★★★★★ Theatre Review: Salesman之死 by Jeremy Tiang and Danny Yeo (SIFA 2026)

A love letter to theatre, translation, and humanity itself. Salesman之死 understands that sometimes the hardest thing to translate is not language; it’s culture, emotion, and perspective. Even someone like Miller, a playwright of immense stature, struggles to grasp even a fraction of the Chinese dialogue — a quiet but telling reminder of how language itself resists ownership, even by those who write it. This becomes … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Salesman之死 by Jeremy Tiang and Danny Yeo (SIFA 2026)

Theatre Review: Pulau Rindu by Emergency Stairs x NAFA Industry Project 2026

Finding the shape of yearning through deconstructing a city and all the lives and stories within it. What does it mean to belong, and what happens if that belonging is tied to a place that exists only in memory, imagination, or longing? Pulau Rindu, directed by Tan Shou Chen and presented as part of the NAFA Industry Project by Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and … Continue reading Theatre Review: Pulau Rindu by Emergency Stairs x NAFA Industry Project 2026

Theatre Review: Backstage Protocol 后台协议 by Emergency Stairs x NAFA Industry Project 2026

Demystifying the backstage and paying tribute to the unseen parts of production In line with Emergency Stairs’ ethos, Backstage Protocol, part of the NAFA Industry Project 2026 by Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Emergency Stairs, leans fully into uncertainty, trading narrative clarity for process, and polish for possibility. As a showcase, it feels less concerned with delivering a cohesive theatrical product and more invested … Continue reading Theatre Review: Backstage Protocol 后台协议 by Emergency Stairs x NAFA Industry Project 2026

Preview: Emergency Stairs x NAFA Industry Project 2026 – ‘Backstage Protocol’ and ‘Pulau Rindu’

Have you ever wondered about the forces shaping our lives that we don’t see? This April, a new generation of theatre-makers in Singapore is asking exactly that. The NAFA Industry Project 2026, co-presented by Emergency Stairs and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, is a bold, immersive exploration of what they call “Invisible Architectures.” Think about the unseen systems, quiet hierarchies, and emotional undercurrents that shape … Continue reading Preview: Emergency Stairs x NAFA Industry Project 2026 – ‘Backstage Protocol’ and ‘Pulau Rindu’

★★★★★ Theatre Review: God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》by Nine Years Theatre

Polite company quickly gives way to violent, yet cathartic truth in Nine Years Theatre’s God of Carnage. It begins, as so many civilised disasters do, with good intentions. A carefully drafted statement, coffee and cake, and adults determined to behave. In Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage, politeness is not resolution but provocation, and in Nine Years Theatre’s staging in Mandarin, that provocation unfolds with a … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》by Nine Years Theatre

Civility Falls Apart: An Interview with director Nelson Chia and the cast of Nine Years Theatre’s God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》

At the start of Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage, everything looks reasonable. Veronica has prepared food. Michael has arranged the living room. Annette arrives determined to be gracious. Alan, distracted by his phone, still shows up. Four adults sit down to discuss their sons’ playground conflict calmly, civilly, like responsible people should. That the evening collapses into chaos feels less like a shock than a … Continue reading Civility Falls Apart: An Interview with director Nelson Chia and the cast of Nine Years Theatre’s God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》

Preview:《杀戮之神》God of Carnage by Nine Years Theatre

This March, one of the sharpest, funniest dissections of modern adulthood comes to Singapore as Nine Years Theatre (NYT) stages God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza’s internationally celebrated dark comedy. Running from 20 to 29 March 2026 at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @ Funan, the production promises an evening that begins politely, and ends gloriously unhinged. If NYT’s sold-out run of Twelve Angry Men proved … Continue reading Preview:《杀戮之神》God of Carnage by Nine Years Theatre

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Twelve Angry Men《十二怒汉》by Nine Years Theatre

Biases unravel and tempers flare in Nine Years Theatre’s powerful revival of this classic courtroom drama. There is something unsettling about the image that accompanied the publicity for Twelve Angry Men: twelve faces, marked by a single red stroke. Is it erasure, censorship, or judgment? The ambiguity lingers as the lights dim, an apt prelude to Nine Years Theatre’s searing revival of Reginald Rose’s courtroom … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Twelve Angry Men《十二怒汉》by Nine Years Theatre

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Final Bow《散戏》by Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group

Heartfelt, hilarious, and profoundly moving, Final Bow is a theatrical triumph that captures the bittersweet beauty of an art form standing at the end of an era and the edge of change. What makes theatre so precious is its transience. Each performance exists only in that instant, where there are no two ever alike, no recording ever truly able to capture the electricity of being … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Final Bow《散戏》by Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group

Twelve Angry Men, 12 years later: An Interview with Nelson Chia on restaging Nine Years Theatre’s iconic play

A verdict that decides life or death. A clash of prejudice and justice. An intense midnight quarrel leads to the murder of a man. Witnesses take the stand as his 16-year-old son is tried for homicide. With all testimonies against the boy, his fate hangs by a thread as 12 jurors must render the final verdict. In the stifling heat of the jury room, 12 … Continue reading Twelve Angry Men, 12 years later: An Interview with Nelson Chia on restaging Nine Years Theatre’s iconic play