★★★★☆ Theatre Review: The Sun by 4 CHAIRS THEATRE

A searing Taiwanese sci-fi triumph that evokes harrowing existential crises as we wonder how much humanity we leave behind as we evolve. There is something disquietingly apt about encountering The Sun in a cultural moment already steeped in suspicion, fracture and the long psychological aftershocks of global crises today. Directed by Tora Hsu and adapted by Chen Yi-En from Tomohiro Maekawa’s 2010 Japanese script, this … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: The Sun by 4 CHAIRS THEATRE

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Deling and Cixi by He Jiping

A tender look at power and femininity in the dying days of the Qing dynasty. As the opening production of this year’s Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts, Deling and Cixi arrives with imperial grandeur and no small ambition, taking us back to the days of imperial China. Written by celebrated playwright He Jiping and directed by Roy Szeto, this sweeping three-hour production brings the … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Deling and Cixi by He Jiping

Music: Singapore Symphony appoints Andrew Beer as concertmaster

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has appointed violinist Andrew Beer as its GK Goh Concertmaster, starting from the 2026/27 season. A musician with an international career spanning major orchestras and musical genres, Beer will help shape the orchestra’s sound as it enters a new chapter with incoming Music Director Hannu Lintu. Canadian violinist Andrew Beer joins the SSO from the Auckland Philharmonia, where he has … Continue reading Music: Singapore Symphony appoints Andrew Beer as concertmaster

Huayi 2026: An Interview with Hong Kong dance icon Mui Cheuk-yin ‘Diary VII ・ The Story Of……’

For more than four decades, Mui Cheuk-yin has shaped the language of contemporary dance in Hong Kong through works that are deeply personal yet quietly expansive. Her long-running Diary series, begun in 1986, traces a life in motion: recording memories, migrations, encounters, and the passing of time through the body. With Diary VII・The Story Of……, which makes its Singapore premiere this February as part of … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with Hong Kong dance icon Mui Cheuk-yin ‘Diary VII ・ The Story Of……’

Huayi 2026: An Interview with King Shih-chieh, star of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s ‘Le Père (The Father)’, and director David Jiang

Quick-witted and sharp-tongued, André is used to commanding every room he enters. But as small ruptures begin to surfac;a missing watch, rearranged furniture, unfamiliar faces at the dinner table, the boundary between memory and reality starts to dissolve. Le Père (The Father) draws audiences into the disintegrating inner life of an ageing man confronting Alzheimer’s, unfolding with unsettling intimacy and emotional precision. Presented as part … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with King Shih-chieh, star of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s ‘Le Père (The Father)’, and director David Jiang

Huayi 2026: An Interview with director Roy Szeto and playwright He Jiping as they bring epic period drama ‘Deling and Cixi’ to the stage

Set against the twilight of the Qing dynasty, Deling and Cixi brings together two formidable women at a moment when an empire and a worldview stands on the brink of collapse. Written by celebrated playwright He Jiping and directed by Roy Szeto, the play looks beyond familiar historical narratives to uncover an intimate, humane encounter between Empress Dowager Cixi and the Western-educated aristocrat Deling. Through … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with director Roy Szeto and playwright He Jiping as they bring epic period drama ‘Deling and Cixi’ to the stage

Huayi 2026: An Interview with ‘The Sun’ director Tora Hsu and writer Chen Yi-En

Set in a post-apocalyptic future marked by division and survival, The Sun is a contemporary reimagining of Japanese playwright Tomohiro Maekawa’s celebrated science fiction fable. Directed by award-winning Taiwanese theatre-maker Tora Hsu, with script adaptation by Chen Yi-en, this new staging reframes the work through a distinctly Taiwanese lens, responding to the fractures, anxieties and ideological tensions of the present moment. Premiering internationally at Huayi … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with ‘The Sun’ director Tora Hsu and writer Chen Yi-En

JUST LIVE Presents National Ballet of China’s ‘A Dream of Red Mansions’ in Singapore

This March, Singapore audiences are invited into a world where love blooms like a fragile flower, memory drifts like mist, and fate dances just out of reach. The National Ballet of China arrives at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay with A Dream of Red Mansions, a ravishing two-act ballet inspired by one of the greatest novels in Chinese literature. A Dream of Red Mansions … Continue reading JUST LIVE Presents National Ballet of China’s ‘A Dream of Red Mansions’ in Singapore

Preview: March On 2026 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Taking place during the March school holidays, Esplanade’s annual March On festival returns as a gentle, purposeful invitation for young audiences to encounter the arts on their own terms. Designed especially for children and youths, the festival brings together theatre, dance and interdisciplinary works that speak to curiosity, imagination and emotional discovery, while offering caregivers a chance to slow down and see the world alongside … Continue reading Preview: March On 2026 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

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