Season in Preview: Drama Box 2019 Season

  In 2018, local theatre company Drama Box has created some of the most poignant productions both in and out of the conventional theatre space. From reflections on death to a self-directed return to one’s past, a collaboration with The Necessary Stage to a  surprisingly powerful theatrical tour of Chinatown,  2019 will see the company continue to develop some of the themes raised in 2018 through brand new … Continue reading Season in Preview: Drama Box 2019 Season

Preview: Esplanade presents Huayi Festival 2019

There’s already plenty to get excited about for the 2019’s arts season! Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay, has launched their 2019 Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts lineup, and we couldn’t be more excited for this 17th edition. Taking place from 15th to 24th February 2019, Huayi 2019 builds on the success of last year’s five new commissioned works, working together with both local … Continue reading Preview: Esplanade presents Huayi Festival 2019

Preview: The Transition Room by Toy Factory

Besides the announcement of the second part of their theatrical trilogy at SIFA 2019, Toy Factory will be opening their 2019 season with their all new production The Transition Room. Making the bold transition from experimental to mainstage, The Transition Room originated as a dramatized reading held at Toy Factory’s space at NOWplaying@17, and will receive a full theatrical adaptation next February at the Drama Centre Black Box. Directed and … Continue reading Preview: The Transition Room by Toy Factory

Preview: Nam Hwa Blazes 《万紫千红》(January 2019) by Nam Hwa Opera

Nam Hwa Opera returns next January with the 3rd Anniversary edition of ‘Nam Hwa Blazes’! Presented at the Ci Yuan Community Club at 3pm and 7pm, the quarterly outreach performance presents Nam Hwa’s brightest talents as they’re given a platform to showcase classical Teochew Opera to the public. Best of all – it’s completely free to attend, and even if you can’t make it in person, the 7pm … Continue reading Preview: Nam Hwa Blazes 《万紫千红》(January 2019) by Nam Hwa Opera

Review: Journey To Nowhere (Southernmost – One Table Two Chairs Project 2018)

A well-executed, thought-provoking diatribe on the proposed future of local arts. As an “arts festival for the future”, experimental theatre company Emergency Stairs’ Southernmost – One Table Two Chairs Project 2018 naturally chooses to buck the trend of a typical arts festival, acting a critique of the usual and taking on an artist-driven, process-centric approach, comprising primarily of workshops, demonstrations, open forums, and a single … Continue reading Review: Journey To Nowhere (Southernmost – One Table Two Chairs Project 2018)

Preview: Southernmost – One Table Two Chairs Project 2018 presented by Emergency Stairs

Building on from the success of their inaugural Southernmost Project launched in 2017, Emergency Stairs returns with the 2018 edition of the experimental theatre festival this November. Taking its name from traditional Chinese opera’s convention of ‘southern’ stages and the one table two chairs performance format, the Southernmost Project was conceptualised as an “arts festival for the future”, and focuses on bringing together local and … Continue reading Preview: Southernmost – One Table Two Chairs Project 2018 presented by Emergency Stairs

Nine Years Theatre’s Lear Is Dead 李尔亡: An Interview with Nelson Chia and Timothy Wan

There is more than a passing similarity to Shakespeare’s King Lear and a certain recently deceased leader from our very own country. Besides being former heads of a nation and possessing three children, Lear, when translated to Mandarin, also happens to begin with the Chinese character 李, or ‘Lee’. Appropriately enough then, for their very first Shakespeare adaptation, local Mandarin theatre company Nine Years Theatre … Continue reading Nine Years Theatre’s Lear Is Dead 李尔亡: An Interview with Nelson Chia and Timothy Wan

Review: Watching by Toy Factory

Apprehension towards NS hints at deeper family matters. Have you ever sat on the couch and gone on a TV marathon that lasts for so long that your vision gets blurry, your body goes limp, and it begins to become hard to tell reality from fiction? Toy Factory’s Watching covers precisely that feeling. Written and directed by Toy Factory associate artistic director Stanley Seah, Watching follows teenaged Tony … Continue reading Review: Watching by Toy Factory

Toy Factory’s Lab Projects 2018: An Interview with Playwright/Director Stanley Seah and Actor Jon Cancio of Watching

  As part of the 2018 edition of the Lab Projects, Toy Factory presents Watching, the second new play to be staged in their home in Chinatown at NOWPlaying@17. Written and directed by Toy Factoy associate artistic director Stanley Seah, Watching follows Tony, a boy still waiting to enlist for the dreaded National Service. But instead of making ‘the most of his time’ doing part time work or learning … Continue reading Toy Factory’s Lab Projects 2018: An Interview with Playwright/Director Stanley Seah and Actor Jon Cancio of Watching

Review: Oedipus (鞭爱) by Toy Factory

An innovative staging turns this twisted police procedural into a living nightmare.  If there’s one play this year that should come with a warning for the faint of heart, it’s Toy Factory’s Oedipus. Directed by Toy Factory artistic director Goh Boon Teck and written by Zhu Xin Chen, Oedipus, much like its title suggests, concerns itself with socially and sexually perverse themes that push the boundaries of what is … Continue reading Review: Oedipus (鞭爱) by Toy Factory