★★★★☆ Review: The Edge of Daybreak dir. Taiki Sakpisit

It’s always darkest before the dawn. Across horror films, the haunted house trope has remained one of the Western world’s strongest. From its humble beginnings as simply a cursed space where visitors and inhabitants meet gruesome ends, the modern haunted house film has evolved to explore how generations of trauma infect the space, becoming a musing on cycles of violence and pain households become ensnared … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Edge of Daybreak dir. Taiki Sakpisit

★★★★☆ Review: Barbarian Invasion dir. Tan Chui Mui

Finding strength and power through film. “When I was younger, film was everything,” says director Roger Woo (Pete Teo), in Malaysian filmmaker Tan Chui Mui’s new film Barbarian Invasion. “Now, everything is film.” In many ways, that’s the quote that encapsulates Barbarian Invasion as a whole, as it considers the thin line between fiction and reality, and the redemptive qualities of performance and film. Playing … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Barbarian Invasion dir. Tan Chui Mui

★★★☆☆ Review: Marma Medai – Theerppu (The Judgement) by Esplanade – Theatres on The Bay

No sin goes unpunished. Way back in the ’60s, M K Narayanan’s Marma Medai was a Tamil radio play series that dramatised thrilling mysteries, often with stone cold killers and grisly murders. As the saying goes, if it bleeds, it leads, and these dark plays found massive popularity back in the day, complete with chilling sound effects, and the ability to invoke fear in all … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Marma Medai – Theerppu (The Judgement) by Esplanade – Theatres on The Bay

★★★★☆ Review: Momotaro and the Magnificent Peach by Wild Rice

Peach perfect end to Wild Rice’s 2021 season. Peaches have always held great symbolic meaning in Asian culture. Not only are they associated with longevity and good health; they have also been said to have the power to ward off evil and misfortune. With the last two chaotic years we’ve had since the start of the pandemic, it seems only right that Wild Rice is … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Momotaro and the Magnificent Peach by Wild Rice

★★★★☆ Review: Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash dir. Edwin

Homage to 80s culture and entertainment laced with wicked sociopolitical commentary. We’re starting off this review by making one thing clear: this is a love story. But as its title suggests, Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash goes far above and beyond that. Drawing together elements as far flung as action, Western and even horror into this genre hodgepodge, this is a film that … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash dir. Edwin

★★★★☆ Review: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Singapore Repertory Theatre

No fear Shakespeare on speed. As the most prolific writer in the English language, with stories that have lasted centuries and plays passed down for generations, it seems fair that most theatregoers should be expected to know of some of his writing. Truth be told however, while most of us can at least vaguely remember the plots of one or two assigned texts from our school … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Singapore Repertory Theatre

★★★★☆ Book Review: And The Award Goes To Sally Bong! by Sebastian Sim

It’s ok to be ordinary in success-driven Singapore. When I read Sebastian Sim’s The Riot Act and Let’s Give It Up For Gimme Lao!, there was no denying that the Epigram Fiction Prize-winning author was deserving of his accolades, having penned two novels that encapsulated the Singaporean experience with wry, laugh out loud humour that touched on all the right political notes, and made light … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Book Review: And The Award Goes To Sally Bong! by Sebastian Sim

★★★★☆ Review: Unmasked by Sharul Channa

Searching for a place to belong amidst the pandemic. Over the last two years, the pandemic has brought out some of our greatest vulnerabilities, not only on a national levels, but even within ourselves as individuals, as we are forced into questioning our identity and our lived spaces. All of that comes to light for one expat, in Sharul Channa’s new play Unmasked. Written and … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Unmasked by Sharul Channa

★★★★☆ Review: _____ Can Change by The Necessary Stage

Using theatre as a framework for diversity of thought. As human beings who have evolved and adapted to our environment over millennia, change is a constant in our lives. But as a consequence of that, should minorities then be expected change, to assimilate and bend to the majority’s will? Restaged for the first time since its premiere in 2010, The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) ______ Can … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: _____ Can Change by The Necessary Stage

Review: Both Sides, Now – Kata-Kata Kita Variety Show by Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative

Learning what it truly means to stay strong in the face of death. For years now, Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative’s Both Sides, Now community programme has been present to reach out to the public, engaging them through the arts as a means of starting a conversation about what it means to live well, and leave well. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, a typical Both … Continue reading Review: Both Sides, Now – Kata-Kata Kita Variety Show by Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative