★★★★☆ Review: The Year of No Return by The Necessary Stage (SIFA 2021)

The climate is changing for the worse – so when will we change for the better? The Year of No Return is possibly one of The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) most ambitious productions yet. Bringing together an international cast, the play tackles the expansive topic of climate change and our efforts to stop it, all while dealing with the new restrictions placed on them by the … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Year of No Return by The Necessary Stage (SIFA 2021)

★★★★☆ Review: The Journey by Scott Silven (SIFA 2021)

Magical storytelling that bringing us closer online. I’m a cynic at heart, and have always known that stage magic is a matter of sleight of hand, misdirection and trickery to pull off an act. And when magic is performed via a digital medium, one cannot help but suspect its ‘authenticity’ even more, given how easy it is to manipulate videos and video feeds. But there’s … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Journey by Scott Silven (SIFA 2021)

★★★☆☆ Review: As Far As Isolation Goes by Tania El Khoury and Basel Zaara (SIFA 2021)

An encounter with a refugee opens our eyes to the human pain behind the conflict. Moving to a new home can be hard. But it’s especially hard for refugees from war-torn nations finding themselves in a strange new land, reeling from the trauma of the past, adapting to their new life, and resisting strangers’ dirty looks and the creeping fear of feeling completely, absolutely alone. … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: As Far As Isolation Goes by Tania El Khoury and Basel Zaara (SIFA 2021)

★★★☆☆ Review: Three Sisters by Nine Years Theatre and SITI Company (SIFA 2021)

Cross-continent, multilingual hybrid adaptation of Chekhov a valiant effort but flawed in execution. Ideally, collaborations between arts companies should produce work that take the very best of each company’s style and elevate the final production to new heights. It is especially exciting to see cross-border collaborations, where the contrasts in artistic philosophy and culture may lead to surprising results. But collaborations are by no means … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Three Sisters by Nine Years Theatre and SITI Company (SIFA 2021)

★★★★☆ Review: Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes by HuM Theatre

How much are your morals worth? Actors have never had it easy. You can choose to be an Artist with a capital A, and continue struggling unless you miraculously become a hit. Or you can dive into the nebulous world of film, take on questionable roles and be labelled a hack or sellout. In HuM Theatre’s newest production, the local company tackles the complications of … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes by HuM Theatre

★★★★☆ Review: Gardens Speak by Tania El Khoury (SIFA 2021)

Planting the seeds of hope in this unique sound installation highlighting the casualties of war. They say that a single death is a tragedy; a million deaths, a statistic. And for countries like Syria, where war has ravaged its citizens for years, the shadow of death is always looming, almost second nature at this point. For a Singaporean who has likely never witnessed or experienced … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Gardens Speak by Tania El Khoury (SIFA 2021)

★★★☆☆ Review: The Curious Case of The Missing Peranakan Treasure by Sight Lines Entertainment, Double Confirm Productions, and Raffles Hotel

Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way. When I was younger, I used to imagine that hotel stays would have been that much more exciting with a little mystery on our hands. After all, I grew up reading Agatha Christie and other mystery novels, priming my imagination with the idea that hotels make the perfect backdrop for a daring detective solving … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: The Curious Case of The Missing Peranakan Treasure by Sight Lines Entertainment, Double Confirm Productions, and Raffles Hotel

★★★★☆ Review: The Commission by Pangdemonium, Wild Rice and SRT (SIFA 2021)

Satirical yet vulnerable as three titans of local theatre take to the stage and get personal. In the immortal words of Macbeth’s three witches: When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning or in rain? Following their unprecedented collaboration on short film The Pitch during the sturm and drang of last year, local artistic directors Gaurav Kripalani (Singapore Repertory Theatre), Ivan Heng (Wild Rice) … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Commission by Pangdemonium, Wild Rice and SRT (SIFA 2021)

★★★★☆ Review: En Route by one step at a time like this (SIFA 2021)

Learn to see the city in a new light. With the lack of leisure travel or commercial flights, it’s little wonder that being cooped up has filled us with yearning for a change of scenery, and the far too common cry of “there’s nothing to do”. But perhaps rather than looking out, it’s more important to turn our gaze inwards, and change our perspective to … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: En Route by one step at a time like this (SIFA 2021)

★★★★☆ Review: I Am Kumar by Dream Academy

Singapore’s drag queen of comedy still reigns supreme. Kumar is synonymous with the Singapore drag scene. There’s rarely been any doubt as to who Kumar is – raunchy, fabulous, and entertaining as heck. So it may come as a surprise that Singapore’s foremost and favourite drag queen’s new show is all about staking his claim and spelling out his identity in no uncertain terms, with … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: I Am Kumar by Dream Academy