★★★★★ Theatre Review: Lao Jiu – The Musical 《老九》音乐剧 (2026) by The Theatre Practice

This definitive Singaporean Chinese musical reckons with the impossible decision between dreams and duty, and more crucially, what it costs to choose your own life in Singapore. First written and staged in 1990 by the late theatre doyen Kuo Pao Kun with The Theatre Practice (Practice), Lao Jiu was a script that was always meant to evolve. Originally a stage play, its eventual transformation into … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Lao Jiu – The Musical 《老九》音乐剧 (2026) by The Theatre Practice

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Constellations by The Winter Players

Across the multiverse, there are highs and lows, but when the stars align, it strikes all the right notes. “Multiverse” may no longer be a novel concept in pop culture, but in Constellations, it becomes something far more intimate than spectacle. Staged by independent theatre company The Winter Players at the KC Arts Centre, this quietly ambitious production distils the vastness of parallel universes into … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Constellations by The Winter Players

★★★★★ Film Review: Amoeba dir. Tan Siyou

Girls just wanna have fun in this sincere, all-too-relatable portrait of confusing, rebellious teenage girlhood in restrictive Singapore. After its sold-out Singapore premiere at the 2026 Singapore International Film Festival, Tan Siyou’s debut feature Amoeba has continued to make the rounds across festivals, and now returns home for a series of screenings at indie cinema Filmhouse. The response has been more than warm, to say … Continue reading ★★★★★ Film Review: Amoeba dir. Tan Siyou

Concert Review: Shanghai Symphony Orchestra In Concert

A historic Singapore debut by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra blends culinary-inspired modernism, Romantic virtuosity, and symphonic grandeur into an evening of vivid contrasts and sustained musical dialogue. There was a palpable sense of anticipation at the Esplanade Concert Hall as audiences gathered for the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s first-ever performance in Singapore. As the final stop of its 2026 Asia-Pacific tour, the evening carried a quiet … Continue reading Concert Review: Shanghai Symphony Orchestra In Concert

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular by Base Entertainment Asia

Spectacle meets soul in epic, transcendent reimagining of the musical theatre classic. Few musicals possess the cultural and emotional magnitude of Les Misérables. From its origins on the West End and Broadway to its global tours and cinematic adaptation, the work of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, drawn from Victor Hugo’s monumental novel, has endured as a defining pillar of musical theatre. In its 40th … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular by Base Entertainment Asia

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Lord of the Flies by Sight Lines Entertainment

Metatheatrical interpretation of Golding’s classic is ambitiously and visually arresting, if occasionally more evocative than incisive. By now, Sight Lines Entertainment has carved out a distinct niche with its pragmatic approach to theatre, balancing original work with canny programming aimed at student audiences, a strategy that ensures both relevance and sustainability in a competitive arts landscape. Their latest offering, a new staging of Lord of … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Lord of the Flies by Sight Lines Entertainment

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Tall Tales – Bananas and Ang Ku Kueh 谈谈: 香蕉与红龟粿 by The Finger Players X Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group

A multiplicity of riotous stories exuberantly told, even if they don’t quite add up. Tall Tales: Bananas & Ang Ku Kuehs holds a delectable premise: a Singapore–Taiwan puppet theatre collaboration drawing on the storytelling spirit of The Decameron, where tales of love, jealousy, greed and mischief multiply across cultures and generations. Directed by Oliver Chong of The Finger Players and Wang Chia-Ming of Shakespeare’s Wild … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Tall Tales – Bananas and Ang Ku Kueh 谈谈: 香蕉与红龟粿 by The Finger Players X Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group

★★★★★ Concert Review: Lea Salonga – Stage, Screen, and Everything in Between at the Esplanade Theatre

A masterclass in grace and storytelling—Lea Salonga returns to Singapore and reminds us exactly why she remains musical theatre royalty. After more than a decade away from the Esplanade Theatre stage, Lea Salonga’s return to Singapore feels nothing short of momentous. Bringing her Stage, Screen & Everything In Between concert to our shores, Salonga presents a sweeping, deeply personal retrospective of a career that has … Continue reading ★★★★★ Concert Review: Lea Salonga – Stage, Screen, and Everything in Between at the Esplanade Theatre

★★★★★ Theatre Review: God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》by Nine Years Theatre

Polite company quickly gives way to violent, yet cathartic truth in Nine Years Theatre’s God of Carnage. It begins, as so many civilised disasters do, with good intentions. A carefully drafted statement, coffee and cake, and adults determined to behave. In Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage, politeness is not resolution but provocation, and in Nine Years Theatre’s staging in Mandarin, that provocation unfolds with a … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》by Nine Years Theatre

Concert Review: Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert by Ding Yi Music Company

The Lunar New Year is a time of reunion, celebration, and hopeful beginnings. At the Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert, Ding Yi Music Company ushered in the festive season with warmth, vitality, and musical flair. Presented in collaboration with the China Cultural Centre in Singapore, the evening brought together Ding Yi’s musicians alongside guest artists from Hong Kong’s Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble and … Continue reading Concert Review: Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert by Ding Yi Music Company