★★★☆☆ Review: Quest – The White Hare by Toy Factory Productions

One last, mishmashed hurrah for a fast-disappearing art form. Category Score (out of 10) Direction (Goh Boon Teck) 6 Script (Goh Boon Teck) 6 Performance (Gwee Lay Hua, Clement Yeo, Doreen Toh, Tiara Yap, Timothy Wan, Wayne Lim, Wendy Toh, Asher Kang) 7 Music Composition (August Lum) 7 Lighting Design (Gabriel Chan) 7 Set Design (Goh Abigail) 7 Sound Design (Sandra Tay) 7 Costume/Make-up Design … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Quest – The White Hare by Toy Factory Productions

Review: Tri Ka Tsai – A uniquely trilingual Hong Kong cabaret by Yuri Ng X Anna Lo X Rick Lau

The Hong Kong term Tri Ka Tsai specifically refers to a trilingual Gen X or millennial living in post-colonial Hong Kong who speaks Cantonese, English and Putonghua (Mandarin). While some people may see that as a mishmash of cultures, Hong Kongers and artists Yuri Ng, Anna Lo and Rick Lau have instead chosen to embrace their status as proud tri ka tsais themselves, and come together … Continue reading Review: Tri Ka Tsai – A uniquely trilingual Hong Kong cabaret by Yuri Ng X Anna Lo X Rick Lau

Preview: Quest – The White Hare by Toy Factory Productions

This March, Toy Factory artistic director Goh Boon Teck is set to premiere a brand new play, with his 17th original script – Quest – The White Hare (追寻 – 白兔记). Making its debut at the Esplanade Theatre from 3-4 March, the play is a cross-section between traditional Hokkien Opera and contemporary mandarin theatre on stage. Taking on a play within a play format, Boon … Continue reading Preview: Quest – The White Hare by Toy Factory Productions

★★★★★ Review: 13 Tongues by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre

Capturing and celebrating the rich sights, sounds and memories of Taiwan’s Bangka district through dance. Before he became artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Cheng Tsung-lung was helping his father sell slippers on the streets of Taiwan’s Bangka district to help support his family in the ’80s. Recalling how as a child, his mother would tell him about legendary 1960s street artist and storyteller known … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: 13 Tongues by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre

Review: The Drought Goddess · Dream of the World by La Cie MaxMind

A sacred myth and traditional music is brought into the present for new audiences. The Chinese legend of Hanba is a tragic one, where the central drought goddess, after helping her celestial father win an epic war, loses her divinity and is banished to Earth. Forced to wander from village to village, she is shunned wherever she goes as she dries out the land with … Continue reading Review: The Drought Goddess · Dream of the World by La Cie MaxMind

★★★★★ Review: Two men, ten years later (两男常罩) by HORSE

30 years of growing together as friends and artists. Category Score (out of 10) Direction (Edward Lam) 9 Performance (Chen Wu-kang and Su Wei-chia) 9 Choreography (Chen Wu-kang and Su Wei-chia) 9 Music (Lee Shih-yang) 9 Lighting Design (Chen Chao-chun) 8 Video Design (Sun Ruey-horng) 8 Stage Design (Liao Yin-chiao) 8 Costume Design (Yu-fang Teng) 8 Total 68/80 (85%) Final Score: ★★★★★ After meeting as … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Two men, ten years later (两男常罩) by HORSE

★★★★★ Review: ART by Godot Theatre Company

Fragile friendship torn asunder by abstract art. Category Score (out of 10) Direction (Liang Chi-Ming) 10 Script (Yasmina Reza) 9 Performance (Pu Hsueh-Liang, Chu Chung Heng and Tseng Kuo Chen) 10 Stage Design (Nieh Kuang-Yen) 8 Costume Design (Chin Ping-Ping) 8 Lighting Design (Tsao An-Huei) 8 Music Composition/Arrangement (Chen Kao-Hwa) 8 Total 61/70 (87%) Final Score: ★★★★★ No matter how many times we’ve watched ART, … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: ART by Godot Theatre Company

Huayi 2023: An Interview with Lee Yi-Hsiu and Hsu Shu-Hui of La Cie MaxMind

The most fragile of cultural heritage is often the intangible, lying in customs, traditions and art forms that need to be passed down from generation to generation for survival. And as time goes by, too many of these practices are lost. Taiwanese arts company La Cie MaxMind hopes to preserve at least one of these traditions with the shows they put on. This week, they’re … Continue reading Huayi 2023: An Interview with Lee Yi-Hsiu and Hsu Shu-Hui of La Cie MaxMind

Huayi 2023: 13 Tongues by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (Preview)

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre is perhaps one of Taiwan’s most well-regarded contemporary arts companies, producing countless quality dance works since being founded in 1973. Combining a plethora of dance and movement forms, from qi gong to martial arts, modern dance to ballet, the company blends the traditional and contemporary as it brings its productions to the world. In their first performance in Singapore since the … Continue reading Huayi 2023: 13 Tongues by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (Preview)

Huayi 2023: An Interview with Liang Chi-Ming, director of Godot Theatre Company’s ‘ART’

Over this first weekend of the Esplanade’s 2023 Huayi- Chinese Festival of Arts, the ongoing theme seems to be friendship, with headliner shows Two men, ten years later and Godot Theatre Company’s ART both dealing with the difficulties and nuances of navigating long-term friendships. And it makes perfect sense too – after all, in a world fraught with conflict, we need more friendships built on … Continue reading Huayi 2023: An Interview with Liang Chi-Ming, director of Godot Theatre Company’s ‘ART’