Review: My Grandfather’s Road by Neo Kim Seng (Cantonese versions, performed by Tan Cher Kian and Gary Tang)

Two ways to tell a poignant story of growing up in Cantonese.  First written as a book, in My Grandfather’s Road, Neo Kim Seng explores his familial history through the lens and geography of a bygone Singapore, thinking of his childhood growing up on what is literally his grandfather’s road (Neo Pee Teck Lane) and told through personal memories and anecdotes. While we previously watched the full … Continue reading Review: My Grandfather’s Road by Neo Kim Seng (Cantonese versions, performed by Tan Cher Kian and Gary Tang)

M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018: EARTH and Filled with sadness, the old body attacks by T.H.E Dance Company (Review)

A double-bill of movement heavy pieces open the 2018 M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival. T.H.E Dance Company opened the 2018 M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival with a double bill of work. Featuring ‘EARTH’ by Humanhood and ‘Filled with sadness, the old body attacks’ by Kim Jae Duk, the festival kicked off to a strong start with both these thought-provoking, physically challenging pieces.  EARTH by Humanhood In … Continue reading M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018: EARTH and Filled with sadness, the old body attacks by T.H.E Dance Company (Review)

Review: My Grandfather’s Road by Neo Kim Seng (English version, performed by Karen Tan)

Put on your nostalgia goggles for this monologue about people and places past, laced with a pinch of death and loss.  To call a stretch of land your grandfather’s road sounds like an audacious claim. But for theatremaker Neo Kim Seng, that claim is rooted in truth, with Neo Pee Teck Lane quite literally named after his paternal grandfather. My Grandfather’s Road is adapted from … Continue reading Review: My Grandfather’s Road by Neo Kim Seng (English version, performed by Karen Tan)

SAM Late Nights 2018 @ Imaginarium + An Interview with Falling Feathers

After a successful first edition, Singapore Art Museum’s late night museum programme SAM Late Nights returns from June to August 2018! The programme kicked off on 8th June 2018 at SAM at 8Q, and ties in with the eighth edition of SAM’s annual Imaginarium exhibition. This year’s exhibition, titled Imaginarium: Into the Space of Time, presents artworks that deal with concepts of space and time, featuring works … Continue reading SAM Late Nights 2018 @ Imaginarium + An Interview with Falling Feathers

25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Dang Thai Son (Review)

The Vietnamese pianist’s performance is a masterclass brought to life onstage. Dang Thai Son first came to fame as the first prize winner at the 10th International Chopin Piano Competition in 1980. Since then, he’s gone on to play in over 40 countries with countless international orchestras, and can be considered a master in his own right. It’s no wonder then that his masterclass sold … Continue reading 25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Dang Thai Son (Review)

M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018: An Interview with Festival Director Kuik Swee Boon and Festival Manager Athelyna Swee

Often assumed to be esoteric, avant garde or incomprehensible, reserved only for the educated, upper echelons of society, contemporary dance can be a daunting art form to come face to face with. But the truth is, contemporary dance is simply a representation of the human spirit in a different language, each dancer bringing to stage their own brand of physicality and movement, and with a … Continue reading M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018: An Interview with Festival Director Kuik Swee Boon and Festival Manager Athelyna Swee

25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Jeremy Denk (Review)

  Jeremy Denk guides lost audiences home in a series of three works by master composers Mozart, Beethoven and Bach.  American pianist Jeremy Denk is an intelligent man. The winner of a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellowship, Denk is a frequent contributor to publications such as The New Yorker and The Guardian. A contemporary of other acclaimed musicians such as Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis, Denk’s intellect is … Continue reading 25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Jeremy Denk (Review)

25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Seong-Jin Cho (Review)

The Korean boy genius and Chopin/Debussy expert opens the 25th Singapore International Piano Festival. Maintaining a festival for 25 years is no mean feat, signifying how far the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s Singapore International Piano Festival (SIPF) has come all this time. Delivering the opening address, SIPF artistic director Lionel Choi expressed how much the festival has grown, with the sheer amount of pianists and achievements … Continue reading 25th Singapore International Piano Festival: Seong-Jin Cho (Review)

Singapore International Piano Festival: An Interview with Pianist Seong-Jin Cho

Presented by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the 25th Singapore International Piano Festival begins this week, where several acclaimed pianists will be making their Singapore debuts, from the likes of the legendary Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich to Vietnamese-Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son. Opening the festival this year on 7th June is young South Korean prodigy Seong-Jin Cho. Born in 1994, he became the youngest-ever winner of Japan’s … Continue reading Singapore International Piano Festival: An Interview with Pianist Seong-Jin Cho

Taking Back Chinatown: An Interview with Koh Hui Ling and Jean Tay of Drama Box’s Chinatown Crossings

We’re at Drama Box’s home on Trengganu Street in Chinatown, interviewing Drama Box artistic director Koh Hui Ling and writer Jean Tay, when Hui Ling suddenly recalls: “We were talking to the uncles and aunties living in the area, and a common thing we heard from them was how so many of them said ‘Chinatown doesn’t belong to us anymore; it belongs to the tourists.’” … Continue reading Taking Back Chinatown: An Interview with Koh Hui Ling and Jean Tay of Drama Box’s Chinatown Crossings