Review: No Place by Square One Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★☆☆ (Performance attended 15/1/20) Deciding one’s fate via a series of absurd games. What does the future look like? According to New York-based Square One Collective, a lot worse. Written and directed by Andrea Ang, No Place (almost reminds us of the a phrase no place like home’) imagines the world in 2075, on the brink of being physically impossible to live in. Three people – … Continue reading Review: No Place by Square One Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

Review: Mak-Mak Menari by Bhumi Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 17/1/20) Poignant docu-drama about sisterhood over a lifelong passion for Malay dance.  In the performing arts world, dancers are notorious for having a short career span, with many retiring before hitting middle-age. But for one group of dance enthusiasts, age is no barrier to their passion, as the makciks of Mak-Mak Menari continue to meet, rehearse, and perform together to this day. … Continue reading Review: Mak-Mak Menari by Bhumi Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

Review: The Arts House’s Prologue 2020 – Invisible Cities

Held in conjunction with the National Gallery Singapore’s Light to Night Festival, over two weekends, the Arts House saw visitors from all walks of life spill over from the Civic District to the premises, taking in the multitude of programmes the venue had programmed for Prologue – the Arts House’s very first festival of 2020. In our experience of Prologue 2020, we were welcomed at … Continue reading Review: The Arts House’s Prologue 2020 – Invisible Cities

Museum Musings: Singapore Art Museum Reveals Artist Impressions of New Building Design, Slated To Re-Open To The Public In 2023

    While it is still in the early stages of reconstruction, the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) has revealed artist impressions of its new building design, set to be open to the public once again come 2023. Led by the team of architects from SCDA, the new design aims to balance the building’s status as a gazetted national monument, while serving the needs of both … Continue reading Museum Musings: Singapore Art Museum Reveals Artist Impressions of New Building Design, Slated To Re-Open To The Public In 2023

Arts of the UK 2019/20: Learn the Story Behind Sweden’s Most Famous Band at ABBA – Super Troupers The Exhibition at the O2

LONDON – Tonight the super trouper lights are gonna find me…that is, if you head on down to ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition that is. Having opened at the O2 last December, the brand new exhibition will take both fans and non-believers (how could you?) on a journey through the evergreen, ever popular Swedish band’s eight-album discography, and the history and society at the time of … Continue reading Arts of the UK 2019/20: Learn the Story Behind Sweden’s Most Famous Band at ABBA – Super Troupers The Exhibition at the O2

Film Fanatic: An Interview with A Land Imagined (幻土) Director Yeo Siew Hua and Composer Teo Wei Yong

When we watched (and reviewed) A Land Imagined last year, it had just made history as the first Singaporean film to win the prestigious Golden Leopard, the highest accolade at the 71st Locarno International Film Festival. Fast forward a year later, and at Taiwan’s 56th Golden Horse Awards (the ‘Oscars of the Mandarin-speaking world’), A Land Imagined received four nominations, for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Film Score, … Continue reading Film Fanatic: An Interview with A Land Imagined (幻土) Director Yeo Siew Hua and Composer Teo Wei Yong

Music Is: Philippe Quint – The Red Violin by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (Preview)

Inspired by classic 1998 film The Red Violin, tracing the life of a magnificent, haunted violin in a tale spanning over 300 years, watch as lauded Russian-American violinist Philippe Quint revisits this tale in a special concert this March. Alongside John Corigliano’s Oscar-winning music for The Red Violin, the SSO’s Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Litton contrasts Bernstein’s vibrant Candide Overture with the brooding strains and defiant … Continue reading Music Is: Philippe Quint – The Red Violin by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (Preview)

Review: Kebaya Homies by The Necessary Stage (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 15/1/20) Irreverent trip down TNS’ past works featuring two of their best collaborators. The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) most well-known works aren’t always something you’d readily call ‘fun’, with topics such as poverty, nationhood, climate change and political detainees just a few of the issues they’ve covered across the years. So when they do get a chance to take a lighter concept and … Continue reading Review: Kebaya Homies by The Necessary Stage (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

In London’s (Off) West End 2020: Scenes with girls at the Royal Court (Preview)

LONDON – “I genuinely think in five to ten years we’re going to have several different possible Happys.” Tosh and Lou. 22 scenes. Other friends have come, got boyfriends and gone. So what? Tosh and Lou have each other. They’re not interested in becoming clichés. They’ll never be like other girls. This is love. This is enough. “You are becoming a parody, hun. You are … Continue reading In London’s (Off) West End 2020: Scenes with girls at the Royal Court (Preview)

Review: The Utama Spaceship by Spacebar Theatre (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★☆☆ (Performance attended 14/1/20) Likeable performance about the making of legends gets a little lost in space. As a fiercely competitive nation, Singapore has shown time and time again that it will continue to vie for the position of ‘first’ or ‘greatest’, constantly trying to prove ourselves in spite of our small size. But if there’s one place where to go boldly where no Singaporean … Continue reading Review: The Utama Spaceship by Spacebar Theatre (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)