Help Teater Ekamatra raise $10k with their AMBOI! fundraising challenge and unlock a Zoom mini theatre festival!

Initially set for a fantastic season, with stagings of plays such as a Malay version of Chong Tze Chien’s Poop!, like much of the industry, Teater Ekamatra was hit hard by the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions on entertainment venues, seeing a near complete cancellation of all their shows for 2020. Now, more than ever, they need your help to get through these tough times, as they … Continue reading Help Teater Ekamatra raise $10k with their AMBOI! fundraising challenge and unlock a Zoom mini theatre festival!

Preview: Berak by Teater Ekamatra + An Interview with the Creatives [CANCELLED]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, Berak has been cancelled.  Originally written by Chong Tze Chien and presented as Poop by The Finger Players, this March, Teater Ekamatra adapts the play into Malay, presenting it as a brand new production at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre at W!ld Rice. Berak chronicles the aftermath of a suicide: A grandmother bargains with divine powers to release her … Continue reading Preview: Berak by Teater Ekamatra + An Interview with the Creatives [CANCELLED]

Review: Rumah Dayak by Rupa co.lab

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 23/11/19, Matinee) Nessa Anwar’s sophomore full length play proves her mastery over capturing natural conversation and social realism. Presented by new theatre collective Rupa co.lab in their theatrical debut, Rumah Dayak follows a night-hour safehouse for troubled youths in the Malay community. Ironically however, the safehouse itself is facing imminent danger, as they face mounting pressures from the authorities, rising costs of operations, and … Continue reading Review: Rumah Dayak by Rupa co.lab

Rumah Dayak: An Interview with New Theatre Collective Rupa co.lab

The Singapore theatre scene is buzzing, with new collectives emerging year after year without fail. This time around, three founding members of Malay playwright collective Main Tulis Group (Hazwan Norly, Nabilah Said and Nessa Anwar) have come together to form Rupa co.lab, whose name is derived from the Sanskrit word प (rūpa), which means “form, shape”, and aims to reshape contemporary conversations through the lens … Continue reading Rumah Dayak: An Interview with New Theatre Collective Rupa co.lab

Review: Rumah Hantu by akulah BIMBO SAKTI

Trapped by the ghosts of their pasts. Written in response to Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s first play Kerusi Buaian, Cermin, dan Jam (1991), Adib Kosnan’s Rumah Hantu is the result of a year of workshopping under he Malay Heritage Centre’s Projek Bahasa Pengarah (The Director’s Language Project), and sees the rather unusual subject of the haunted house take centrestage. Directed by Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Rumah Hantu already creates an uneasy atmosphere the … Continue reading Review: Rumah Hantu by akulah BIMBO SAKTI

Preview: Rumah Dayak by Rupa co.lab

A new collective’s in town and they’re here to make a statement with their debut production this November. Named Rupa co.lab, comprising Malay theatremakers Hazwan Norly, Nabilah Said and Nessa Anwar (all founding members of the playwright collective Main Tulis Group), the collective aims to create new work and provoke and reshapes conversations as seen through the lens of the Malay person. As of now, the … Continue reading Preview: Rumah Dayak by Rupa co.lab

Preview: Rumah Hantu by akulah BIMBO SAKTI + An Interview with Noor Effendy Ibrahim and Adib Kosnan

Playing as part of the Malay Heritage Centre’s Malay Cultural Festival 2019, akulah BIMBO SAKTI is set to present the premiere of Adib Kosnan’s Rumah Hantu this November. Written by Adib in response to Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s first play Kerusi Buaian, Cermin, dan Jam (1991), Rumah Hantu (ghost house) takes place in an old and decrepit house, where two individuals find themselves trapped (Farez Najid and Suhaili Safari). Their lives are … Continue reading Preview: Rumah Hantu by akulah BIMBO SAKTI + An Interview with Noor Effendy Ibrahim and Adib Kosnan

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

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