The Studios 2017: With/Out (Review)

How do you remember a life? In 1999, The Necessary Stage presented Completely With/Out Character, where Singapore’s first openly HIV-positive man, Paddy Chew, performed a true, heartfelt monologue about his life, unfortunately passing away a few months after the end of the production. For those who have never heard of Paddy Chew however, his story remains unknown to them, and the chance to feel and experience it … Continue reading The Studios 2017: With/Out (Review)

Review: Normal by Checkpoint Theatre

“Would you say that these works have any merit as opposed to… Shakespeare?” As if in response to such a challenge from a line in the play, Checkpoint Theatre opens its 15th anniversary season confidently with Faith Ng’s Normal. Last staged in 2015, the play revolves around the lives of two schoolgirls from the fictional Trinity Girls School. Feeling straitjacketed and lagging behind in the … Continue reading Review: Normal by Checkpoint Theatre

Preview: Live Shows from VizPro in May!

This May, VizPro is proud to present three blockbuster shows for audiences of all kinds – from the musical theatre fanatic, the local comedy lover and even kids, just in time for the school holidays. All three shows are on at Mediacorp’s MES Theatre, check them out below: A Night at The Musical with Three Phantoms (12 & 13 May 2017) If you’re a fan … Continue reading Preview: Live Shows from VizPro in May!

Preview: La Cage Aux Folles by W!ld Rice

W!ld Rice is starting off the year with a bang, with a restaging of Harvey Fierstein’s La Cage Aux Folles, last staged at the Esplanade by W!ld Rice in 2012. Winning the 2013 Life! Theatre Award for Production of the Year, La Cage will once again feature Ivan Heng in the lead role as Albin – a family man by day, lascivious drag extraordinaire Zaza by night, … Continue reading Preview: La Cage Aux Folles by W!ld Rice

Preview: With/Out [The Studios 2017]

In 1999, The Necessary Stage worked with Singapore’s first openly HIV-positive person Paddy Chew to devise a monologue titled Completely With/Out Character, depicting Paddy’s experiences. Though well received, Paddy passed on a few months after the production, and few works since have so openly dealt with the condition of living with HIV. More than a decade later, Loo Zihan revisits the work, reinterpreting Paddy’s monologue and reconceptualising the … Continue reading Preview: With/Out [The Studios 2017]

Review: Rounds by Resuscitate Theatre

There’s a moment in Rounds when two junior doctors sit down on a couch in front of the TV, and rather tongue-in-cheeked, watch Grey’s Anatomy while commenting on how the doctors never seem to wash their hands. A TV medical drama this is not, and inspired by real interviews conducted with junior doctors working for the NHS, Rounds was created specifically to address the many issues doctors face in … Continue reading Review: Rounds by Resuscitate Theatre

Review: Fundamentally Happy by Nine Years Theatre [Studios 2017]

Wait a minute, a collaboration between Nine Years Theatre and Haresh Sharma? You didn’t just misread that. First presented in 2006 by The Necessary Stage in its original English language, Fundamentally Happy has since bagged Best Production and Best Original Script at the 2007 ST Life Theatre Awards and is still making its rounds on the big screen via the 2015 film adaptation by 13 … Continue reading Review: Fundamentally Happy by Nine Years Theatre [Studios 2017]

Review: Ugly Lies The Bone by National Theatre

Virtual reality is one of those fascinating pieces of technology that still hasn’t quite fully found its footing yet, still feeling very much like a sci-fi fantasy. Recent shows like Black Mirror and The Nether have taken to attempting to incorporate it into a key part of their narrative, to varying degrees of success. Lindsey Ferrentino’s Ugly Lies The Bone is the latest show to do just that, and in … Continue reading Review: Ugly Lies The Bone by National Theatre

Review: Family Secrets by The Necessary Stage

From the schoolyard to a dementia day care center- The Necessary Stage has definitely been busy! In addition to their recent production of the classic Those Who Can’t, Teach, TNS continues its 30th anniversary celebrations during that very same weekend with Family Secrets, a Theatre For Seniors double-bill centered around the elderly and their families. In this restaging, Cultural Medallion winner and playwright Haresh Sharma … Continue reading Review: Family Secrets by The Necessary Stage

Part 1 – Preview: Tropicana The Musical

The 60s were a sexy, exciting time, as evidenced by Hairspray. But have you ever wondered just how fabulous things were in Singapore? In one of the biggest local productions since W!ld Rice’s Hotel, Tropicana brings together some of Singapore’s very best talent from the arts world to create a bang up period musical that’s bound to set hearts flutter and pine with nostalgia for the swingin’ 60s. … Continue reading Part 1 – Preview: Tropicana The Musical