Teater Kami’s new Black Box Series opens the door to a wealth of new possibilities and what-ifs. While special effects and huge production elements can be fun, oftentimes, the magic of theatre instead comes from the art of a good, sincere performance. In Teater Kami’s new Black Box series, the Malay theatre company goes back to basics and focuses on showcasing Malay actors in brand … Continue reading Review: Bohong & Janji by Teater Kami
Portrait of a disappearing community told with sincerity and creativity through documentary verbatim theatre. Documentary and verbatim theatre can be a tricky genre to stage, requiring actors to embody and speak on the behalf of interviewees, rather than featuring them as in a documentary film. Particularly when it comes to marginalised groups, verbatim theatre runs the risk of bordering on appropriation, and even exploitation if … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Air by Drama Box
Navigating adulthood and friendships as an aspiring artist in Jonathan Larson’s other musical. Before smash hit musical Rent, Jonathan Larson was very much a struggling composer trying to catch his big break in New York City. Fast approaching 30 years old and saddled with the fear of never making it big in life, Larson’s story is a familiar one to many similar hopeful young artists … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: tick, tick…Boom! by Sight Lines Productions
T.H.E double bill explores themes of transience and extreme opposites. Dance is often seen as an art form that pushes performers to their physical limits, and if it’s one company that knows how to do that while shaping the human form into art in motion, it’s T.H.E Dance Company. Presenting a double bill as part of their 2024 edition of the cont·act Contemporary Dance Festival, … Continue reading Review: Elusive — a double bill by T.H.E Dance Company
Two excerpts that showcase the beauty of contemporary dance against the waterfront and Singapore skyline. T.H.E Dance Company’s Dance at Dusk series has long been a key component of their cont·act Contemporary Dance Festival, making contemporary dance feel accessible for first timers, complete with Grace Lee-Khoo and sign interpreter Shawn ensuring greater inclusivity, while also showing off the technical and creative elements honed to a … Continue reading Review: Dance at Dusk (2024) by T.H.E Dance Company
Part memoir and part epic, Titoudao is a portrait of celebration and grief for the fading wayang scene. How many of us have had a chance to catch a wayang performance in real life, on the streets as originally intended? With the amount of progress and modernisation Singapore has undergone over the years, wayang is but a lost art one can only experience in the … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Titoudao (2024) by Toy Factory
Skilful mask work turning actors into living puppets amidst pseudo-poetic translation of Chinese classic. Cao Xueqin’s Dream of the Red Chamber has long been considered one of the greatest works of Chinese literature, as the novel passes social commentary, criticism, and philosophy over power, hierarchy and morality, as it follows the rise and fall in a family’s fortunes. Adapted countless times for stage and screen … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Dream of the Red Chamber by The Finger Players
Dream Academy highlights the power of a good laugh in latest edition of Happy Ever Laughter. By now, Dream Academy’s Happy Ever Laughter had made quite a name for itself. Each time the stand-up comedy revue makes a return, there’s strong anticipation as the crowds gather for a night of letting go, and allowing themselves to just kick back, relax and well, laugh. This time … Continue reading Review: Happy Ever Laughter 2024 by Dream Academy
Intrusive thoughts during a beach holiday at the end of the world. In our modern world of stresses and being constantly online, how much can we say we can truly detach ourselves from work and take a relaxing holiday? For Lithuanian artists Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė and Lina Lapelytė, it seems that any vacation will be bound to be filled with intrusive thoughts, and unexpectedly, … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Sun & Sea by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė & Lina Lapelytė
Twisted mind games at play in this deliciously dark tour de force of what makes and breaks relationships. In a pressure cooker environment like Singapore, it can become incredibly stressful to live up to the ideals set out by society, whether it’s making it in one’s career, or to get married, have children and construct the image of a perfect happy family. But when the … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Pangdemonium!
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