but precisely what is the purpose of this piece? Adapted from a collage of texts by Haresh Sharma, precise purpose of being broken presents 9 excerpts from the award-winning playwright’s most obscure texts, some of which have never been published or even performed. Directed and conceptualized by Koh Wan Ching, the multi-lingual movement work presents a collection of varied characters who are each broken in their own … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: precise purpose of being broken by Koh Wan Ching (Review)

A Definitive, Alternative, Reclaimed Narrative of a Native? In a decidedly different version from the one staged by Teater Ekamatra in 2016, Nabilah Said’s ANGKAT gets a new lease of life with this brand new script and production directed by Noor Effendy Ibrahim. ANGKAT retains two characters from its previous rendition – tudung makcik Mak (Moli Mohter) and her adopted daughter, the beautiful and distinctly ‘ang moh’ Salma (Shafiqhah … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: ANGKAT – A Definitive, Alternative, Reclaimed Narrative of a Native by Nabilah Said and Noor Effendy Ibrahim (Review)

Memory can be a fishy thing. Let’s get this straight right off the bat – Above the Mealy-mouthed Sea is an odd kettle of fish. The premise is simple enough – emerging from a four panel frame with a hole resembling a black silhouette (perhaps representative of the holes in our memories), performance poet Jemima Foxtrot plays herself, recalling going up to a pub in Somerset, taking … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: Above the Mealy-Mouthed Sea by Unholy Mess (Review)

For most readers, the word ‘catamite’ is likely to be an unfamiliar one. To unpack its meaning, one would have to go all the way back to ancient Greece, where it originated. The archaic word comes from ‘Ganymede’, a word that doubled as the name of the most beautiful mortal man in Greek mythology. With its original meaning referring to the pubescent boys involved in … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: An Interview with Loo Zihan, Creator of Catamite (Preview)

Colourful adventure that lacks purpose. Xenophobia is one of the bigger issues that has plagued Singapore in recent years, with continually increasing rates of anti-foreigner sentiment rearing its ugly head. For youth theatre company Patch & Punnet, it’s prime material for their newest production – a fantastical, thinly veiled allegory for Singapore and the assumed troubles that foreigners go through in living here. In The … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: The Adventures of Abhijeet by Patch & Punnet (Review)

Sailing an emotional ship to wreck. Directed by Soultari Amin Farid, choreographed by Norhaizad Adam and with a script by Nabilah Said, yesterday it rained salt is perhaps the most salient culmination of Bhumi Collective’s ethos yet, combining text, dance and performance to create a work rooted in themes of identity. Primarily a movement piece, yesterday it rained salt is an ethereal performance loosely telling the story of Azman (played … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: yesterday it rained salt by Bhumi Collective (Review)

Doctors get sad too.  For a performance dealing with doctors and depression, it’s remarkable how clinical New Perspectives’ A Fortunate Man is; beyond the actual waiting room-like setup complete with plastic chairs, our hosts tell us exactly how many acts this is going to take, and reveal how the book will end with the suicide of our protagonist, English country doctor Dr John Sassall. Written and directed by … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: A Fortunate Man by New Perspectives (Review)

Arranging for our interview at the iconic Foyle’s bookstore on Tottenham Court Road in London couldn’t be more appropriate. Jemima Foxtrot, one half of Unholy Mess is, after all, a performance poet, and words, naturally, become a tool in her hands. Arriving in Singapore next week, Jemima will be making her debut with Above the Mealy-mouthed Sea at the 2019 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, a … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: An Interview with Jemima Foxtrot of Unholy Mess (Preview)

Black never goes out of style. When one thinks of the cultural makeup of Singapore, rarely does Africa come to mind, let alone daily conversation. Yet, as Sharon Frese, Ng Yi-Sheng and Irfan Kasban reveal in their performance lecture Ayer Hitam, Singapore has plenty of surprising ties to the continent, as they uncover the hidden black history and African disapora of our island home. As … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: Ayer Hitam by Sharon Frese, Ng Yi-Sheng and Irfan Kasban (Review)