Review: Master Z – The Ip Man Legacy dir. Yuen Woo-Ping (Review)

The latest installment of the Ip Man franchise may not have Donnie Yen, but still dazzles with intricately choreographed fight scenes. Over the past few years, actor Donnie Yen has become almost synonymous with the Ip Man franchise, playing the titular Wing Chun master and rapidly rising to become one of Hong Kong’s biggest martial arts stars. But while Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy does … Continue reading Review: Master Z – The Ip Man Legacy dir. Yuen Woo-Ping (Review)

Review: A Requiem For Change by LaSalle College of the Arts

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust The ambitious A Requiem For Change takes inspiration from social activist Naomi Klein’s book This Changes Everything, tackling big, contemporary concepts of climate change, political upheaval and capitalism. A devised work by David Glass in collaboration with students from the East 15 Drama School and LASALLE College of the arts, A Requiem For Change goes surreal in order to fully expand on and explain … Continue reading Review: A Requiem For Change by LaSalle College of the Arts

SGIFF 2018: Cannonball dir. Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen (Review)

Whimsical roadtrip to nowhere Experimental films are often a love/hate affair, leaving one either completely baffled, or bowled over by its form. Often, it leaves us reeling as the latter, but for road trip film Cannonball, we were left surprised by how it ended up more charming than it has any right to be. Cannonball follows partners and music duo Frank and Lily as they set off … Continue reading SGIFF 2018: Cannonball dir. Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen (Review)

SGIFF 2018: Cities of Last Things dir. Ho Wai Ding + Kingdom dir. Tan Wei Keong (Review)

A heart wrenching film about the absurdity of life and an animated short about finding one’s place in the world opens the 29th SGIFF Last Wednesday, the 29th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) kicked off with animated short Kingdom by local filmmaker Tan Wei Keong, and Ho Wai Ding’s feature length film Cities of Last Things, which first premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival … Continue reading SGIFF 2018: Cities of Last Things dir. Ho Wai Ding + Kingdom dir. Tan Wei Keong (Review)

Review: Sink or Swim dir. Gilles Lellouche (French Film Festival 2018)

Synchronized swimming drama moves with its tale of friendship and camraderie. Gilles Lellouche’s Sink or Swim opens with a familiar quote, along the lines of a “square peg never being able to fit into a round hole.” Even from its poster alone, one might be tempted to laugh out loud at the almost comical sight of eight confused men in swimwear, some hairy, some rotund, some … Continue reading Review: Sink or Swim dir. Gilles Lellouche (French Film Festival 2018)

Review: Bitten – Return To Our Roots by Thong Pei Qin and Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara

Blood ties run deep as this production gets bitten by the history bug. Dengue fever may seem like an unexpected and morbid inspiration to create an entire show around, but for Bitten: Return to Our Roots creators Thong Pei Qin and Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara, it’s an affliction that doubled as a metaphor and the beginnings of an ongoing exploration into their past, present and future. Inspired … Continue reading Review: Bitten – Return To Our Roots by Thong Pei Qin and Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara

Kalaa Utsavam 2018: Bali by Adishakti Theatre (Review)

Adishakti Theatre delivers both monkey business and human emotion in equal amounts in this surprisingly powerful fringe show. The Hindi epic The Ramayana is an account of the heroic deeds performed by the hero Rama, often considered a ‘champion of dharma’, or righteous deeds. But as we all know, morality exists in shades of grey, and when put to close examination, one comes to realise … Continue reading Kalaa Utsavam 2018: Bali by Adishakti Theatre (Review)

Review: Charlie by Bhumi Collective

A brief encounter with a true innocent. In the wake of politically-charged, tumultuous events such as the rise of Brexit and POTUS Trump, the world as we know it has changed irrevocably, a much more terrifying place to wake up in each morning. How does one stand to live everyday like this? In Bhumi Collective’s Charlie, actress Victoria Chen has imagined a hypothetical situation in which a … Continue reading Review: Charlie by Bhumi Collective

Review: A $ingapore Carol by W!ld Rice

The Dickensian holiday classic gets a Singaporean twist There are few shows more quintessential to Christmas than Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, having received countless adaptations and stagings each holiday season. And here in sunny Singapore, while it may not be the most familiar tale to most, all that might just change with W!ld Rice’s Singaporean twist on the classic – A $ingapore Carol. Written … Continue reading Review: A $ingapore Carol by W!ld Rice

Preview: Extremities by Intercultural Theatre Institute

It’s been a long time coming, but the time has finally come for the latest batch of Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) students to graduate. For students Caroline Chin, Hau Guei Sze (a.k.a. Zizi), Lakshmana KP and Pooja Mohanraj, this will come in the form of their final production of the year, Extremities.  Playing at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, Extremities is written by Emmy-award winner William Mastrosimone and is inspired … Continue reading Preview: Extremities by Intercultural Theatre Institute