★★★★★ Review: Mosaic by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (The Studios 2023)

Letting go means learning to leave things in the past. In a small island nation like Singapore, land scarcity has always been an issue, leading to landscapes of constant scaffolding and roadworks to tear down older buildings and built heritage to make way for newer, modern spaces. Often, it seems that there is no time for looking back, only the constant banging of bulldozers as … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Mosaic by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (The Studios 2023)

Keppel extends partnership with Esplanade for Keppel Nights programme with $500,000 commitment

Keppel, through its philanthropic arm, Keppel Care Foundation, pledged $500,000 over the next three years to extend its partnership with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay to continue the highly popular Keppel Nights programme, which provides students with access to high-quality performances presented by Esplanade. This renewed partnership was unveiled today, with close to 30 students from Deyi Secondary School attending Mosaic, a play by … Continue reading Keppel extends partnership with Esplanade for Keppel Nights programme with $500,000 commitment

Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with director Tan Shou Chen and playwright Joel Tan on ‘Mosaic’

Built in 1979, the iconic Toa Payoh Dragon Playground and its brethren have long been a part of millennials’ memories growing up, eventually becoming key landmarks and cultural symbols in Singapore. Unfortunately, due to safety concerns, many of the other dragons have since been demolished, leaving the Toa Payoh Dragon Playground one of the few still standing, even amidst en bloc redevelopment of the flats … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with director Tan Shou Chen and playwright Joel Tan on ‘Mosaic’

★★★★★ 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: 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)

★★★☆☆ Review: Mining Stories by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)

It’s always good to look at the story from a different perspective. The truth is rarely pure and never simple, and often, it takes a medley of voices and points of view to get the full picture. Particularly when living in an internet age, where perspectives are often skewed and we live in echo chambers, it becomes more important than ever to consider events with … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Mining Stories by Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere (The Studios 2023)

Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with assistant director Deonn Yang, and the cast of The Necessary Stage’s ‘Three Years In The Life and Death of Land’

Dysfunctional families are a staple in theatre and film, and are often the basis for tension, conflict, and understanding differences. In The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) Three Years In The Life and Death of Land, past pain and trauma are what threaten to tear a multiracial family apart. But in many ways, isn’t that precisely the struggle of the average Singaporean family, as they do whatever … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with assistant director Deonn Yang, and the cast of The Necessary Stage’s ‘Three Years In The Life and Death of Land’

Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere, creators of ‘The Mining Trilogy’

In November 2015, a dam containing toxic mining waste collapsed a few miles away from theatremaker Silke Huysmans’ childhood home in the South of Brazil. Not only did a devastating flood of mud destroy several villages below the dam, but in the next couple of days, poisonous sludge flowed into the river Rio Doce and eventually reached the Atlantic Ocean, causing massive ecological impact and … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere, creators of ‘The Mining Trilogy’

Preview: The Studios 2023 – Landings by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Celebrating their 20th edition, the Esplanade’s The Studios series takes on a newer, expanded format, responding to the ever-changing world and continuing to programme work that challenges our notions of what art can be and do. Starting off this new version of The Studios, from 2023-2025, the programme will explore notions of Land. With works performed across various venues in the Esplanade, including the new … Continue reading Preview: The Studios 2023 – Landings by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay