Swansong for Frontier Danceland takes a critical look at its history, and ends on a note of joy. As the artistic director and co-founder of Frontier Danceland, Low Mei Yoke has seen the contemporary dance company through every single one of its ups and downs for over 30 years now. From its humble beginnings as a group of hobbyist dancers to becoming one of Singapore’s … Continue reading Review: MILIEU 2023 by Frontier Danceland
Short, sharp vignettes from Waterloo Street’s history leave a lasting impact and a desire to go back. Restagings of theatre productions in Singapore are hard to come by, even more so for complicated works that require extensive logistics and planning. So when The Theatre Practice’s (Practice) previous staging of Four Horse Road was cut short due to the circuit breaker in 2020, it seemed like … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Four Horse Road 四马路 (2023) by The Theatre Practice
He gives me ashes for beauty. This is a love story. Or at least a story about love. Written by Amanda Chong and directed by Pam Oei, Psychobitch is a dramatic monologue centering on hotshot broadcast journalist Anya Samuel. Played by Sindhura Kalidas, Anya is introduced to us with an odd premise – she’s been accused by her fiancé, tech bro Galven Low, of being … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Psychobitch by Wild Rice
The more you know, the more fragile things seem to be. “We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the bottom of the ocean.” That’s the now cliché, but still very true line you’ll hear in almost every documentary about the vast blue sea, and all the mystery that lies beneath it. But in ending off their Mining Trilogy docu-theatre … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Out of the Blue by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)
A modern parable of man’s insatiable greed and the destruction left in its wake. Marking the second part of their Mining Trilogy series, Pleasant Island turns theatremakers Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere’s attention to the tiny island republic of Nauru. Surrounded entirely by water in the middle of Micronesia, Nauru’s fascinating history makes for a riveting case study, literally once being the richest island in … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Pleasant Island by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)
It’s always good to look at the story from a different perspective. The truth is rarely pure and never simple, and often, it takes a medley of voices and points of view to get the full picture. Particularly when living in an internet age, where perspectives are often skewed and we live in echo chambers, it becomes more important than ever to consider events with … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Mining Stories by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)
Facing one’s fears and trauma to tell the story of survival. There are some things in life that are best left unsaid. But there are also some things that should absolutely be made known, the key parts of one’s own personal history that when spoken aloud, begins a process of healing by acknowledging and facing these debilitating traumas head-on. That is the newfangled methodology young … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Unforgotten The Musical by Musical Theatre Limited
The anatomy of tragedy, seen from multiple angles. So much of the time, Singaporeans are so focused on looking out for themselves, that they become blindsided to the darker, more problematic aspects of society, so much that they aren’t even aware when others are suffering in silence. That’s something that starts as young as one’s school days, and the earlier one becomes aware of it, … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Re:Assembly by Drama Box
Stay gold as Broadway Beng celebrates his 50th birthday. 50 is the new 40, at least according to Sebastian Tan, better known by his stage persona Broadway Beng. Playing the iconic character for 17 years now, Sebastian has returned to celebrate his 50th birthday with revue show Broadway Beng: Growing gOLD, containing his signature mix of Hokkien songs and musical numbers and charisma in spades. … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Broadway Beng – Growing gOLD by Dream Academy
by Robyn Ong LONDON – In the Royal Court Theatre’s newest offering, directed by Vicky Featherstone, Michael Wynne’s Cuckoo juxtaposes the ordinary lives of four generations of women with an inescapable sense of existential doom, exploring themes of digital alienation and intergenerational discontent. Cuckoo is at its heart a kitchen sink drama, with most of the action taking place in widowed grandmother Doreen’s Birkenhead living … Continue reading Review: Cuckoo at The Royal Court Theatre (London)
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