Preview: Pesta Raya 2019 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

The Esplanade’s Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of the Arts is back this June to once again highlight the varied arts and culture from across the wide expanse of the the nusantara (Malay Archipelago). Held together by the same rooted beliefs and culture, this year’s festival celebrates that diversity and richness from across its heritage, history and people. Once again coinciding with the celebration of Hari … Continue reading Preview: Pesta Raya 2019 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Preview: Chonteng by Teater Ekamatra

Presented as part of their Artist Residency Programme, this April, Teater Ekamatra presents Rizman Putra’s Chonteng. Translating to ‘doodle’ in English, the installation takes the form of drawings exploring ideas of line and mark making based loosely on the method of automatic drawing, documenting the stream of iconography and creatures from the consciousness of the artist. First explored in previous exhibitions Labyrinth of Things I and II, which were … Continue reading Preview: Chonteng by Teater Ekamatra

Are You Game, Sau(dara)?: An Interview with Creators Fasyali Fadzly and Soultari Amin Farid, and Dramaturg Grace Lee-Khoo

KUALA LUMPUR – Last weekend, we travelled up to Five Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to catch the cross-Causeway double bill presentation Are You Game, Sau(dara)? Comprising two brand new works created in response to Malaysian playwright Leow Puay Tin’s seminal play 3 Children, we sat down with creators Fasyali Fadzly and Soultari Amin Farid, as well as dramaturg Grace Lee-Khoo, before we caught the show to find out a … Continue reading Are You Game, Sau(dara)?: An Interview with Creators Fasyali Fadzly and Soultari Amin Farid, and Dramaturg Grace Lee-Khoo

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

Preview: Are You Game, Sau(dara)? by Centre 42 and Five Arts Centre

This March, Singapore’s Centre 42 and Malaysia’s Five Arts Centre unite to present a cross-Causeway double-bill in the form of Are You Game, Sau(dara)? Created by Singapore theatre company Bhumi Collective and Malaysian director Fasyali Fadzly,  Are You Game, Sau(dara)? will be co-presented Centre 42 (Singapore) and Five Arts Centre (Malaysia), in the first collaboration between the two companies, and performed at Kotak @ Five Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur before heading … Continue reading Preview: Are You Game, Sau(dara)? by Centre 42 and Five Arts Centre

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

Preview: Anak Melayu by Teater Kami

In conjunction with their 30th Anniversary celebration this year, Teater Kami is set to restage Anak Melayu – a play that was first staged in 1992 at The Substation, as written and directed by a then 18 year old Noor Effendy Ibrahim. Anak Melayu follows six Malay teenagers going through a tumultuous period in their lives as they attempt to find themselves and discover those around them in … Continue reading Preview: Anak Melayu by Teater Kami

Review: Projek Suitcase 2018 by Teater Ekamatra

An assortment of short monodramas reflecting on what it means to live – and die. Teater Ekamatra’s site-specific Projek Suitcase series follows a simple poor theatre format – one actor performs a short monodrama, equipped with minimal props, lighting and costumes, celebrating the power of the voice and traditional storytelling techniques. For their latest edition, held at the brand new Wisma Geylang Serai, they’ve taken on the … Continue reading Review: Projek Suitcase 2018 by Teater Ekamatra

Preview: Projek Suitcase 2018 by Teater Ekamatra

Ending off their 30th anniversary celebrations, Teater Ekamatra completes their season with a brand new edition of Projek Suitcase this December! Created by the company in 2003, Projek Suitcase adopted a poor theatre format involving one actor and one suitcase in a performance space, showcasing the effectiveness of a play even in spite of minimal setup, and the power of storytelling from the actor alone. Now, … Continue reading Preview: Projek Suitcase 2018 by Teater Ekamatra

Review: Cerita Cinta by akulah bimbo SAKTI

The inheritance of violence and despair is on show in a powerful, unusual love story from one of Singapore’s most exciting theatre makers.  If one has never known love, how does one then display it? That is the issue at the core of Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s 1995 play Cerita Cinta, where contrary to its innocent title (literally ‘Love Story’), love manifests itself in perverse, violent ways that leaves … Continue reading Review: Cerita Cinta by akulah bimbo SAKTI