SIFA 2018: Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower (Review)

Afro-futurism is given a musical touch in a stirring work of speculative fiction. Toshi and Bernice Johnson Reagon’s Parable of the Sower is a genre defying work that, if it were to be summed up, would simply be a powerful musical adaptation of one of the most seminal works of Afro-futurism. Parable of the Sower was originally written as a novel by award-winning author Octavia E. Butler, and is … Continue reading SIFA 2018: Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower (Review)

SIFA 2018: OCD Love by L-E-V Dance Company (Review)

Mesmerising, muscular bodies tangle with the simultaneous pain and allure of the mental condition.  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD for short, is characterised as a state by which a person’s mind is constantly occupied by cycles of intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. It’s an invisible condition that only really becomes evident when you know someone, and is often a lifelong state an afflicted person finds … Continue reading SIFA 2018: OCD Love by L-E-V Dance Company (Review)

EUFF 2018: An Interview with Maikäfer flieg Director Mirjam Unger and Screenwriter Sandra Bohle

We’re on the 24th floor of Parkview Square at the Austrian Embassy, halfway through an interview with Mirjam Unger and Sandra Bohle, director and screenwriter of the opening film of the 2018 European Union Film Festival Maikäfer flieg (Fly Away Home), when Mirjam becomes distracted and gazes out the window at a cumulonimbus of dark clouds and the impending thunderstorm. Compelled by its savage beauty, she excuses herself … Continue reading EUFF 2018: An Interview with Maikäfer flieg Director Mirjam Unger and Screenwriter Sandra Bohle

SIFA 2018: TAHA by Amer Hlehel (Review)

Deceptively simple, Amer Hlehel puts the power of words onstage with a tour de force performance as the eponymous Palestinian poet.  How does one go through countless losses and still come out an optimist? In the eyes and life of Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali (1931-2011), one will find that it is completely possible. Directed by Amir Nizar Zuabi, TAHA is a show with a simple set-up – writer … Continue reading SIFA 2018: TAHA by Amer Hlehel (Review)

SIFA 2018: The Blues Project by Dorrance Dance (Preview)

Created by an all-star creative team consisting of tap dance extraordinaire Michelle Dorrance, acclaimed choreographer Derick K. Grant, genre-busting musician Toshi Reagon, and tap dance maestress Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, The Blues Project sees tap dancing break into the modern world set to emotive blues in an explosive fusion of American themes and styles. A multi-genre, multi-medium style performance, The Blues Project unites original live music with raw emotion and dance … Continue reading SIFA 2018: The Blues Project by Dorrance Dance (Preview)

SIFA 2018: The Hidden by Kamini Ramachandran (Review)

Unearthing the stories hidden within this age-old monument.  As Singapore’s oldest Christian church, the Armenian Church is rife with the memory of travelers and people past, its very walls pulsating with a special kind of hidden power only afforded to the oldest of structures. With such a history behind it, it stands to reason that it makes for the perfect monument to stage something brimming … Continue reading SIFA 2018: The Hidden by Kamini Ramachandran (Review)

SIFA 2018: A Dream Under The Southern Bough – The Beginning by Toy Factory (Review)

原来只是一场梦。 Inspired by Tang Xian Zu’s 16th Century Kun Opera 《南柯记》, A Dream Under The Southern Bough – The Beginning marks the first part in a planned theatre trilogy that will be staged over the next few years, and the start of an incredibly ambitious project from Toy Factory. Adapting the opera for a contemporary audience, director Goh Boon Teck and script editor Zhu Xin Chen have in … Continue reading SIFA 2018: A Dream Under The Southern Bough – The Beginning by Toy Factory (Review)

Voilah! 2018: So France, So Good

When Frederic Coiffe joined So France as executive chef one month ago, he noticed the many restaurants focusing on gastronomic, complicated cuisine, and had only one thing on his mind: to bring simple but authentic French food to Singapore. Only a month old, So France is located in the brand new Duo Galleria at Bugis, and was set up by a team of enthusiastic French … Continue reading Voilah! 2018: So France, So Good

Preview: Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2018

LONDON – With nine years of history behind it, the Wandsworth Arts Fringe returns once more this May to bring over 170 shows in over 55 venues across the borough. Taking place from May 4th to 20th, each and every nook and cranny in Wandsworth will be transformed into a performance space, and audiences can expect an eclectic mix of theatre, circus, music, outdoor arts, dance … Continue reading Preview: Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2018

SIFA 2018: OCD Love by L-E-V Dance Company (Preview)

Enter the world of Israel based L-E-V Dance Company’s OCD Love. Based off Neil Hilborn’s famous viral spoken word poem about love lost to the speaker’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD Love interprets the poem with a fierce viscerality, as dancers move to DJ Ori Lichtik’s techno beats to present an epic struggle between the head and the heart. Stylistically abstract, watch as bodies move completely in sync with each other, orbiting and … Continue reading SIFA 2018: OCD Love by L-E-V Dance Company (Preview)