Review: A Tiny Country by ATTEMPTS (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★☆☆ (Performance attended 8/1/20) Gamification of a hypothetical nation’s destiny has the right idea in mind. While ATTEMPTS’ founder Rei Poh has always been interested in games, with their latest production, ATTEMPTS finally gets a chance to go full on into the genre, with participatory theatre piece and game A Tiny Country, playing as part of the 2020 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Directed and designed by … Continue reading Review: A Tiny Country by ATTEMPTS (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

Review: Café Sarajevo by bluemouth inc. (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 8/1/20) Docu-drama in the form of a live podcast reminds us how difficult it is to mend deep-set rifts, and the politicised effects these have on the most ordinary of activities.  Part of the joy of Fringe is how it offers a platform to showcase non-traditional theatre forms of all kinds. Of these, it is bluemouth inc.’s Café Sarajevo that plays around with … Continue reading Review: Café Sarajevo by bluemouth inc. (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Jelaine Ng and Jeramy Lim (The Shadow Curriculum)

If you grew up in Singapore, then you’d probably know that of all the currencies viewed as most important to getting ahead in life, the most valuable one is education. But in spite of having a world class education system available to all citizens, there are plenty of other factors that gives some students an unfair advantage over others, from a stable home environment to … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Jelaine Ng and Jeramy Lim (The Shadow Curriculum)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with .gif (Beside Ourselves)

It’s becoming increasingly common these days to feel a sense of displacement amidst our fast-changing world. Life itself often feels surreal, with the sheer amount of tragedy highlighted in the news, while the daily routine works its way into a droll, to the extent we begin to disconnect from our physical bodies and the world around us. It may not always be obvious, but certainly, … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with .gif (Beside Ourselves)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Oliver Chong (Contemplating Kopitiam and Kampong Wa’Hassan)

How closely tied is heritage to place? Local playwrights Kuo Pao Kun and Alfian Sa’at explored this concept of space and identity in their works Kopitiam and Anak Bulan di Kampong Wa’ Hassan respectively, wondering about how beyond the physical, what else would be lost in our relentless move towards national development and progress. Is it really worth it to leave everything behind as we strive to reach the future? … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Oliver Chong (Contemplating Kopitiam and Kampong Wa’Hassan)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Secretive Thing (Secretive Thing 215)

se Secretive Thing is a collective that’s…well, secret. While they’ve done a number of productions in the past, they’ve kept their identities a tight-lipped secret, something few to no people can do in this day and age. Known only by their monikers Lemon and Koko, they’ll be presenting their new work Secretive Thing 215 at the 2020 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, inviting audience members to join … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Secretive Thing (Secretive Thing 215)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Rei Poh (A Tiny Country)

After making their debut as a collective at the 2017 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, ATTEMPTS is back for another show at the 2020 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, this time with a brand new storytelling meets gamification experience in A Tiny Country. In the work, audience members take on the role of members of a community living in a tiny country, while also playing as social scientists … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Rei Poh (A Tiny Country)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with bluemouth inc. (Café Sarajevo)

Part of the magic of theatre is the ability to create entire worlds within simple black box spaces. With the advent of technology such as virtual reality, the distance between us and the world has been collapsed further still. In bluemouth inc.’s Café Sarajevo, audience members can expect to have an immersive theatrical experience that will bring them from Berlin to Sarajevo to Mostar as they … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with bluemouth inc. (Café Sarajevo)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma (Kebaya Homies)

Aidli ‘Alin’ Mosbit and Siti Khalijah are two of Singapore’s most renowned Malay actresses. With both of them having worked extensively with The Necessary Stage, and even on a couple of productions together, The Necessary Stage’s first original show for the fringe in years, Kebaya Homies, is set to be one heck of an event. Directed by Alvin Tan, Kebaya Homies brings audience members to a club, featuring perempuan-perempuan joget (dancing … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma (Kebaya Homies)

Music Is: VCHPresents Chamber – Endless Sound 无限的笙 by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (Preview)

Renowned sheng virtuoso Wu Wei leads musicians of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on a journey from East to West and back again in Endless Sound, playing on a Sunday afternoon on 9th February. Wu Wei has crafted a programme bringing together Chinese favourites – such as Dragon Dance 金蛇狂舞 by Nie Er 聂耳 and Dance of the Yao People 瑶族舞曲 by Mao Yuan 茅沅 – and … Continue reading Music Is: VCHPresents Chamber – Endless Sound 无限的笙 by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (Preview)