Preview: Opposition 对峙 by The Necessary Stage and Drama Box

Over the last few years, local theatre companies Drama Box and The Necessary Stage (TNS) have been closely collaborating with each other, resulting in two critically-acclaimed productions – 2016’s Manifesto and 2018’s Underclass. Now, the two companies are set to present the final show in their trilogy of collaborations, with Opposition in March. “Opposition is a fascinating blend of live and multimedia performance. The narrative … Continue reading Preview: Opposition 对峙 by The Necessary Stage and Drama Box

Review: Both Sides, Now – Kata-Kata Kita Variety Show by Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative

Learning what it truly means to stay strong in the face of death. For years now, Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative’s Both Sides, Now community programme has been present to reach out to the public, engaging them through the arts as a means of starting a conversation about what it means to live well, and leave well. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, a typical Both … Continue reading Review: Both Sides, Now – Kata-Kata Kita Variety Show by Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative

★★★☆☆ Review: With Time by Drama Box

Time heals everything. In many ways, With Time is the culmination of Drama Box resident artist Chng Yi Kai’s work over the last year or so, with his experience in researching mental health, to facilitating interactive, forum-style theatre. The succinct 60 minute or so production deals with one of the most pressing matters today – mental health, and uses verbatim theatre as a means to … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: With Time by Drama Box

Preview: Both Sides, Now – Kata-Kata Kita Variety Show by Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative

Co-presented by Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative since 2013, Both Sides, Now is an arts-based community engagement project exploring what it means to live well, and leave well. While they’ve taken a bit of a longer break over the COVID-19 period, the project returns for a brand new edition this November, this time targeting the Malay community with Mengukir Harapan. Mengukir Harapan, which translates to … Continue reading Preview: Both Sides, Now – Kata-Kata Kita Variety Show by Drama Box and ArtsWok Collaborative

★★☆☆☆ Review: Dancing with Fish in the Midnight Zone by ARTivate

A valiant attempt at dealing with the spectre of death. Death never comes easily, especially when it’s unexpected. How then does one learn to process it, and not allow it to completely consume you and those around you? Drama Box’s third graduating batch of ARTivate members attempts to answer that, with their original play Dancing with Fish in the Midnight Zone. Directed by Koh Wan … Continue reading ★★☆☆☆ Review: Dancing with Fish in the Midnight Zone by ARTivate

Preview: Dancing with Fish in the Midnight Zone by ARTivate

The third graduating batch of ARTivate, the youth wing of local socially-engaged theatre group Drama Box, is tackling the difficult subject of grief and healing with their graduation performance.  Under the mentorship of Drama Box’s co-artistic director Kok Heng Leun and resident artist Chng Yi Kai, besides training in areas such as body movement and forum theatre, these young theatre practitioners-to-be have also been taught … Continue reading Preview: Dancing with Fish in the Midnight Zone by ARTivate

Review: Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box

Remembering those we’ve forgotten via two tales of the dispossessed.  As much as the Bicentennial celebrations claim to remember the some 700 years of recorded history of Singapore and the people who lived here back then, it tends to forget that those same people aren’t extinct, and in fact, still walk among us today. With Drama Box’s incredibly ambitious two part play Tanah•Air 水•土 then, the … Continue reading Review: Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box

An Interview with the Creatives Behind Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box

Tanah Air: A phrase in Malay that means ‘homeland’ in English, and forming the overarching theme of Drama Box’s newest work – Tanah•Air 水•土:A Play In Two Parts, premiering this week as part of Malay Culturefest 2019. Perhaps beyond all the Bicentennial plays this year that’ve sauntered past the history of pre-Raffles and into modern Singapore history, Tanah•Air might just be the only one that dives deep … Continue reading An Interview with the Creatives Behind Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box

Preview: Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box

As Singapore’s Bicentennial celebrations carry on throughout the year, local theatre company Drama Box has taken the opportunity to raise questions about our own history and the way it is recorded, wondering what stories and narratives have been left out in the writing of the history of our land, and its surrounding waters. Helmed by Drama Box artistic director Kok Heng Leun, in collaboration with … Continue reading Preview: Tanah•Air 水•土 – A Play In Two Parts by Drama Box