The Studios 2025: An Interview with The Theatre Practice on ‘Pickle Party’ and sustainable theatre

How much of a pickle are we in when it comes to sustainability and climate change? It all feels like a bit of a crisis, but in the meantime, the solution just might be…pickling? This September, the Esplanade’s The Studios 2025 rounds off with Pickle Party by The Theatre Practice (Practice), which places the audience at a pickling workshop within a performance. Originally staged as … Continue reading The Studios 2025: An Interview with The Theatre Practice on ‘Pickle Party’ and sustainable theatre

★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Escape To Batam by Checkpoint Theatre

Claire Wong attempts to stage her grieving process onstage, winding through knotty memory and reflection in search of meaning. Checkpoint Theatre’s latest work began over a decade ago, when creator Claire Wong started interviewing her father, Wong Heck Ming. After his passing in 2016, the piece transformed from a portrait of his youth during World War II into something more inward-looking: a meditation on Wong’s … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Theatre Review: Escape To Batam by Checkpoint Theatre

★★★★★ Review: FOOD by Geoff Sobelle

Geoff Sobelle serves up food for thought, elevating the act and art of consumption. Geoff Sobelle is nothing short of a master of theatrical magic and clownery. And considering how skeptical today’s audiences are, and how easy it is to see through most performers’ sleight of hand, that’s high praise for an increasingly rare talent in entertainment. But more than just parlour tricks, Sobelle’s work … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: FOOD by Geoff Sobelle

★★★☆☆ Review: Haribo Kimchi by Jaha Koo / CAMPO

Jaha Koo delivers a whimsical, uplifting show about food and connection in a foreign land. What links a person to their culture? A common answer from many Singaporeans would undoubtedly be food, not only in the tastes, but the scents, atmospheres, and experiences inexplicably tied to them. In that same vein, with Haribo Kimchi, Korean artist Jaha Koo has also found himself turning to food … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Haribo Kimchi by Jaha Koo / CAMPO

The Studios 2025: An Interview with Geoff Sobelle on ‘FOOD’, art, and connection

Do we need what we eat? Do we eat what we need? What does it really cost? In FOOD, American theatremaker Geoff Sobelle returns to Singapore with an invitation to chew on the complexities of consumption, memory, and meaning. Set around an absurdly oversized banquet table, this multi-sensory theatrical experience transforms the act of eating into a ritual of inquiry. Guests are not merely observers … Continue reading The Studios 2025: An Interview with Geoff Sobelle on ‘FOOD’, art, and connection

★★★☆☆ Review: Scenes From The Climate Era by David Finnigan and Ellison Tan

Myriad views of the climate disaster and the desperation and depression that emerges in its rise. How does one frame a play about climate change and still add to the already burgeoning conversation? Adapted for a Singaporean production, Australian playwright David Finnigan’s Scenes From The Climate Era is keenly aware of the weighty and convoluted nature of the climate crisis, and how difficult it can … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Scenes From The Climate Era by David Finnigan and Ellison Tan

The Studios 2025: An Interview with Jaha Koo on ‘Haribo Kimchi’ and the process of creation

The surprising flavour of seaweed soup. The sharp sound of a knife slicing cucumber. The hiss and sizzle of mushrooms on a scorching fire. In Haribo Kimchi, South Korean theatremaker and composer Jaha Koo invites us into a pojangmacha, or a typical neon-lit street food tents from Korea. Get ready to meet a snail, a gummy bear, and an eel as they guide us through … Continue reading The Studios 2025: An Interview with Jaha Koo on ‘Haribo Kimchi’ and the process of creation

Four blockbuster theatre performances from Singapore and the world arrive at the Esplanade this October and November

Arts lovers are in for a treat, as Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is set to present some of the most exciting, thought-provoking contemporary theatre performances in Singapore this October and November. Look out for the return of Teater Ekamatra’s Yusof: Portrait of a President, Taiwanese theatre company Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group’s Final Bow, a Korean adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The … Continue reading Four blockbuster theatre performances from Singapore and the world arrive at the Esplanade this October and November

The Studios 2025: An Interview with playwright David Finnigan on ‘Scenes From The Climate Era’

A couple debates whether to bring a child into a world on fire. Scientists race to build a coral reef in a lab. Somewhere in Antarctica, a team attempts to hold back a melting glacier with a seawall. And in the dark, the last frog of its species calls out—hoping, futilely, for a mate. In Scenes from the Climate Era, Australian playwright David Finnigan zooms … Continue reading The Studios 2025: An Interview with playwright David Finnigan on ‘Scenes From The Climate Era’

Preview: Esplanade’s The Studios 2025 – Sustenance

Two years ago, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s annual theatre season, The Studios, embarked on a three-year curatorial arc revolving around the theme of LAND. In 2023, they covered Landings, exploring the natural world we live in and the way we interact with it, while in 2024, they covered Fault Lines, focusing on disruptions and movements that shift the trajectory of our lives. Now … Continue reading Preview: Esplanade’s The Studios 2025 – Sustenance