparing for the end
What would it mean to stage your final act, not as a last bow, but as a reflection of everything that came before? In Last Rites, Liu Xiaoyi brings together five veteran performers from across Asia to confront this question, weaving their personal histories into a meditation on life, art, and what remains after both have passed. Presented at the 2026 Singapore International Festival of … Continue reading SIFA 2026: Last Rites – An interview with director Liu Xiaoyi on the temporality of live performance and preparing for the end
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