Review: Matilda the Musical by Base Entertainment Asia

A celebration of the magic of childhood in musical form.  British author Roald Dahl remains one of the world’s most beloved authors, with countless children around the world having read his novels, each one etched into their childhood. It stands to reason then that one of the most successful adaptations of one of his works concerns a little girl who loves to read, with the … Continue reading Review: Matilda the Musical by Base Entertainment Asia

Review: Anak Melayu by Teater Kami

A bleak portrait of the problems haunting Malay youth.  The teenage years can be hard, but when you belong to a certain group or class bogged down by stereotypes, it can be even harder. For the six Malay youths in Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s Anak Melayu, teenagehood is practically a nightmare, as each one deals with a different facet of discrimination, all messed up even before … Continue reading Review: Anak Melayu by Teater Kami

An Interview with the Cast of BASE Entertainment Asia’s Matilda the Musical

Based off Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s novel of the same name, Matilda the Musical has finally made its Singapore premiere, and is set to stun audiences for the month it plays at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands with its timeless tale of a misfit schoolgirl standing up for what’s right, and discovering she has a few secrets of her own. At the media call, we … Continue reading An Interview with the Cast of BASE Entertainment Asia’s Matilda the Musical

Huayi Festival 2019: Painted Skin by Singapore Chinese Orchestra (Review)

Western meets Chinese opera in a spectacle to remember. Inspired by the short story of the same name from Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Ziyi), the Singapore Chinese Opera adapts Painted Skin for the stage as a 100 minute opera in concert. The classic tale follows a Chinese scholar when he comes across a beautiful woman crying in the rain, giving her an … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2019: Painted Skin by Singapore Chinese Orchestra (Review)

Huayi Festival 2019: Love Letters by The Nonsensemakers/Nelson Chia & Mia Chee (Review)

Two melodramatic lives, their destinies intertwined by a flurry of love letters. It’s one thing to be married, or married to your job, but quite another to be married to someone who runs a company with you. Such is the case for both The Nonsensemakers (Hong Kong) and Nine Years Theatre (Singapore), run by partners Rensen Chan and Jo Ngai, and Nelson Chia and Mia … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2019: Love Letters by The Nonsensemakers/Nelson Chia & Mia Chee (Review)

Hong Kong 2019: Marriage by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (Preview)

HONG KONG – Every woman can pursue happiness with no regret. That’s the premise of quintuple Hong Kong Drama Award-winning play Marriage, by celebrated Japanese playwright Hashida Sugako, who other works have moved audiences all around the world. Marriage, originally a 1982 television drama before being adapted for the stage the following year, traces the path of women’s self-determination and how they overcome fate. In the Hanada family, a mother and her … Continue reading Hong Kong 2019: Marriage by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (Preview)

Teater Kami’s Anak Melayu: An Interview with Cast Member Masturah Oli

This year, Teater Kami celebrates their 30th Anniversary, and starts off their season with a restaging of Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s 1992 play Anak Melayu. Now directed by Adib Kosnan, the play about the rollercoaster lives Malay teenagers lead growing up in Singapore is set to hit hard with its truths, played by a diverse new cast of performers. Of these is performer Masturah Oli, who we last saw … Continue reading Teater Kami’s Anak Melayu: An Interview with Cast Member Masturah Oli

Huayi Festival 2019: That Which Cannot Be Divided (无法被整除) by Bulareyaung Pagarlava & Albert Tiong (Review)

United we stand, divided we fall. Inspired by the concept of prime numbers – numbers indivisible by anything other than themselves and 1 and with no immediately apparent pattern, former Cloud Gate Dance Theatre members Bulareyaung Pagarlava (Taiwan) and Albert Tiong (Singapore) each choreographed a work attempting to unravel the mysteries behind them, showcasing how they may have more application to daily life than we … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2019: That Which Cannot Be Divided (无法被整除) by Bulareyaung Pagarlava & Albert Tiong (Review)

Huayi Festival 2019: The Way of Zhuang Zi (庄子兵法) by Story Works (Review)

Nerve wracking thriller of a play that keeps you guessing every step of the way. Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness. I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. Of the many Chinese philosophers we grew up learning from our scholar of a Chinese teacher … Continue reading Huayi Festival 2019: The Way of Zhuang Zi (庄子兵法) by Story Works (Review)

Review: Meenah and Cheenah (Rerun) by Dream Academy

The dynamic duo are back again, with tight character work and strong performances that brings the laughs hard and fast. Whether or not you caught the 2016 version, or are curious to see what Dream Academy has in store with this rerun, Meenah and Cheenah is a comedy whose audacious yet relatable jokes can and will stand the test of time. Reuniting theatre extraordinaires Siti … Continue reading Review: Meenah and Cheenah (Rerun) by Dream Academy