★★★★★ Theatre Review: Handle with Care by Ontroerend Goed (Esplanade’s The Studios 2026)

A tender, bewildering piece of participatory theatre where audiences learn to get things right (and wrong) together, revealing us at our most human selves. Performance attended 7 Aug 8pm60 minutes, no intermission In theatre, one would naturally assume that actors are required. There might be a director somewhere in the wings, technicians behind the scenes, a script determining what happens next, and an audience whose … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Handle with Care by Ontroerend Goed (Esplanade’s The Studios 2026)

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Samir Veen on participation and co-operation in Ontroerend Goed’s ‘Handle with Care’

When Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed first conceived Handle with Care, they knew almost nothing about the performance itself. There were no actors, no technicians, no script, and not even a clear idea of what would eventually be inside the box that sits at the centre of the stage. What they did know was that they wanted to make something they had never made before. … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Samir Veen on participation and co-operation in Ontroerend Goed’s ‘Handle with Care’

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Fragments of Tuah by Mark Teh and Five Arts Centre

Mesmerising docutheatre production delves into the myth of Malayan national hero Hang Tuah while asking who gets to shape history, and why we continue to believe the stories we inherit. Duration: 90min Mythological figures have long served as vessels for morality, identity and national aspiration. Their stories are repeated until they begin to feel inseparable from the societies that tell them, their contradictions smoothed over … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Fragments of Tuah by Mark Teh and Five Arts Centre

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Mark Teh on retelling legends of national heroes in Five Arts Centre’s ‘Fragments of Tuah’

Hang Tuah has occupied a singular place in the Malaysian imagination for centuries. The legendary warrior appears in school textbooks, literature, films and political speeches, often held up as the embodiment of loyalty, courage and duty. It is precisely because he is so deeply embedded in the national consciousness that theatre-maker Mark Teh never imagined he would make a work about him. “He’s a mythic … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Mark Teh on retelling legends of national heroes in Five Arts Centre’s ‘Fragments of Tuah’

Bakchormeeboy Awards 2025: SG60 brings restagings and reimaginings as theatre grapples with a ‘milestone’ year

It’s been sixty years since Singapore’s independence, a milestone that reminds us how young this country still is, and how much artistic possibility should still lie ahead. Yet 2025 has felt like a strangely uncertain year for theatre, one where our artists have found themselves caught between commemoration and complacency. Not quite an anniversary year, but treated as one nonetheless, it became a season where … Continue reading Bakchormeeboy Awards 2025: SG60 brings restagings and reimaginings as theatre grapples with a ‘milestone’ year

★★★☆☆ Review: Pickle Party by The Theatre Practice

Part educational workshop, part reflection on the past and future of food in Singapore, the latest work by Ang Xiao Ting raises poignant questions but may still need time to ferment. Theatremaker Ang Xiao Ting has always been interested in matters of conservation in consumption, themes which eventually came to manifest in her original creations under The Theatre Practice (Practice), such as her work on … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Pickle Party by The Theatre Practice

The Studios 2025: An Interview with The Theatre Practice on ‘Pickle Party’ and sustainable theatre

How much of a pickle are we in when it comes to sustainability and climate change? It all feels like a bit of a crisis, but in the meantime, the solution just might be…pickling? This September, the Esplanade’s The Studios 2025 rounds off with Pickle Party by The Theatre Practice (Practice), which places the audience at a pickling workshop within a performance. Originally staged as … Continue reading The Studios 2025: An Interview with The Theatre Practice on ‘Pickle Party’ and sustainable theatre

★★★★★ Review: FOOD by Geoff Sobelle

Geoff Sobelle serves up food for thought, elevating the act and art of consumption. Geoff Sobelle is nothing short of a master of theatrical magic and clownery. And considering how skeptical today’s audiences are, and how easy it is to see through most performers’ sleight of hand, that’s high praise for an increasingly rare talent in entertainment. But more than just parlour tricks, Sobelle’s work … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: FOOD by Geoff Sobelle

★★★☆☆ Review: Haribo Kimchi by Jaha Koo / CAMPO

Jaha Koo delivers a whimsical, uplifting show about food and connection in a foreign land. What links a person to their culture? A common answer from many Singaporeans would undoubtedly be food, not only in the tastes, but the scents, atmospheres, and experiences inexplicably tied to them. In that same vein, with Haribo Kimchi, Korean artist Jaha Koo has also found himself turning to food … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Haribo Kimchi by Jaha Koo / CAMPO

The Studios 2025: An Interview with Geoff Sobelle on ‘FOOD’, art, and connection

Do we need what we eat? Do we eat what we need? What does it really cost? In FOOD, American theatremaker Geoff Sobelle returns to Singapore with an invitation to chew on the complexities of consumption, memory, and meaning. Set around an absurdly oversized banquet table, this multi-sensory theatrical experience transforms the act of eating into a ritual of inquiry. Guests are not merely observers … Continue reading The Studios 2025: An Interview with Geoff Sobelle on ‘FOOD’, art, and connection