The Banter: An Interview with Adrian, Tracie, and Zachary Pang (Pangdemonium’s The Son)

It’s not every day that you get a face-to-face interview with the people behind critically-acclaimed local theatre company Pangdemonium! Run by husband and wife super team Adrian and Tracie Pang, 2020 marks a big year for Singapore’s most ‘ass-kicking’ theatre company, as they celebrate their milestone 10th anniversary. “There’s a lot of pressure to plan the entire season by the previous September, but we have … Continue reading The Banter: An Interview with Adrian, Tracie, and Zachary Pang (Pangdemonium’s The Son)

Preview: The Son by Pangdemonium!

Ass-kicking theatre company Pangdemonium! is back this February to start their 10th anniversary on the scene with Florian Zeller’s The Son (translated by Christopher Hampton). Following on from their sold-out production of Zeller’s The Father in 2018, The Son shifts the focus from mental illness in the aged to mental illness in the young, much like how they started with Late Company in 2019, which dealt with a teenage suicide. … Continue reading Preview: The Son by Pangdemonium!

Review: Crazy Christmas 2019 – Crazy Grinch Asians by Dream Academy

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 17/12/19) Dream Academy’s A-Team come together for a festive variety show to do what they do best – having fun, spreading joy and laughter. If it’s one company that knows how to play to their strengths, it’s Dream Academy. Following a four year hiatus since its last edition in 2015, the local theatre company has triumphantly brought back their crowd-pleasing Crazy Christmas once again, … Continue reading Review: Crazy Christmas 2019 – Crazy Grinch Asians by Dream Academy

Review: Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment, Presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 28/11/19) Reimagined version of Sondheim’s macabre musical thriller a refreshing take on an oft-forgotten classic, with Broadway star Lea Salonga a highlight.   In the Victorian era, penny dreadfuls were some of the more popular forms of entertainment, a serialised form of literature that derives its name from how every issue would cost just one penny. As for the ‘dreadful’ portion, well, that … Continue reading Review: Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment, Presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre

God, That’s Good!: An Interview with Lea Salonga and Jett Pangan, Stars of Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, it’s a wonder that the Stephen Sondheim musical thriller has never before been brought to Singapore. Thankfully, Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group and the Singapore Repertory Theatre are here to resolve that, as Sweeney Todd hits the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands for a two week run, fresh from a critically-acclaimed run in Manila. Beyond the fact that it’ll be making … Continue reading God, That’s Good!: An Interview with Lea Salonga and Jett Pangan, Stars of Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Toy Factory’s The Wright Stuff Festival 2019: The Puppet King (玩具王) by Titus Yim

★☆☆☆☆ (Attended 2/11/19, Matinee) Final production of The Wright Stuff 2019 meanders in its exploration of existentialism.  While the characters of Pixar’s Toy Story have always dealt with inherent struggles surrounding ideas of abandonment and purpose, none of the ever faced these ideas head-on, at least, not with quite as much darkness as the one infused into Titus Yim’s The Puppet King. Directed by Renee Chua, The Puppet King is set … Continue reading Toy Factory’s The Wright Stuff Festival 2019: The Puppet King (玩具王) by Titus Yim

Review: Lie With Me by Intercultural Theatre Institute

★★☆☆☆ (Attended 7/11/19) Graduating show from latest batch of ITI students a modern exploration of human relationships, but is marred by actors getting lost in iffy chemistry and a dragged out pace. Taking inspiration from Arthur Schnitzler’s 1897 play Reigen (La Ronde), Kaite O’Reilly’s Lie With Me was originally written for a group of graduating theatre students from London’s LAMDA in 2017, and has now been adapted for the … Continue reading Review: Lie With Me by Intercultural Theatre Institute

Review: A Fiend’s Diary by The Finger Players

Powerful work that highlights the meaninglessness and absurdity in everyday living.  How do we recover from a traumatic incident? For artist and theatremaker Oliver Chong, the answer was to take a break, stepping down from his position as a Resident Director at The Finger Players and plunging himself headlong into absurdism and belief in the inherent purposelessness and meaninglessness of life amidst a chaotic universe. … Continue reading Review: A Fiend’s Diary by The Finger Players

Toy Factory’s The Wright Stuff Festival 2019: Random Access Memory by Mark Cheong (Review)

Techno thriller collides with family drama and spells the future of humanity.  What are humans if not an organic computer? With Mark Cheong’s Random Access Memory, the age-old question of what it means to be human is explored as a group of anthropomorphic computer parts attempt to resolve over the course of the 75-minute play. Directed by Stanley Seah, Random Access Memory feels a little like a cross between … Continue reading Toy Factory’s The Wright Stuff Festival 2019: Random Access Memory by Mark Cheong (Review)

Preview: Lie With Me by Intercultural Theatre Institute

The latest batch of students from Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) is just about ready to graduate,  but before they do, they’ll be presenting one last show, with the Asian premiere of Lie With Me by award-winning playwright Kaite O’Reilly this November at the Esplanade Theatre Studio. Directed by internationally renowned director Phillip Zarrilli, Lie With Me looks at contemporary life in Singapore through glimpses into the lives … Continue reading Preview: Lie With Me by Intercultural Theatre Institute