Preview: White, All White by The Necessary Stage

This October, get ready as The Necessary Stage (TNS) presents White, All White, a new play by TNS Associate Artist Deonn Yang, who also directs. Marking TNS’ first main season production helmed entirely by Deonn, White, All White is a life-affirming play that delves into the joys and tensions of family and personal dreams, giving audiences a glimpse into the quiet lives of a family … Continue reading Preview: White, All White by The Necessary Stage

Art What!: Aesop brings the woodlands to the city with olfactory installation Scents of Being

‘Come wander with me, for the moonbeams are bright / On river and forest, o’er mountain and lea.’ Charles Jefferys Marking its second collaboration with the Singapore Night Festival, Aesop presents ‘Scents of Being,’ an olfactory installation that delves into the intricate relationship between scent and self. Running from 23 August to 7 September 2024 at the National Design Centre, this immersive showcase celebrates the … Continue reading Art What!: Aesop brings the woodlands to the city with olfactory installation Scents of Being

An Interview with Shannen Tan and Miriam Cheong on McDonald’s, pain and friendship in ‘Lotus Root Support Group’ (2024)

Back in 2022, fellow theatremakers Shannen Tan and Miriam Cheong found solace and friendship in each other over their shared pain – the fact that both of them suffered from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a common yet often misunderstood endocrine disorder affecting up to 21% of women worldwide. Aiming to find a way to both educate others about the condition, while also sharing their own … Continue reading An Interview with Shannen Tan and Miriam Cheong on McDonald’s, pain and friendship in ‘Lotus Root Support Group’ (2024)

★★★★★ Review: Disgraced (2024) by Singapore Repertory Theatre

Fear and self-loathing in Islamophobic America. There’s a common saying that one of the worst pieces of advice to give to anyone is to ‘just be yourself’. Indeed, as much as a country like the USA posits itself as one that welcomes individualism and uniqueness, there also often seems to be certain OB markers where the moment you step even a little outside of what … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Disgraced (2024) by Singapore Repertory Theatre

★★☆☆☆ Review: National Day Charade by Wild Rice

Meta-commentary on the annual NDP sees how Wild Rice would celebrate National Day, their way. Whether you see it as propaganda or a celebration of nationhood, the annual National Day Parade (NDP) is without a doubt one of the quintessential parts of the Singapore calendar. But how accurate is it, really, of reflecting our lives as Singaporeans, and representing our hopes, dreams and often complicated … Continue reading ★★☆☆☆ Review: National Day Charade by Wild Rice

★★★★★ Review: Wonderland 乐园 dir. Chai Yee Wei

Mark Lee shows off an emotional, career-best performance in this nostalgic independent film about the ties that bind. The idea of an amusement park is a rarity in Singapore today, often relegated to pop-ups during big events, or simply a relic of the past. Imagining it evokes nostalgia, for a simpler time when it was all families had to look forward to, a symbol of … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Wonderland 乐园 dir. Chai Yee Wei

An Interview with Jay Sim and Ellen Chew on the ups, downs and future of London-based Singaporean restaurant ‘Singapulah’

LONDON – While you can still find the odd street food vendor hawking Singapore Noodles, gone are the days where that abomination of a dish served as the sole ‘representative’ of our island city’s cuisine. But while Singaporean food occasionally pops up in the form of snacks or takeaways (like from our friends at Old Chang Kee), there has yet to be a full-fledged Singapore … Continue reading An Interview with Jay Sim and Ellen Chew on the ups, downs and future of London-based Singaporean restaurant ‘Singapulah’

Visual Art: Why Digital Maximalism Is The Antidote To Gallery Fatigue

For decades, the “white cube” has reigned supreme as the default setting for experiencing contemporary art. We have been conditioned to believe that serious art requires silence, neutrality, and vast expanses of empty white wall to be properly understood. The theory suggests that by stripping away all external context, the viewer is left with a pure, unadulterated relationship with the artwork. However, for a generation … Continue reading Visual Art: Why Digital Maximalism Is The Antidote To Gallery Fatigue

Disgraced: An Interview with director Daniel Jenkins, and cast members Ghafir Akbar and Shrey Bhargava

In 2016, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) presented a sold-out run of Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced, gripping audiences with its provocative subject matter, dealing with race relations in a post 9/11 America. Eight years on, SRT is bringing it back for a second run this August, with a brand new cast and creative team, and perhaps, more relevant than ever before. Leading the team … Continue reading Disgraced: An Interview with director Daniel Jenkins, and cast members Ghafir Akbar and Shrey Bhargava

The Most Artsy Coworking Spaces in Singapore Worth Working From

For the creatives, the makers, the dreamers, and everyone who believes their surroundings shape what they make. There is something Singapore’s theatre community understands intuitively that the wider professional world has been slower to accept: the space you inhabit while you work changes the work itself. Set designers know this. Lighting directors know this. Directors who spend months shaping the atmosphere of a room know, … Continue reading The Most Artsy Coworking Spaces in Singapore Worth Working From