★★★★☆ Review: Umbilical by Rizman Putra, Zul Mahmod and thesupersystem

The birth, merger, separation, independence and future of Singapore are told through immersive video, sound and absurdly arresting performance. The title Umbilical brings to mind the most primal of bonds: a baby’s connection to its mother before the cord is cut. And in this multi-sensory, deeply symbolic performance by artists Rizman Putra, Zul Mahmod, and thesupersystem, that connection becomes a potent metaphor for Singapore’s own … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Umbilical by Rizman Putra, Zul Mahmod and thesupersystem

SIFA 2025: An Interview with creator Manuela Infante on ‘Vampyr’

Previously in Singapore in 2017, Chilean playwright and director Manuela Infante returns for the 2025 edition of the Singapore International Festival of Arts with Vampyr, the third part of her trilogy exploring the non-human that started with Estado Vegetal and How to Turn to Stone. Where the two previous shows explored plant consciousness and geology respectively, Vampyr instead turns its attention to something that seems … Continue reading SIFA 2025: An Interview with creator Manuela Infante on ‘Vampyr’

SIFA 2025: An Interview with co-creators Alan Oei and Kaylene Tan on ‘A Thousand Stitches’

In A Thousand Stitches, a portrait of a Japanese woman, Mizuki, becomes the heart of a haunting narrative about war, propaganda, and human connection. Emma, an art conservation student, restores the painting, and finds herself drawn into Mizuki’s story, enigmatic artist Huang Wei, and the turbulent years of Japanese-occupied Singapore (then Syonan-to). Premiering as part of the 2025 Singapore International Festival of Arts, A Thousand … Continue reading SIFA 2025: An Interview with co-creators Alan Oei and Kaylene Tan on ‘A Thousand Stitches’

SIFA 2025: An Interview with creator Geoff Sobelle on ‘HOME’

When does a house become a home? That is the central question in American theatremaker Geoff Sobelle’s HOME, an innovative, richly imaginative performance and act of theatrical spectacle that sees a house materialise before the audience, rising swiftly like a time-lapse sequence. Over time, the residents inhabit it, move in and out, build and break it, and leave behind traces of their past, present, and … Continue reading SIFA 2025: An Interview with creator Geoff Sobelle on ‘HOME’

★★★★★ Review: The Phantom of the Opera by Base Entertainment Asia

40 years on, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best musical continues to haunt theatres with its spellbinding soundtrack and standout performances. After a six-year wait, The Phantom of the Opera is finally back in Singapore, and it proves that, even at 40 years old, this iconic musical continues to captivate new audiences. For many who have only ever heard of its greatness or watched videos on YouTube, … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: The Phantom of the Opera by Base Entertainment Asia

SIFA 2025: An Interview with Rizman Putra, Zul Mahmod and thesupersystem on ‘Umbilical’

In an age of rapid progress, history can slip through our fingers. Premiering as part of the 2025 Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), Zul Mahmod, Rizman Putra, and thesupersystem (Heider Ismail) invite us to Umbilical, a multi-faceted performance that invites us into the depths of memory, identity, and the subtle violence of separation, excavating the history of the Causeway as Singapore turns 60. Umbilical … Continue reading SIFA 2025: An Interview with Rizman Putra, Zul Mahmod and thesupersystem on ‘Umbilical’

SIFA 2025: An Interview with Lebanese artist Ali Chahrour on ‘Told By My Mother’

Being a mother has never been an easy task, but what about a mother who tries to be good, to protect her children amidst a country torn apart by conflict? In Told By My Mother, making its Singapore premiere this May as part of the 2025 Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), Lebanese artist Ali Chahrour draws from his own family history—and from the fractures … Continue reading SIFA 2025: An Interview with Lebanese artist Ali Chahrour on ‘Told By My Mother’

★★★★★ Review: Shakespeare In The Park – Macbeth by Singapore Repertory Theatre

A multi-universal tale of blood and sand emerges at Fort Canning Park, in SRT’s space opera adaptation of the Scottish Play. Grand in ambition, breathtaking in design, and conceptually riveting Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) makes a triumphant return with a new edition of their iconic Shakespeare in the Park, this time tackling the dark tragedy of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Director Guy Unsworth, who also helmed Shakespeare in … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Shakespeare In The Park – Macbeth by Singapore Repertory Theatre

Preview: The Phantom of the Opera returns to the Sands Theatre this May

Base Entertainment Asia, in association with The Really Useful Group and Crossroads Live, is thrilled to announce the long-awaited return of The Phantom of the Opera to Singapore. The beloved musical will take the stage at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, for a strictly limited season beginning May 2025. After captivating Singaporean audiences in 2013 and 2019, this monumental production returns by popular demand—ready to … Continue reading Preview: The Phantom of the Opera returns to the Sands Theatre this May

Art What!: Heman Chong’s ‘This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness.’ at Singapore Art Museum

Singapore Art Museum (SAM) presents the first major survey exhibition of mid-career Singapore artist Heman Chong, titled This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. From 10 May to 17 August 2025, explore 51 works from the early 2000s to the present, including six new commissions unveiled at the exhibition. The exhibition maps Chong’s prolific conceptual practice … Continue reading Art What!: Heman Chong’s ‘This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness.’ at Singapore Art Museum