★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Makan Culture by Jo Tan and Krish Natarajan (SIFA 2026)

Earnest, wry and smile-inducing commentary on pride, joy, and criticism in the local arts and culture scene. Singapore has long measured success in terms of efficiency, practicality and polish, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the local arts scene often finds itself trapped in an exhausting cycle of comparison. Why watch a homegrown production when there’s Broadway and West End to assure us of ‘quality’? Why … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Makan Culture by Jo Tan and Krish Natarajan (SIFA 2026)

★★★☆☆ Dance Review: Tempo by Kalle Nio and Fernando Melo (SIFA 2026)

Moments stretch, reverse and repeat through magic, circus and dance in this frustratingly slow meditation on time.  Time is supposed to be objective, but more often than not, it is deeply relative; stretching, compressing and slowing according to emotion, attention and memory. Presented as part of the 2026 Singapore International Festival of Arts, Tempo takes that idea and turns it into a performance experiment, where … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Dance Review: Tempo by Kalle Nio and Fernando Melo (SIFA 2026)

Theatre Review: The Lighthouse by Patch Theatre (SIFA 2026)

Surreal, interactive series of experiential light installations that turn physics into magic, ideal for younger audiences. For those who have never quite learnt about reflection and refraction in science class, interactions with light can feel like pure magic. That sense of innocent mystery is exactly what Patch Theatre harnesses in The Lighthouse, an experiential promenade work that guides audiences through a series of interconnected rooms … Continue reading Theatre Review: The Lighthouse by Patch Theatre (SIFA 2026)

Becoming Willy Wonka: An Interview with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Daniel Plimpton

Roald Dahl’s beloved tale of golden tickets and chocolate rivers is finally making its Southeast Asian debut, as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical opens at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, for a strictly limited season from 19th May 2026. Presented by Base Entertainment Asia in association with Broadway International Group and Broadway Asia, the production brings Willy Wonka’s fantastical chocolate factory to life … Continue reading Becoming Willy Wonka: An Interview with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Daniel Plimpton

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Salesman之死 by Jeremy Tiang and Danny Yeo (SIFA 2026)

A love letter to theatre, translation, and humanity itself. Salesman之死 understands that sometimes the hardest thing to translate is not language; it’s culture, emotion, and perspective. Even someone like Miller, a playwright of immense stature, struggles to grasp even a fraction of the Chinese dialogue — a quiet but telling reminder of how language itself resists ownership, even by those who write it. This becomes … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Salesman之死 by Jeremy Tiang and Danny Yeo (SIFA 2026)

★★★★★ Theatre Review: LACRIMA by Caroline Guiela Nguyen (SIFA 2026)

A searing commentary on the countless hours of tears and unseen labour it takes to weave a work of art. In the realm of fashion, haute couture (literally “high dressmaking”) exists as the pinnacle of craftsmanship: exclusive, custom-fitted garments made almost entirely by hand using some of the world’s most luxurious fabrics. It is legally protected in France, strictly regulated by the Fédération de la … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: LACRIMA by Caroline Guiela Nguyen (SIFA 2026)

★★☆☆☆ Theatre Review: All You Can Eat by Wild Rice’s Young & Wild and The Rice Cooker

Undercooked, repetitively formulaic scripts do this promising batch of young actors a disservice. Graduation showcases are a notoriously difficult dish to plate. A director has to decide exactly what they want audiences to leave remembering: is it an ensemble spread where every graduate gets equal time to shine? A curated tasting menu built around the strongest performers? Or a riskier selection that leans classical, experimental, … Continue reading ★★☆☆☆ Theatre Review: All You Can Eat by Wild Rice’s Young & Wild and The Rice Cooker

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Myles – Soulmate In A Box by Singapore Repertory Theatre

Inch Chua blends immersive multimedia and song into a visually arresting experience about the dangerous allure of frictionless love. If an AI could love you perfectly, from anticipating your every need, to removing every friction, and never misunderstanding you, would you still want a real person? Presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre after its earlier work-in-progress showing at the Singapore International Festival of Arts in 2024, … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Myles – Soulmate In A Box by Singapore Repertory Theatre

★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Master White Dragon 白龙王子  by Toy Factory

A distinctly Singaporean fable about about faith and modern spirituality that buries its strongest ideas beneath flat humour and an ending that feels rushed. Few recent local productions have started with a premise as immediately striking as Toy Factory’s Master White Dragon: an ah beng mistaken for the reincarnation of a temple deity, caught between street hustling, spiritual performance and a journalist intent on exposing … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Master White Dragon 白龙王子  by Toy Factory

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Teater Normcore – Odisi Romansa by Ridhwan Saidi

Ridhwan Saidi crafts a haunting, cosmic space drama about androids to remind us what it means to be human. Ridhwan Saidi’s Teater Normcore: Odisi Romansa begins with surveillance. Before the theatre fully settles into darkness, before language and philosophy take over the stage, a grainy video emerges onscreen like recovered memory. Through the detached gaze of a CCTV camera, we follow a man and woman … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Teater Normcore – Odisi Romansa by Ridhwan Saidi