Worst birthday ever makes for one of the best shows of 2019. Growing up in Singapore, the hard and fast path to ‘success’ has always been made abundantly clear to each and every child: study hard, get into a good school, rinse and repeat, and you’ll lead a happy life. But for those who don’t follow exactly as the system dictates, the consequences could be … Continue reading Review: Dear Elena (青春禁忌游戏) by Nine Years Theatre
Remembering those we’ve forgotten via two tales of the dispossessed. As much as the Bicentennial celebrations claim to remember the some 700 years of recorded history of Singapore and the people who lived here back then, it tends to forget that those same people aren’t extinct, and in fact, still walk among us today. With Drama Box’s incredibly ambitious two part play Tanah•Air 水•土 then, the … Continue reading Review: Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box
Tanah Air: A phrase in Malay that means ‘homeland’ in English, and forming the overarching theme of Drama Box’s newest work – Tanah•Air 水•土：A Play In Two Parts, premiering this week as part of Malay Culturefest 2019. Perhaps beyond all the Bicentennial plays this year that’ve sauntered past the history of pre-Raffles and into modern Singapore history, Tanah•Air might just be the only one that dives deep … Continue reading An Interview with the Creatives Behind Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box
Near the start of 2019, local theatre company Nine Years Theatre (NYT) announced their new season, starting with FAUST/US in February, original play First Fleet in July, before rounding off with a restaging of SIFA 2017’s Art Studio in October. But midway through, due to unforeseen circumstances, Art Studio was unable to proceed as planned, and the team had to find an alternative production to round off their year. Enter Dear Elena … Continue reading Nine Years Theatre’s Dear Elena: An Interview with Nelson Chia, Mia Chee and Timothy Wan
Nine Years Theatre returns this October for their third and final production of the year. Following the premiere of brand new play First Fleet in July, the company returns to their roots with Dear Elena, with artistic director Nelson Chia adapting a Russian play into Mandarin. Originally written by Russian playwright Lyudmila Razumovskaya, Dear Elena Sergeevna, the original play, was first staged at the beginning of … Continue reading Preview: Dear Elena (青春禁忌游戏) by Nine Years Theatre
As Singapore’s Bicentennial celebrations carry on throughout the year, local theatre company Drama Box has taken the opportunity to raise questions about our own history and the way it is recorded, wondering what stories and narratives have been left out in the writing of the history of our land, and its surrounding waters. Helmed by Drama Box artistic director Kok Heng Leun, in collaboration with … Continue reading Preview: Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box
New Chinese theatre collective still has some knotty issues to untangle. In spirituality, it is believed that if one does not let go of the metaphorical ‘knots in one’s heart’, then their mind will remain tormented by these unresolved issues, burdened and suffering on. It is one such knot that takes centrestage in KNOTS, playing as part of the Singapore Chinese Language Theatre Alliance’s New Works … Continue reading Review: KNOTS《结》by STRANGER
Nam Hwa Opera’s quarterly FREE outreach series Nam Hwa Blazes is back this September for a very special edition. Playing at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre on Friday, 27th September 2019, the upcoming edition of Nam Hwa Blazes will be presented by veteran Teochew opera actors, who will perform 3 opera performances surrounding the bitterness, hardships and happiness in love. In Reunion at the tower《楼台会》, legendary lovers Liang Shanbo and Zhu … Continue reading Preview: Nam Hwa Blazes 《万紫千红》“Teochew Opera Classics Excerpts” by Nam Hwa Opera
In 2016, six of Singapore’s leading Chinese language theatre companies united and formed the Singapore Chinese Language Theatre Alliance. Aiming to surface and address concerns and issues pertaining to the development of Chinese language theatre scene in Singapore, the six members of the alliance are Drama Box, Nine Years Theatre, Paper Monkey Theatre, The Finger Players, The Theatre Practice and Toy Factory Productions. Three years on, they’re … Continue reading Preview: New Works Festival 2019 by Singapore Chinese Language Theatre Alliance
Nam Hwa Opera’s quarterly FREE outreach series Nam Hwa Blazes is back this September for a very special edition. Taking place at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre this Saturday, they’ll be presenting “Drums, Tunes, Children and Rhyme”, with 4 music pieces by Nam Hwa Opera’s Teochew Music Ensemble, along with 6 songs by Nam Hwa’s Pharyngeal Singing student, all taught by renowned Chinese musician Wu Kun,. This edition of Nam … Continue reading Preview: Nam Hwa Blazes 《万紫千红》(September 2019) by Nam Hwa Opera
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