Preview: Singapore Night Festival 2023 – Singapore, The Great Port City

700 years ago, the Bugis were among the first settlers to arrive in Singapore to trade which established the street as Bugis Town. Since its founding years, Bugis Town has been extended to the present Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct which will soon come alive with tales and histories of the past at the Singapore Night Festival (SNF) 2023 connecting stories of Singapore’s beginnings as a trading port with contemporary experiences for … Continue reading Preview: Singapore Night Festival 2023 – Singapore, The Great Port City

An Interview with John Tung, Festival Director of The Substation’s ‘Re-Connect/Centre/Converge: The Arts Festival’

The Substation may have faced a tumultuous few years, with the venue itself losing its space, but with last year’s successful return of their beloved SeptFest, the organisation looks to be coming back stronger than ever, with a new direction and new branding, with the announcement of independent curator and exhibition-maker John Tung as their brand new Festival Director. Taking place in September 2023, John … Continue reading An Interview with John Tung, Festival Director of The Substation’s ‘Re-Connect/Centre/Converge: The Arts Festival’

★★★★★ Review: Three Years In The Life and Death of Land by The Necessary Stage

Fever dream portrayal of a family in the pursuit of happiness and finding a place in the world. All around us, the cost of living is ever-increasing. For the modern Singaporean person, purchasing and owning any kind of property feels like a far-flung dream, with many resigning themselves to the fact that we’ll likely still be staying with our parents for some time yet. Such … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Three Years In The Life and Death of Land by The Necessary Stage

★★★★★ Review: King by T:>Works

Modern take on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde problematises society’s obsession with gender and performativity. In the novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, author Robert Louis Stevenson uses the core narrative of a kind man hiding a sinister alter ego to pass commentary on the stress of conforming to strict moral codes and social norms in Victorian-era London. In suppressing our true … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: King by T:>Works

Review: MILIEU 2023 by Frontier Danceland

Swansong for Frontier Danceland takes a critical look at its history, and ends on a note of joy. As the artistic director and co-founder of Frontier Danceland, Low Mei Yoke has seen the contemporary dance company through every single one of its ups and downs for over 30 years now. From its humble beginnings as a group of hobbyist dancers to becoming one of Singapore’s … Continue reading Review: MILIEU 2023 by Frontier Danceland

An Interview with director Daniel Jenkins and the cast of ‘2:22 – A Ghost Story’ by Singapore Repertory Theatre

Fear often gets the better of us, and our imaginations begin to run wild. But what if there’s more evidence than just your thoughts that seems to point to something supernatural happening? In 2:22 – A Ghost Story, that is precisely the conundrum at hand, as a young couple who have just moved into their dream home begin to experience strange occurrences at precisely 2:22am … Continue reading An Interview with director Daniel Jenkins and the cast of ‘2:22 – A Ghost Story’ by Singapore Repertory Theatre

★★★★★ Review: Four Horse Road 四马路 (2023) by The Theatre Practice

Short, sharp vignettes from Waterloo Street’s history leave a lasting impact and a desire to go back. Restagings of theatre productions in Singapore are hard to come by, even more so for complicated works that require extensive logistics and planning. So when The Theatre Practice’s (Practice) previous staging of Four Horse Road was cut short due to the circuit breaker in 2020, it seemed like … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Four Horse Road 四马路 (2023) by The Theatre Practice

★★★★★ Review: Psychobitch by Wild Rice

He gives me ashes for beauty.  This is a love story. Or at least a story about love.  Written by Amanda Chong and directed by Pam Oei, Psychobitch is a dramatic monologue centering on hotshot broadcast journalist Anya Samuel. Played by Sindhura Kalidas, Anya is introduced to us with an odd premise – she’s been accused by her fiancé, tech bro Galven Low, of being … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Psychobitch by Wild Rice

★★★☆☆ Review: Out of the Blue by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)

The more you know, the more fragile things seem to be. “We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the bottom of the ocean.” That’s the now cliché, but still very true line you’ll hear in almost every documentary about the vast blue sea, and all the mystery that lies beneath it. But in ending off their Mining Trilogy docu-theatre … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Out of the Blue by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)

★★★★☆ Review: Pleasant Island by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)

A modern parable of man’s insatiable greed and the destruction left in its wake. Marking the second part of their Mining Trilogy series, Pleasant Island turns theatremakers Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere’s attention to the tiny island republic of Nauru. Surrounded entirely by water in the middle of Micronesia, Nauru’s fascinating history makes for a riveting case study, literally once being the richest island in … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Pleasant Island by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)