A history of violence, corruption and cover-ups, buried in paper and archives. Of all the places to discover violence, one would least expect to find it within the four walls of a tiny basement office of archival documents. But that is precisely what Noma Yini does with their work Commission Continua, which made its world premiere last week at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Last … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Commission Continua by Noma Yini
Incendiary play that shows you exactly how people are pushed to extreme measures. It is only human to want to connect, to reach out and share in the friendship of others. It makes sense then that in Qabila’s WePushTheSky, playwright and performer Nisha Abdulla greets us when we first enter the theatre, her voice warm and welcoming as we settle into our seats. Behind her, there … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: WePushTheSky by Qabila
Ambitious attempt at tackling issues of xenophobia and the ever-growing refugee crisis. When we last saw Birds Migrant Theatre at the 2023 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, the team of migrants and theatre enthusiasts had put on a deeply personal show about their lived experiences as foreign workers in Singapore. Since then, the group has continued to pursue their passion for the arts, and in 2025, … Continue reading Review: The Troupe by Birds Migrant Theatre
Students grapple with trauma and pain in a physically-demanding work led by Noor Effendy Ibrahim. Back in 2011, Noor Effendy Ibrahim performed a durational work titled Dancing with the Ghost of My Child at the Substation, in which he engaged in a form of ritualistic self-flagellation and masochism for an unspecified amount of time. For those familiar with Effendy’s work, this visceral image is par … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Dancing with the Ghost of My Child by Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Ruby Jayaseelan, ANTARMUKA & Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
In search of a soon-to-be-lost lost season, in the form of an evocative letter of love and unfathomable grief. In the mindscapes of so many Singaporeans, the idea of winter is an utterly foreign one for a tropical island that experiences sweltering heat all year round. To us, the season of snow takes on almost a mythic quality to it, where the only way to … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: The End of Winter by Siren Theatre Co.
There are a few things that make good theatre and live performance so uniquely powerful, but perhaps the greatest factor that leads to us appreciating it that much more lies in how it is quite simply, temporal. No two nights are the same, whether it is due to a difference in the audience members present, a change in actors’ delivery, or even something that seems … Continue reading Bakchormeeboy Awards 2024: Revivals, restagings and hope for the future
It was a night for the fans, as lullaboy took to the stage for his final stop in 2024 for his hotly-anticipated Coming Home tour. Named after his latest album, the Coming Home tour has already seen sold out shows in Jakarta, Bangkok, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur, before Singapore finally gets to experience it right here at the Esplanade Annexe Studio – and boy, were … Continue reading Gigs & Sets: lullaboy brings charm, soul and love to final leg of 2024 Coming Home tour
The majesty of the great outdoors captured in a risk-taking theatrical presentation. The realms of sports and arts may seem worlds apart, but French choreographer Rachid Ouramdane has found a veritable link between the two, with beauty in the human spirit to triumph against all odds. Such is the nature of his work Corps extrêmes, which made its Singapore debut as part of the Esplanade’s … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Corps extrêmes by Rachid Ouramdane and Compagnie de Chaillot
Finding meaning and momentum in persevering through the pain. No matter how many times it happens, the act of falling will always be coupled with a sense of fear, often from the knowledge that the point of impact is going to hurt. Yet when it becomes incorporated into one’s daily life, the pain that comes from each fall becomes somewhat more bearable when one becomes … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: A Reason For Falling by Hwa Wei-An
As one of Dream Academy’s favourite recurring shows, the Dim Sum Dollies’ The History of Singapore is always a welcome production each time it receives a staging, where each iteration builds on the last, tracing the history of our small island nation from birth to modern day – alongside all its highs and lows, and everything is up for parody. Seamlessly blending humour and history, … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Dim Sum Dollies Present The History of Singapore – Sixty Sexy Years by Dream Academy
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