Review: Sensing the Dark (Esplanade’s Flipside 2018)

Darkness feels like an old friend in this concert with a twist.  Directed by Julian Wong with vocal direction by Irene Jansen, Sensing the Dark is a concert with a twist – the musicians and audience members are clothed under a blanket of darkness, initially with almost no light illuminating them as they begin to play. We’re not even privy to seeing their faces before the show … Continue reading Review: Sensing the Dark (Esplanade’s Flipside 2018)

100 and 100 More Festival: Into The Blue Forest (Review)

An immersive, interactive meditation on solitude and friendship opens the inaugural 100 and 100 More Festival Jeffrey Tan’s Into The Blue Forest charts a day in the life of an ordinary, old tree (Beatrice Chien) as she encounters flora and fauna living in the forest as they interact with her, from to a wisecracking spider all the way to a sly snake. Midway through, she chances … Continue reading 100 and 100 More Festival: Into The Blue Forest (Review)

Review: And Suddenly I Disappear – The Singapore ‘d’ Monologues by Access Path Productions

The deaf and disabled take to the stage in the world premiere of the first multilingual, intercultural, deaf culture and disability arts theatre project created between the UK and Singapore “This body is dangerous,” proclaims disabled performer Daniel Bawthan proudly. “Why should we need a cure?” It seems almost unthinkable that in the liberal world of 2018, the deaf and disabled are still discriminated against even … Continue reading Review: And Suddenly I Disappear – The Singapore ‘d’ Monologues by Access Path Productions

Preview: OFFSTAGE by Emergency Stairs

Following their production of new work Einstein in the Carpark at the Huayi festival earlier this year, experimental theatre company Emergency Stairs welcomes audiences into their home in an industrial estate in Mattar as they present OFFSTAGE. Staged by members of Emergency Stairs’ training arm, Emergency Shelter, OFFSTAGE is an all new work that examines the various roles behind the scenes of every theatre production. From the creative team of … Continue reading Preview: OFFSTAGE by Emergency Stairs

Review: Pissed Julie (茱莉小解) by Nine Years Theatre

Strindberg’s classic is re-appropriated to complicate issues of identity and the mutability of class in this new adaptation. In watching Nelson Chia’s adaptation of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, there’s a scene from late animator Satoshi Kon’s film Paprika that came to mind: in the opening sequence, we see the title character’s reflection split across multiple mirrors, each displaying a different expression. In a similar way, Nelson has made the unusual choice … Continue reading Review: Pissed Julie (茱莉小解) by Nine Years Theatre

Review: Sides 2018 by Frontier Danceland

A triple bill of original, contemporary choreographies.  Last weekend, local contemporary dance company Frontier Danceland presented their annual mid-year showcase of works, with a triple bill of new, original choreographies titled SIDES 2018. In SIDES 2018, audiences spectated upon the three vastly different styles by various international choreographers – English Richard Chappell and local company artist Faye Tan’s The colour of there seen from here, Israeli Shahar Binyamini’s PARADISO, and French … Continue reading Review: Sides 2018 by Frontier Danceland

Review: La Voix Humaine by Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Heartbreak expresses itself through dropped calls and missed connections.  Irrevocably changing the way humans live and communicate, the phone has simultaneously enabled and limited the way in which we interact with one another over the years, due to our increasing reliance on it for human connection. It’s no wonder then that it continues to be the subject of art and music, from Adele’s “Hello” to Francis … Continue reading Review: La Voix Humaine by Singapore Symphony Orchestra

SIFA 2018: An Enemy of the People by Schaubühne Berlin (Review)

A contemporary version of Ibsen’s play effectively brings out its newfound urgency and relevance in our crazy, messed up modern world. Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People was initially considered one of his minor works in his lifetime. But in recent years, the play has seen an increasing number of stagings and new interpretations, and come to represent a disturbingly prescient rallying cry for the uncertain, messy … Continue reading SIFA 2018: An Enemy of the People by Schaubühne Berlin (Review)

Review: Legally Blonde The Musical presented by BASE Entertainment Asia

Bold, blonde ambition makes this musical a hit. For all its giddy pinkness and improbable plot, there’s something special at the heart of Legally Blonde that makes it such a fantastic watch from start to finish. First opening on Broadway over 10 years ago, there’s a surprising relevance to this show about a sorority president turned lawyer that elevates it far beyond its chick flick roots … Continue reading Review: Legally Blonde The Musical presented by BASE Entertainment Asia

Review: The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake (co-presented by Sliding Doors Entertainment and Theatre Tours International)

The Russians know best how to present a timeless classic.  There are few ballets that have as much staying power, infinite mystery and enchantment as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, and it stands to reason that there must have been something magical in its original staging that’s captured the hearts of so many fans ever since it first opened in Russia in 1877. So it is that the St Petersburg … Continue reading Review: The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake (co-presented by Sliding Doors Entertainment and Theatre Tours International)