An Interview with John Tung, Festival Director of The Substation’s ‘Re-Connect/Centre/Converge: The Arts Festival’

The Substation may have faced a tumultuous few years, with the venue itself losing its space, but with last year’s successful return of their beloved SeptFest, the organisation looks to be coming back stronger than ever, with a new direction and new branding, with the announcement of independent curator and exhibition-maker John Tung as their brand new Festival Director. Taking place in September 2023, John … Continue reading An Interview with John Tung, Festival Director of The Substation’s ‘Re-Connect/Centre/Converge: The Arts Festival’

Psychobitch: An Interview with playwright Amanda Chong

With a title like ‘Psychobitch’, you can be sure that playwright Amanda Chong has no qualms about turning heads and making a statement when it makes it formal premiere this August. Presented by Wild Rice, Psychobitch is now receiving a full-scale, professional production after a dramatised reading last year, as part of The Necessary Stage’s Playwrights’ Cove developmental playwriting programme, and promises raw emotion, plenty … Continue reading Psychobitch: An Interview with playwright Amanda Chong

T:>Works’ King: An Interview with writer/performer Jo Tan and director Irfan Kasban

Back in 2020, at the height of COVID-19, theatremaker Jo Tan was invited by T:>Works to present a little one-woman show called King, as part of their annual N.O.W. Festival of Women. With pandemic restrictions in place, King, however, was relegated to becoming a live film, streamed online. Now, with the world open again, Jo is taking another stab at the play again, bringing it … Continue reading T:>Works’ King: An Interview with writer/performer Jo Tan and director Irfan Kasban

Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with assistant director Deonn Yang, and the cast of The Necessary Stage’s ‘Three Years In The Life and Death of Land’

Dysfunctional families are a staple in theatre and film, and are often the basis for tension, conflict, and understanding differences. In The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) Three Years In The Life and Death of Land, past pain and trauma are what threaten to tear a multiracial family apart. But in many ways, isn’t that precisely the struggle of the average Singaporean family, as they do whatever … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with assistant director Deonn Yang, and the cast of The Necessary Stage’s ‘Three Years In The Life and Death of Land’

An Interview with director Peter Sau and costume designer Max Tan, of ART:DIS’s musical ‘Chachambo:Taking Flight’

The draw of nostalgia has always been powerful, as we reminisce over the heyday of Singapore’s past, when lives were slower and simpler, and people were happier. Thinking back to yesteryear, we can only imagine the heady dancing that went on at entertainment clubs like New World, Great World and Gay World, where people could fully be themselves without judgment. But under our rose-tinted lenses, … Continue reading An Interview with director Peter Sau and costume designer Max Tan, of ART:DIS’s musical ‘Chachambo:Taking Flight’

An Interview with Claire Teo, playwright of ART:DIS’s ‘Chachambo:Taking Flight’

Filled with riveting drama, nostalgic songs and catchy dance numbers, be transported to the swinging ’60s of Singapore with Chachambo: Taking Flight. An original musical theatre production written and performed by an inclusive and intergenerational cast, Chachambo marks one of the biggest undertakings by non-profit organisation ART:DIS, which seeks to create learning and livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities in the arts. This is by no … Continue reading An Interview with Claire Teo, playwright of ART:DIS’s ‘Chachambo:Taking Flight’

Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere, creators of ‘The Mining Trilogy’

In November 2015, a dam containing toxic mining waste collapsed a few miles away from theatremaker Silke Huysmans’ childhood home in the South of Brazil. Not only did a devastating flood of mud destroy several villages below the dam, but in the next couple of days, poisonous sludge flowed into the river Rio Doce and eventually reached the Atlantic Ocean, causing massive ecological impact and … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2023: An Interview with Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere, creators of ‘The Mining Trilogy’

Floristry as an Art: An Interview with This Humid House co-Creative Directors John Lim and Françoise Ozawa

Homegrown design studio This Humid House (THH) has a rather unique niche: rather than focusing on permanent structures and installations, THH instead specialises in crafting living sculptures from flowers and plants. What this results in is fresh, temporal works that elevate simple floristry and flower arrangement to the next level, to the extent they become akin to art. Recognising this distinctive quality, THH has now … Continue reading Floristry as an Art: An Interview with This Humid House co-Creative Directors John Lim and Françoise Ozawa

From Singapore to the World: An Interview with Faizal Abdullah and Nur Khairiyah on bringing ‘Siapa Yang Bawa Melayu Aku Pergi?’ to Edinburgh

A cosmopolitan city like London may be diverse enough to welcome people of all races and backgrounds from Europe, America and Asia, but what happens when a lesser known ethnic group shows up? How then do they claim space and establish their own identity, when their very existence remains virtually unknown by the majority of the population? For Singaporean Malay theatremaker Faizal Abdullah, that comes … Continue reading From Singapore to the World: An Interview with Faizal Abdullah and Nur Khairiyah on bringing ‘Siapa Yang Bawa Melayu Aku Pergi?’ to Edinburgh

SIFA 2023: An Interview with Circa Associate Director Ben Knapton, and Tour Manager Todd Kilby, for ‘Humans 2.0’

Death-defying acrobatics, the human body stretched to its extremes, and intimate choreography that makes us feel for the performers – who doesn’t love the circus? In Circa’s Humans 2.0, the Australian circus company is taking the species to the next level, and blends movement, dance, theatre, and circus together to explore how we connect, attract, repel and attach, how we commune and how we isolate. … Continue reading SIFA 2023: An Interview with Circa Associate Director Ben Knapton, and Tour Manager Todd Kilby, for ‘Humans 2.0’