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

★★☆☆☆ Review: No Man’s Land by The Necessary Stage

The message is lost in this uneven and confusing exploration of masculinity, its title aptly representing the wasteland and vacuum of modern manhood. In 2025, men find themselves in an interesting new era of their gender, where stereotypes and roles are being questioned, and it seems that we now need new definitions, new ways of seeing and defining where exactly masculinity stands today. Promising that … Continue reading ★★☆☆☆ Review: No Man’s Land by The Necessary Stage

Review: Snakes & Ladders – Life Edition! by Dwayne Lau

Dwayne Lau shows you how to find the silver lining in every moment, in this sincere, autobiographical show disguised as an interactive cabaret. There’s something charmingly chaotic about Snakes and Ladders: Life Edition!, a 40-minute cabaret-style solo show performed by actor Dwayne at the Esplanade Concourse. Free and open to the public, it’s an earnest, heartfelt experiment in autobiographical performance, part-musical, part-game-show, part-memoir, as well … Continue reading Review: Snakes & Ladders – Life Edition! by Dwayne Lau

No Man’s Land: An Interview with the creative team behind The Necessary Stage’s new show tackling modern day masculinity

What makes a man today? That is the central question at the heart of The Necessary Stage’s new play No Man’s Land. Co-directed by Alvin Tan and Sim Yan Ying “YY”, and written by Danial Matin, the new work is a devised, interdisciplinary production exploring the tensions, confusions, vulnerabilities, and inherited weight of masculinity; what it means, how it’s shaped, and who, if anyone, owns … Continue reading No Man’s Land: An Interview with the creative team behind The Necessary Stage’s new show tackling modern day masculinity

★★★★★ Review: SALINA by Teater Kami

Faithful adaptation of Malay literary classic is a nostalgic triumph and pertinent reminder of the struggles of our forebears. A. Samad Said’s SALINA has never been an easy novel to adapt for the stage. Teater Kami artistic director Atin Amat knows this, having previously adapted it twice back in the ’90s, when resources were far more limited. Now, commissioned by the Esplanade for the 2025 … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: SALINA by Teater Kami

★★★★☆ Review: My Name Is (Not) Khan by Hafidz Rahman

Whether a Khan or a Rahman, this is a show that calls for the unabashed celebration and embrace of one’s own multicultural identity. Over the last few years, theatremaker Hafidz Rahman has shot to fame for his viral videos he’s posted on social media, whether as a lovable tudung makcik, or for sharing creepy ghost stories. But how many people out there know the real … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: My Name Is (Not) Khan by Hafidz Rahman

Pesta Raya 2025: An Interview with Hafidz Rahman on ‘My Name is (NOT) Khan’

In spite of his years of working in theatre and the arts, with plenty of comedy sketches both onstage and online, artist Hafidz Rahman is doing something he’s never done before – a full-length one-man show. Best known for his viral comedy videos on social media (@asonofapeach), Hafidz is set to premiere My Name Is (NOT) Khan this May, as part of the Esplanade – … Continue reading Pesta Raya 2025: An Interview with Hafidz Rahman on ‘My Name is (NOT) Khan’

Pesta Raya 2025: An Interview with director Atin Amat and actor Fir Rahman on staging ‘SALINA’

It’s been almost three decades since the last time local Malay theatre company Teater Kami staged a theatrical adaptation of Malaysia’s National Laureate A. Samad Said’s seminal novel SALINA. But that’s about to change, as it receives a brand new staging as part of the Esplanade’s 2025 Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts. Adapted and directed by Teater Kami artistic director Atin Amat, SALINA … Continue reading Pesta Raya 2025: An Interview with director Atin Amat and actor Fir Rahman on staging ‘SALINA’

★★★★★ Review: Lived Fiction by Stopgap Dance Company

More than just a showcase of accessibility, Stopgap Dance Company elevates inclusivity to an artform of the future. For years, accessibility in the performing arts has too often carried an unfortunate association with charity—where the presence of disabled artists on stage is seen as a benevolent gesture rather than a celebration of creative excellence, where artists and companies are assumed to be platforming disabled artists … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Lived Fiction by Stopgap Dance Company