★★★★★ Theatre Review: Handle with Care by Ontroerend Goed (Esplanade’s The Studios 2026)

A tender, bewildering piece of participatory theatre where audiences learn to get things right (and wrong) together, revealing us at our most human selves. Performance attended 7 Aug 8pm60 minutes, no intermission In theatre, one would naturally assume that actors are required. There might be a director somewhere in the wings, technicians behind the scenes, a script determining what happens next, and an audience whose … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Handle with Care by Ontroerend Goed (Esplanade’s The Studios 2026)

★★★★☆ Film Review: Mojoku Hilang! dir. Lim Siu Min

Malaysian cow-napping film shows off the rustic beauty of Perlis in this entertaining rom-com anchored by the chemistry of its two charismatic leads. Duration: 139min In the West, Hallmark movies have become something of a meme for their familiar themes and storylines, but there is a reason they don’t mess too much with the formula: it works. Something similar seems to have happened with Mojoku … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Film Review: Mojoku Hilang! dir. Lim Siu Min

Preview: Moonlit City (2026) by Toy Factory

Toy Factory Productions is bringing their musical Moonlit City back to the stage this August, and this time, it’s in English, with a refreshed production that promises to feel bigger, sharper and more emotionally resonant than before. Opening at Victoria Theatre on 14th August 2026, the musical revisits the enduring relationship between Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo through a deeply personal lens, tracing … Continue reading Preview: Moonlit City (2026) by Toy Factory

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Legally Blonde – The Musical by Singapore Repertory Theatre

Led by a sensational Nathania Ong, SRT’s all-Singaporean cast delivers on big vocals, demanding choreography, sharp comedy and an emotional payoff that leaves the audience believing that anything is possible. Performance watched on 31 July, 8pmDuration: 150 minutes (including 20 minute intermission) For all its hot-pink glamour, heels and sorority energy, Legally Blonde – The Musical has always been a show about being underestimated. Elle … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Legally Blonde – The Musical by Singapore Repertory Theatre

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Blind Runner by Mehr Theatre Group and Amir Reza Koohestani

A deceptively simple premise of a husband and wife’s relationship torn apart by imprisonment turns into something much more devastating in the face of political activism. Performance watched on 1 August, 8pmDuration: 60 minutes In Iran, where dissent can turn an ordinary life into one shaped by surveillance, imprisonment and separation, freedom is never simply an abstract ideal. In Iranian theatremaker’s Amir Reza Koohestani’s Blind … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Blind Runner by Mehr Theatre Group and Amir Reza Koohestani

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Samir Veen on participation and co-operation in Ontroerend Goed’s ‘Handle with Care’

When Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed first conceived Handle with Care, they knew almost nothing about the performance itself. There were no actors, no technicians, no script, and not even a clear idea of what would eventually be inside the box that sits at the centre of the stage. What they did know was that they wanted to make something they had never made before. … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Samir Veen on participation and co-operation in Ontroerend Goed’s ‘Handle with Care’

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Fragments of Tuah by Mark Teh and Five Arts Centre

Mesmerising docutheatre production delves into the myth of Malayan national hero Hang Tuah while asking who gets to shape history, and why we continue to believe the stories we inherit. Duration: 90min Mythological figures have long served as vessels for morality, identity and national aspiration. Their stories are repeated until they begin to feel inseparable from the societies that tell them, their contradictions smoothed over … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Fragments of Tuah by Mark Teh and Five Arts Centre

Design: Award-winning Prototype Island exhibition comes home to ArtScience Museum to showcase Singapore design identity

The award-winning exhibition returns from Milan Design Week, revealing that Singapore’s greatest design export isn’t an aesthetic but a relentless culture of questioning, prototyping and care. If you walk into Prototype Island expecting just another typical national design showcase, often stereotyped to a parade of beautifully crafted furniture, sleek consumer products or impeccably finished objects, you’ll probably miss the point. “My curatorial intent was not … Continue reading Design: Award-winning Prototype Island exhibition comes home to ArtScience Museum to showcase Singapore design identity

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Iranian theatremaker Amir Reza Koohestani on surveillance, solidarity and the power of ‘Blind Runner’

Surveillance cameras watch every interaction. A husband visits his imprisoned wife once a week, their conversations becoming increasingly strained under the weight of constant observation. Elsewhere, he agrees to guide a young blind marathon runner through the streets of Paris, discovering that trust, like freedom, is something built one careful step at a time. In Blind Runner, acclaimed Iranian playwright and director Amir Reza Koohestani … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Iranian theatremaker Amir Reza Koohestani on surveillance, solidarity and the power of ‘Blind Runner’

Art: Maria Taniguchi – Afterimage at Singapore Art Museum

There is a temptation to describe Maria Taniguchi’s work as meditative. For nearly two decades, the Filipino artist has devoted herself to painting what appears, at first glance, to be the same image: vast fields of carefully hand-painted rectangles, meticulously built one brushstroke at a time until they resemble endless brick walls. Their monumental scale, subdued palettes and rigorous repetition have often led viewers to … Continue reading Art: Maria Taniguchi – Afterimage at Singapore Art Museum