In London’s (Off) West End 2019: Maggie May at the Finsborough Theatre (Preview)

LONDON – Last seen on the professional stage in London’s Adelphi Theatre in 1964, hit British musical Maggie May is finally set to return to the stage this year. Presented by SDWC productions, the musical, with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart and book by renowned dramatist Alun Owen, Maggie May is a celebration of the working class on Liverpool’s docks in the ’60s. Marking the 20th anniversary since the … Continue reading In London’s (Off) West End 2019: Maggie May at the Finsborough Theatre (Preview)

Huayi Festival 2019: Love Letters by The Nonsensemakers/Nelson Chia & Mia Chee (Review)

Two melodramatic lives, their destinies intertwined by a flurry of love letters. It’s one thing to be married, or married to your job, but quite another to be married to someone who runs a company with you. Such is the case for both The Nonsensemakers (Hong Kong) and Nine Years Theatre (Singapore), run by partners Rensen Chan and Jo Ngai, and Nelson Chia and Mia … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2019: Love Letters by The Nonsensemakers/Nelson Chia & Mia Chee (Review)

Hong Kong 2019: Marriage by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (Preview)

HONG KONG – Every woman can pursue happiness with no regret. That’s the premise of quintuple Hong Kong Drama Award-winning play Marriage, by celebrated Japanese playwright Hashida Sugako, who other works have moved audiences all around the world. Marriage, originally a 1982 television drama before being adapted for the stage the following year, traces the path of women’s self-determination and how they overcome fate. In the Hanada family, a mother and her … Continue reading Hong Kong 2019: Marriage by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (Preview)

Preview: Goddesses of Words – Sarojini Naidu by Grace Kalaiselvi

You were the last one at the office. You were coming back home from a party. You were only 10 years old when it happened. He stared at you throughout your commute and followed you after. He was the friend taking you home. He was your uncle. He. You. You. The stories are many but no two are the same. Inspired by true narratives and … Continue reading Preview: Goddesses of Words – Sarojini Naidu by Grace Kalaiselvi

Teater Kami’s Anak Melayu: An Interview with Cast Member Masturah Oli

This year, Teater Kami celebrates their 30th Anniversary, and starts off their season with a restaging of Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s 1992 play Anak Melayu. Now directed by Adib Kosnan, the play about the rollercoaster lives Malay teenagers lead growing up in Singapore is set to hit hard with its truths, played by a diverse new cast of performers. Of these is performer Masturah Oli, who we last saw … Continue reading Teater Kami’s Anak Melayu: An Interview with Cast Member Masturah Oli

In London’s (Off) West End 2019: Little Death Club presented by Underbelly and Dead Man Label (Preview)

LONDON – Having already made the waves at Edinburgh, multi-award-winning Queen of Weimar punk kabarett Bernie Dieter (star of La Clique) carried her success Down Under and walked away with the ‘Best Cabaret’ weekly award. Now, the darkest, funniest and most debauched variety show this side of the Berlin wall is coming to the Big Smoke, as Little Death Club arrives in town to headline the 2019 … Continue reading In London’s (Off) West End 2019: Little Death Club presented by Underbelly and Dead Man Label (Preview)

Preview: Bette Davis on the Edge presented by Wag the Dog Theatre

While putting up the final touches before announcing their main stage production, Wag the Dog theatre begins 2019 as producers of the Asian premiere of Christine St. John’s Bette Davis on the Edge. In this one woman show, both written and performed by St. John, Bette Davis on the Edge takes audiences to the wee hours of October 31st 1962, a day rife with potential as motion … Continue reading Preview: Bette Davis on the Edge presented by Wag the Dog Theatre

Huayi Festival 2019: That Which Cannot Be Divided (无法被整除) by Bulareyaung Pagarlava & Albert Tiong (Review)

United we stand, divided we fall. Inspired by the concept of prime numbers – numbers indivisible by anything other than themselves and 1 and with no immediately apparent pattern, former Cloud Gate Dance Theatre members Bulareyaung Pagarlava (Taiwan) and Albert Tiong (Singapore) each choreographed a work attempting to unravel the mysteries behind them, showcasing how they may have more application to daily life than we … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2019: That Which Cannot Be Divided (无法被整除) by Bulareyaung Pagarlava & Albert Tiong (Review)

Huayi Festival 2019: The Way of Zhuang Zi (庄子兵法) by Story Works (Review)

Nerve wracking thriller of a play that keeps you guessing every step of the way. Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness. I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. Of the many Chinese philosophers we grew up learning from our scholar of a Chinese teacher … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2019: The Way of Zhuang Zi (庄子兵法) by Story Works (Review)

In London’s (Off) West End 2019: The Institute of Nuts by Matchstick Theatre (Preview)

LONDON – In their second collaboration with Director-Writer team Edwina Strobl and Mark Daniels, Matchstick Theatre presents a brand new otherworldly dark comedy as part of their Spring Season, aimed at showcasing emerging London playwrights in a new performance space in Deptford/New Cross.  Matchstick Theatre welcomes you to The Institute of Nuts, a crazy school-cum-retreat-cum-prison where people’s names are letters and their reasons for being … Continue reading In London’s (Off) West End 2019: The Institute of Nuts by Matchstick Theatre (Preview)