★★★☆☆ Book Review: The Good Guys by Darren Chen

Thrilling mystery of a superhero novel, with potential for this first-time author. While many of us have cheered hardest at scenes of superpowered human beings locked in mortal combat, pitting super strength against elemental might, it has always been the stories of heroes wrestling with their inner demons that have stuck with us the longest. There’s good reason why Alan Moore’s gritty, noir-inspired Watchmen has been … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Book Review: The Good Guys by Darren Chen

Review: Reawakening Cultural Memories by T.H.E Dance Company

Bringing contemporary dance to the Eastern heartlands.  Thanks to its reputation of being ‘hard to understand’, contemporary dance isn’t exactly the easiest thing to bring to the masses. But one company has dared to try, as T.H.E Dance Company presented Reawakening Cultural Memories at Our Tampines Hub last week. Playing at the Festive Arts Theatre, Reawakening Cultural Memories is primarily aimed at exposing the heartlands to the … Continue reading Review: Reawakening Cultural Memories by T.H.E Dance Company

Review: subTITLED 1.0 by Bridging the Gap

Metatheatrical performance blurs lines between rehearsal and performance, and our ability to see the big picture.  Written by A Yagnya and directed by Alvin Tan, new company Bridging the Gap makes their debut with subTITLED 1.0. Described as ‘exploring the intertwining stories of three women’, we watch as they each grapple with their choices when faced with the execution of a man for drug trafficking. … Continue reading Review: subTITLED 1.0 by Bridging the Gap

★★★★☆ Book Review: Children of the Ark by Teo Xue Shen

Asian-inspired teen sci-fi fantasy has Xue Shen finding his voice and in his element. In 2017, author Teo Xue Shen burst onto the literary scene with his debut novel 18 Walls, appearing on the longlist for the 2017 Epigram Books Fiction Prize and making him the youngest author to have been nominated for the prize. It was clear however, that the writing at the point … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Book Review: Children of the Ark by Teo Xue Shen

★★★★☆ Book Review: Mr Tino (Volume 2) by Russell Molina and Mikey Marchan

A dramatic conclusion to a bold take on the superhero genre. Like any good comic series, volume 1 of Russell Molina’s Mr Tino left us on a cliffhanger, a shock death that leaves our titular hero devastated by loss. So of course, we were ready to dive right into volume 2, where we’d hurtle towards the end of Mr Tino’s series, and see if he finally … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Book Review: Mr Tino (Volume 2) by Russell Molina and Mikey Marchan

Review: The Rishi Report Live by Rishi Budhrani

Bringing you hilarious ‘live’ coverage of the latest news. In a year that has seen too much sad news plague our screens, it takes a certain special someone to lighten that mood by directly addressing those headlines – with humour and heart. That someone happens to be comedian Rishi Budhrani, who started his online video series The Rishi Report last April. But with live shows … Continue reading Review: The Rishi Report Live by Rishi Budhrani

★★★★☆ Review: Offstage 3.0 by Emergency Stairs

Unpacking the absurdity of the arts scene, and the need to keep pushing at our invisible walls. Even before forming Emergency Stairs, Liu Xiaoyi has always been interested in challenging the norm, and provoking thought by asking difficult questions. With his Offstage series of work, he’s managed to put the results of those discussions into performance, reimagining how much importance we ascribe to offstage roles, … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Offstage 3.0 by Emergency Stairs

Review: A Grand Tour for Winds by re:Sound Collective

A welcome return for wind instruments onstage. For the past year, wind instruments have been unable to take to the stage due to the increased restrictions on live performance. So to have them onstage again is certainly cause for celebrating. Kicking off their 2021 season, re:Sound Collective presented a “Grand Tour” of wind quintet music, featuring works by Franz Danzi, Jacques Ibert and Carl Nielsen … Continue reading Review: A Grand Tour for Winds by re:Sound Collective

★★★★☆ Review: Supernova dir. Harry Macqueen

Look to the stars to guide you. While Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci have both played gay characters across their illustrious careers, never have they starred in a film together as lovers. All that changes with Harry Macqueen’s Supernova, where the two play a couple who go on a life-changing road trip. Like its title connotes, the film opens with a shot of stars in the … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Supernova dir. Harry Macqueen

★★★★☆ Review: 王命 Oedipus by Nine Years Theatre

Pride and politics. It’s hard to imagine that a Greek play from 429 BC would have any relevance in modern day Singapore, but as Nine Years Theatre has shown time and again, there is good reason why the classics are still read even today. Directed and adapted by Cherilyn Woo (and translated to Mandarin by Huang Suhuai), Nine Years Theare (NYT) opens their 2021 season … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: 王命 Oedipus by Nine Years Theatre