Visual Art: Yanyun Chen and Dave Lim’s ‘Rotan Rattan – Meditations’ at Esplanade Tunnel

In Singapore, childhood discipline occupies a peculiar and uneasy place in collective memory. Rooted in the belief that hardship cultivates virtue, physical discipline was long distinguished from punishment. It was framed as care, as moral instruction, as a necessary measure for shaping obedience and respectability. Yet for those who experienced it, the body remembers pain before it remembers reason. In their new exhibition, artists Yanyun … Continue reading Visual Art: Yanyun Chen and Dave Lim’s ‘Rotan Rattan – Meditations’ at Esplanade Tunnel

★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: A Lesbian Love Story – The Musical by Woody Avenue

A metatheatrical musical discovering love beyond the romance it promises. It’s a known fact that there is simply not enough lesbian representation in media And far too often, when it does appear, it comes freighted with emotional torture, tragedy, and pain. When, one wonders, do the lesbians finally get their happy ending? That’s a wrong Woody Avenue hopes to make right with its debut production, … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: A Lesbian Love Story – The Musical by Woody Avenue

Preview: Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts 2026 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

The Esplanade’s annual Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts returns from 27 February to 8 March 2026 with an expansive, story-rich programme inspired by Chinese dialects, dynasties and regional folklore. This 24th edition promises audiences a vibrant mix of theatre, dance, music and family-friendly works featuring celebrated artists from Singapore, the region and beyond. As the festival team notes, audiences can expect “legends told through … Continue reading Preview: Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts 2026 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

★★★★★ Dance Review: Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT 2) in Singapore

Triptych of dance work from one of the world’s foremost dance companies firmly establishes each choreographer as an auteur, as they comment on community and belonging. Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT 2), one of the world’s foremost contemporary dance companies, returned to Singapore with a programme that reaffirmed why they occupy such a singular place in the global dance landscape. Whether through their deep choreographic lineage … Continue reading ★★★★★ Dance Review: Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT 2) in Singapore

da:ns focus: An Interview with Nederlands Dans Theater artistic director Emily Molnar on rigour, collaboration and the joy of platforming new voices

Ten years on from their last tour here, Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (NDT 2) returns to the Esplanade this season with a trio of works that Artistic Director Emily Molnar describes as “a programme that truly shows where we’re at.” For Molnar, bringing NDT 2 back to Singapore is “an absolute pleasure,” and the triple bill, featuring works by Alexander Ekman, Botis Seva, and Marcos … Continue reading da:ns focus: An Interview with Nederlands Dans Theater artistic director Emily Molnar on rigour, collaboration and the joy of platforming new voices

Concert Review: ECOncert 《声态不息》 by Ding Yi Music Company

A collaborative, multi-genre invitation to forest bathe in the Esplanade Recital Studio, and co-exist with nature all around us. Now in its third edition, Ding Yi Music Company’s ECOncert has come to embrace an identity unmistakably its own, one rooted in environmental consciousness, an attentiveness to the natural textures of sound, and a desire to re-enchant the everyday landscapes around us. This year, the team … Continue reading Concert Review: ECOncert 《声态不息》 by Ding Yi Music Company

★★★★★ Theatre Review: The Cherry Orchard (벚꽃동산) by Simon Stone and LG Arts Center (South Korea)

Chekhov’s final play gets adapted in the form of a modern K-drama, anchored by a stellar cast led by the impeccable Doyeon Jeon. In Simon Stone’s The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov’s final play finds a new home and new angles to its heartbreak, as it navigates the quiet violence of time and the cruelty of progress against he sleek, ever-changing skyline of modern Korea. In Stone’s … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: The Cherry Orchard (벚꽃동산) by Simon Stone and LG Arts Center (South Korea)

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Twelve Angry Men《十二怒汉》by Nine Years Theatre

Biases unravel and tempers flare in Nine Years Theatre’s powerful revival of this classic courtroom drama. There is something unsettling about the image that accompanied the publicity for Twelve Angry Men: twelve faces, marked by a single red stroke. Is it erasure, censorship, or judgment? The ambiguity lingers as the lights dim, an apt prelude to Nine Years Theatre’s searing revival of Reginald Rose’s courtroom … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Twelve Angry Men《十二怒汉》by Nine Years Theatre

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Final Bow《散戏》by Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group

Heartfelt, hilarious, and profoundly moving, Final Bow is a theatrical triumph that captures the bittersweet beauty of an art form standing at the end of an era and the edge of change. What makes theatre so precious is its transience. Each performance exists only in that instant, where there are no two ever alike, no recording ever truly able to capture the electricity of being … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Final Bow《散戏》by Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group

Preview: Othello by Intercultural Theatre Institute

Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) presents Shakespeare’s Othello, directed and adapted by multi-award-winning theatre artist Tang Shu-wing, and performed by the graduating cohort of 2025. This is Tang’s first production in Singapore since 2013. Described as “one of the richest and most wrenching of Shakespeare’s tragedies” (Variety, 2025), the story of Othello was written in 1603 and has been told across film and stage for centuries. … Continue reading Preview: Othello by Intercultural Theatre Institute