Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An interview with Ingrid Voorendt, Associate Director, Back to Back Theatre on ‘Multiple Bad Things’

In a placeless warehouse at the end of the world, three employees are given a possibly pointless task. As they struggle to work together, the boundaries between cooperation and conflict begin to fray. What starts with politeness gradually descends into sly victimisation and bad behaviour, while language shifts from playful and absurd to threatening and deadly serious. In MULTIPLE BAD THINGS, award-winning Australian company Back … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An interview with Ingrid Voorendt, Associate Director, Back to Back Theatre on ‘Multiple Bad Things’

Who cares for artists?: An interview with CITRUS fest 2026 curator Chong Gua Khee

For the people who keep Singapore’s arts scene moving, care can be difficult to separate from the work itself. It can mean managing workloads and expectations, navigating difficult conversations, making space for different needs, or simply recognising when a person or team has reached their limits. These questions are at the centre of CITRUS fest 2026: Kacang Puteh, Care-Oke?, the second edition of the ten-day … Continue reading Who cares for artists?: An interview with CITRUS fest 2026 curator Chong Gua Khee

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Samir Veen on participation and co-operation in Ontroerend Goed’s ‘Handle with Care’

When Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed first conceived Handle with Care, they knew almost nothing about the performance itself. There were no actors, no technicians, no script, and not even a clear idea of what would eventually be inside the box that sits at the centre of the stage. What they did know was that they wanted to make something they had never made before. … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Samir Veen on participation and co-operation in Ontroerend Goed’s ‘Handle with Care’

London Theatre: Death Note – The Musical star Telly Leung on becoming Ryuk – “I’m not here to be a copycat”

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – For more than two decades, Death Note has refused to stay confined to a single medium. Since writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata first introduced the supernatural thriller in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2003, the series has become one of Japan’s most successful cultural exports. More than 30 million manga copies have been sold worldwide, while the … Continue reading London Theatre: Death Note – The Musical star Telly Leung on becoming Ryuk – “I’m not here to be a copycat”

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

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’

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Mark Teh on retelling legends of national heroes in Five Arts Centre’s ‘Fragments of Tuah’

Hang Tuah has occupied a singular place in the Malaysian imagination for centuries. The legendary warrior appears in school textbooks, literature, films and political speeches, often held up as the embodiment of loyalty, courage and duty. It is precisely because he is so deeply embedded in the national consciousness that theatre-maker Mark Teh never imagined he would make a work about him. “He’s a mythic … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Mark Teh on retelling legends of national heroes in Five Arts Centre’s ‘Fragments of Tuah’

T:>Works’ Inaugural AGEncy Fest: An Interview with Dana Lam on her debut solo art exhibition, ageing and a lifetime of paying attention

For much of her career, Dana Lam has resisted easy categorisation. She has been a journalist, playwright, performer, feminist advocate, visual artist and author, moving fluidly between disciplines while remaining guided by the same quiet curiosity: how we live with one another. This month, that lifelong inquiry takes centre stage as T:>Works launches the inaugural edition of The AGEncy Fest, a new annual platform celebrating … Continue reading T:>Works’ Inaugural AGEncy Fest: An Interview with Dana Lam on her debut solo art exhibition, ageing and a lifetime of paying attention

Turning Audiences Into Accomplices: An Interview with director Tracie Pang, and cast members Coco Wang Ling and Ghafir Akbar on Pangdemonium’s ‘A Mirror’

“It wasn’t intentional that A Mirror was chosen for our final season,” says director and Pangdemonium founder and co-artistic director Tracie Pang. “We had already programmed the season before the decision was made that it would be Pangdemonium’s last. We had maybe five shows planned and moving forward, and then it became a question of which of those we would keep and which we would … Continue reading Turning Audiences Into Accomplices: An Interview with director Tracie Pang, and cast members Coco Wang Ling and Ghafir Akbar on Pangdemonium’s ‘A Mirror’