Salomé. A nameless dancer, wife to Herod the Great, shunned as a symbol of female seduction, and defamed in literature as a vengeful harpy directly responsible for the death of John the Baptist. Director Yaël Farber seeks to reclaim the myth and rid it of misogyny in this new production of the classic myth. This new play reframes Salomé as a victim of patriarchal persecution … Continue reading Review: Salome by The National Theatre
I AM tackles the frenzied, anonymous modern love of Internet dating. Hong Kong, 2017. Much like every other metropolitan city out there, the yuppie citizens spend their days in offices and spend their nights at hip bars and nice restaurants. And like every young, ambitious person, one eventually stops to think: is there more to this life? Meet Jane (Heather Cooper), a typical office drone … Continue reading Review: Love Pings by I AM
be•wilder weren’t kidding when they said their company was all about international cultures and a myriad of backgrounds – their debut show Old Joe’s Fish and Chill features a multiracial cast with a multilingual script and characters with serious history. Set in a dystopian future where immigration has become heavily monitored and countries have been renamed to sound oddly similar to London postcodes, the titular Old Joe’s … Continue reading Review: Old Joe’s Fish and Chill by be•wilder
Laura Turner’s The Buried Moon re-imagines The Tempest‘s Miranda and Caliban as two wayward British teenagers growing up in the Lincolnshire fens in the 2010s. Taking close inspiration from Shakespeare’s text, it’s a setting that works surprisingly well. Framing Miranda and Caliban’s history as a fundamentally tragic one and shedding light on what it potentially might have been, The Buried Moon manages to simultaneously demonize and sympathize with Caliban, while … Continue reading Review: The Buried Moon at the Rose Playhouse
Following the runaway success of the Tony Award winning Spring Awakening was never going to be an easy task, but that is the burden that Whisper House bears. Duncan Sheik’s next musical is considerably shorter and much more contained, with just a cast of six in its two act duration. Whisper House is a somewhat experimental musical. For one thing, its subject matter is a little unexpected – a … Continue reading Review: Whisper House at The Other Palace Theatre
Hailing from Naples in the south of Italy, the world’s oldest opera house Teatro Di San Carlo presented a brilliant performance of Giselle at Mastercard Theatres this weekend. Often considered one of the great classical ballets, Giselle is a technically demanding piece, and dancers who have mastered the role hailed as brilliant in the annals of history. With such prestige to their name, Teatro Di San Carlo did not … Continue reading Review: Giselle by Teatro Di San Carlo
Based on the popular children’s book of the same name by theatre practitioner Zizi Azah, The Esplanade presents a glorious stage adaptation directed by Daniel Jenkins that tingles with creativity with its all star creative team. Spreading the message of acceptance with the simple story of a pair of mismatched socks, Fatimah follows our young heroine with a sunny disposition who dares to be different. When told … Continue reading Review: Fatimah and her Magic Socks by The Esplanade
“If music be the food of love, play on.” The immortal lines mark the beginning of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and in Original Impact’s latest production at the Blue Elephant Theatre, have never rang more true. Director Sam Dunstan’s take on the classic tale of crossdressing and mistaken identity is given a distinctly teenage makeover here, with the play opening to the tropical beats of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ … Continue reading Review: Twelfth Night by Original Impact
First written by Chinese theatre doyen Kuo Pao Kun as a play, Lao Jiu has since seen 2 more revivals in 2005 and 2012, reincarnated as a showstopping musical. This time around, The Theatre Practice returns with a new staging of the hit show, and boy were we glad we managed to catch it. Lao Jiu (Sugie Phua), literally “the ninth child”, is the first and only … Continue reading Review: Laojiu The Musical by The Theatre Practice
Parents, please don’t take your kids to see this show, thinking that it’s as innocent as Sesame Street. It’s not. Robert Askins’ Hand To God is anything but godly, and makes it Singaporean debut with the Singapore Repertory Theatre at last, and will overturn everything you thought you knew about puppets and instill you with a deep fear of your inner demons…or perhaps even the devil himself. … Continue reading Review: Hand To God by Singapore Repertory Theatre
