M1SFF 2018 Previews Part 3: Questioning Perfection and the Patriarchal Gaze

In the final part of our previews for the 2018 M1 Singapore Fringe Fest, we look at four works that tackle the complexities of the female form and the emphasis on female beauty. These pieces question the validity of succumbing to the patriarchal gaze and reject the emphasis on traditional ‘aesthetic beauty’, as they bring alternative takes on femininity across age and history. Read our … Continue reading M1SFF 2018 Previews Part 3: Questioning Perfection and the Patriarchal Gaze

M1SFF 2018 Previews Part 1: Battling Societal Influences and Pressures

The annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival kicks off this year with an all new theme, as artistic director Sean Tobin takes it in a new direction – celebrating some of the most influential Singapore artists and taking inspiration from their most iconic works. In 2018, this theme begins with artist Amanda Heng and her seminal work Let’s Walk, created in 1999 as a response to women losing … Continue reading M1SFF 2018 Previews Part 1: Battling Societal Influences and Pressures

Review: Lemmings and The Wedding Pig by The Second Breakfast Company

Staging new scripts can be daunting, and even more so when these scripts mark their writers’ stage debuts. But in The Second Breakfast Company’s second outing, they’re going big and presenting an ambitious double bill of two completely new plays, both of which tackle mature topics beyond their young writers’ ages, and are promising starts should they choose to continue down this route in the future. The … Continue reading Review: Lemmings and The Wedding Pig by The Second Breakfast Company

Preview: Lemmings and The Wedding Pig by The Second Breakfast Company

The Second Breakfast Company (2BCo) made a splash with their debut, sold out production last year of Leow Puay Tin’s Family, and the young, up and coming theatre company seems to know exactly what direction they’ll be taking with them into the future (they already have their 2018 season more or less planned out too!). Confidently forging ahead in their second year with a strong focus … Continue reading Preview: Lemmings and The Wedding Pig by The Second Breakfast Company

Review: Who’s Next Door? by Tapestry Playback Theatre (presented by Singapore Kindness Movement)

This week, in an effort to encourage increased interaction between neighbours in the hope of a better neighbourhood and society, The Singapore Kindness Movement presents Who’s Next Door? – a playback theatre piece encouraging audience members to speak share their own stories and experiences growing up in their respective neighbourhoods. Playing at the Centre 42 Black Box to the public on 24th October, while reaching out to … Continue reading Review: Who’s Next Door? by Tapestry Playback Theatre (presented by Singapore Kindness Movement)

Review: Hot Pot Talk – Theatre and the Arts

“I had a conversation recently,” says Adib Kosnan. The thirteen member strong audience shifts around to indicate how much they agree with the statement (most do). “I had a good conversation recently,” Adib continues. This modifier divides the audience. Some decide to stay put at the high chairs, agreeing with the statement, others head to the stools, disagreeing, and the rest move over to the bench, indicating … Continue reading Review: Hot Pot Talk – Theatre and the Arts

Preview: Hot Pot Talk – Theatre and the Arts

This September, get ready for a truly unique theatrical experience with Hot Pot Talk: Theatre and the Arts. Conceptualized by Chong Gua Kee, and facilitated by arts practitioners Chang Ting Wei, Adib Kosnan and Shaiful Risan, Hot Pot Talk takes the form of interactive theatre and seeks to bridge the gap between arts practitioners and everyday, non-theatre going folk. In Hot Pot Talk, worlds will collide as artists meet … Continue reading Preview: Hot Pot Talk – Theatre and the Arts

Review: The Little Child by Short One Player Theater

Puppet theatre often gets saddled with the assumption that it’s meant for children. But at The Little Child, Taiwanese theatre company Short One Player Theater proves that puppetry can tackle some of the most difficult topics and make them accessible to both kids and adults. The Little Child was inspired by director Wei-Chun Chan’s experiences visiting his comatose father in hospital as a child. Using the memory … Continue reading Review: The Little Child by Short One Player Theater

Review: The Seven Silences – Anger by approaching Theatre (M1 Chinese Theatre Festival 2017)

Based off a novel by Hong Kong writer Wong Bik Wan, Taiwanese theatre company approaching Theatre presents The Seven Silences: Anger, focusing on the lives of a group of downtrodden members from the lower depths of society as they live out their horrifying, unimaginably painful lives from day to day. The Seven Silences: Anger is a dark, gritty work that scratches at audience members’ skin with its unabashed, … Continue reading Review: The Seven Silences – Anger by approaching Theatre (M1 Chinese Theatre Festival 2017)

Review: Deaf by Split Productions

In moulding the future of our nation, have we forgotten that our children are only human too? Using abstract, physical theatre, Split Productions’ latest piece Deaf is a bold attempt to bring up and discuss such issues with the education system and society as a whole, taking its name from how students’ cries for help too often fall on deaf ears. Written by and directed by … Continue reading Review: Deaf by Split Productions