The Studios 2018: An Interview with Kaylene Tan (In The Silence of Your Heart)

For the second show of Esplanade’s 2018 season of the Studios, spell#7 co-founder and co-artistic director Kaylene Tan returns to Singapore to direct an all new production titled In the Silence of Your Heart. Like Kaylene’s previous works, In The Silence of Your Heart offers an alternative theatre experience, as she subverts and plays with the idea of a monologue. Utilising in-ear audio recordings, audiences become privy … Continue reading The Studios 2018: An Interview with Kaylene Tan (In The Silence of Your Heart)

Lanang: An Interview with Hatch Theatrics

This April, Hatch Theatrics will be closing the latest chapter of their lives. The theatre company will be ending their two year residency with the Malay Heritage Centre with their 9th production, and will be presenting Hafidz Rahman’s Lanang. Prior to its premiere, we spoke to artistic director and Lanang director Faizal Abdullah, general manager Nur Khairiyah (Khai) and Lanang playwright Hafidz Rahman about the process leading up to Lanang and where Hatch might … Continue reading Lanang: An Interview with Hatch Theatrics

Thick Beats for Good Girls: An Interview with Creators Pooja Nansi, Jess Bellamy and Huzir Sulaiman

Jess Bellamy and Pooja Nansi have just completed a day of rehearsals at Checkpoint Theatre in Goodman Arts Centre. Their space is marked out in colourful shades of tape, while a visualisation board consisting of rappers from Nicki Minaj to Kanye West is stuck on a wall. Joined by director and dramaturg Huzir Sulaiman, we’re here to get down and find out about Checkpoint Theatre’s … Continue reading Thick Beats for Good Girls: An Interview with Creators Pooja Nansi, Jess Bellamy and Huzir Sulaiman

Voilah! The French Festival Singapore Returns to Celebrate Innovation and 10 Years of Sing-France Cultural Exchange

In 2009, France and Singapore signed a historic agreement to enhance cultural cooperation. In the years following, both countries have since benefitted from the agreement, seeing increased cultural exchange from both sides. And this year, celebrating 10 years of cultural cooperation and exchange, the annual Voilah! French Festival Singapore returns once more with an all new lineup of over 20 arts and cultural programmes! With a … Continue reading Voilah! The French Festival Singapore Returns to Celebrate Innovation and 10 Years of Sing-France Cultural Exchange

Review:《有时月光》(Sometime Moon) by Toy Factory

Toy Factory’s stellar first production charts the birth and growth of a clan association over the last hundred years. Hokkien is a language that isn’t often associated with grace or beauty, often relegated to slang used in the army or, as is the case with many dialects, seen as a relic of the past. But in Sometime Moon, Toy Factory makes a strong case for convincing audiences … Continue reading Review:《有时月光》(Sometime Moon) by Toy Factory

Review: National Theatre’s The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time by The National Theatre

Style reigns supreme in this technically brilliant adaptation of Mark Haddon’s breakthrough novel. In National Theatre’s The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time, three pieces of chalk are used in every single performance, with two spares on standby. Adrian Sutton’s opening music is counts out a 2-3-5-7 rhythm based off prime number sequences. 115 props are used in the show. Each actor playing Christopher has … Continue reading Review: National Theatre’s The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time by The National Theatre

The Studios 2018: A Good Death (Review)

The hard truths of Faith Ng’s latest play handles mortality firmly and frankly, while still ending on an emotional sting.  As much as we all know that death will come for us one day, it remains an immensely difficult and taboo topic to talk about. Imagine going through that everyday, as a palliative care doctor delicately navigating both the emotional and practical aspects that a … Continue reading The Studios 2018: A Good Death (Review)

The Studios 2018: An Interview with Faith Ng (A Good Death)

The Esplanade’s 2018 season of The Studios begins this week and this time around, present a series of works centering around the theme ‘Between Living and Dying’ , questioning how best to make the most of our limited time on earth. Starting off the season, we have playwright Faith Ng with her latest play A Good Death, marking her first new work since last year’s Whale Fall.  Directed … Continue reading The Studios 2018: An Interview with Faith Ng (A Good Death)

Four Horse Road: An Interview with Kuo Jian Hong

Coming hot on the heels of their epic, multi-national production I came at last to the seas at Huayi 2018, The Theatre Practice (TTP) forges onwards with yet another ambitious production for the second show of 2018 with Four Horse Road, an epic work of immersive, experiential theatre charting the past 150 years of history along Waterloo Street. One of the key reasons why the company was interested … Continue reading Four Horse Road: An Interview with Kuo Jian Hong

Review: Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande by the Welsh National Opera (HKAF 2018)

Debussy’s only opera seethes with delicious darkness and brilliant production value from the Welsh National Opera The Welsh National Opera first staged Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in 2015 to rave reviews, with a particular focus on its intriguing set design and modern take on the opera. And now, with the Hong Kong Arts Festival, they’ve toured it to the far East, complete with most of the original … Continue reading Review: Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande by the Welsh National Opera (HKAF 2018)