Review: Streams Where Deer Drink by Sigma Contemporary Dance

Immersive dance experience ponders over memory and form, utilising space and projections to transform a space into a bastion of dreams. The beauty of dance often lies in the way the performers move and adapt to their chosen space and soundtrack, transforming their bodies to elevate the space and turn mere atmosphere into a complete experience. In Sigma Contemporary Dance’s newest work, the contemporary dance … Continue reading Review: Streams Where Deer Drink by Sigma Contemporary Dance

Review: FACADE – Two Parallel Lives by Bhaskar’s Arts Academy

Resolving the line between the personal and the professional. Over the years, Bhaskar’s Arts Academy has consistently pushed and evolved the Bharatanatyam form, yet always maintaining its core tenets and philosophy. In their latest production, Bhaskar’s Arts Academy brings back resident choreographer Neewin Hershall’s FACADE – Two Parallel Lives, the first time it’s been staged since its premiere in 2017, and showcases the company’s ability … Continue reading Review: FACADE – Two Parallel Lives by Bhaskar’s Arts Academy

Review: Hua Mu Lan by Ding Yi Music Company

Blending theatre and music to tell the story of the legendary female warrior in anti-war concert. Thanks to the popular Disney film adaptations, the legend of Hua Mu Lan has gone far beyond the confines of Chinese culture, an internationally-renowned female warrior who save her father by taking his place in the army. Something about the story of courage and ferocious tenacity never gets old, … Continue reading Review: Hua Mu Lan by Ding Yi Music Company

★★★★☆ Review: Every Brilliant Thing by Gateway Arts

Sharon Sum lifts our spirits in this fringe performance that fights back against crushing depression with hope and wonder. What are the things worth living for? As part of National Suicide Prevention Month, Gateway Arts presents a new staging Duncan Macmillan’s critically-acclaimed one-person play Every Brilliant Thing, as directed by Oliver Chong and starring Sharon Sum. Chong himself previously starred in a Mandarin adaptation of … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Every Brilliant Thing by Gateway Arts

★★★★☆ Review: Dive by Wild Rice

New and Now initiative by Wild Rice plunges into the deep end with Laura Hayes’ arresting play about a long-term abusive relationship. They say there’s plenty of fish in the sea, but what if the one you end up hooking pulls you overboard? In Laura Hayes’ Wild Rice debut, the NAFA lecturer explores the often complex and damaging aspects of abusive relationships through the lens … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Dive by Wild Rice

★★★★☆ Review: This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May) by Wichaya Artamat

A closer look at ordinary life that carries on in spite of the extraordinary. Thai writer-director Wichaya Artamat claims that his play This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May) is an unpolitical play. But can any play truly be completely devoid of any political attachment? Rounding off the Esplanade’s 2024 season of The Studios, This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May) by Wichaya Artamat

★★★★★ Review: Geng Rebut Cabinet (GRC) by Teater Ekamatra

Timely, charged play that skilfully skewers the pitfalls of politics, and how change is almost impossible from within. Politicians have never had it easy. On one hand, they have to ensure that they gain the adoration of the citizens such that they can secure the popular vote and remain in power. On the other hand, how much change can they actually achieve, as they compromise … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Geng Rebut Cabinet (GRC) by Teater Ekamatra

Review: GAME PLAY – Dungeons & Distractions (SMU Arts Fest 2024)

Enthusiastic audience participation and a winsome storyline lands a critical hit and sparks joy in the crowd. Theatre doesn’t always have to be a serious affair, as proven by GAME PLAY, an immersive experience that played as part of the 2024 SMU Arts Fest last weekend. Creative producers Jo Tan, Edward Choy and Terrance Tan came together to bring Dungeons & Dragons to life, with … Continue reading Review: GAME PLAY – Dungeons & Distractions (SMU Arts Fest 2024)

★★★★★ Review: Miss Saigon by Base Entertainment Asia

Look beyond the ‘romance’ and you’ll find a scathing criticism of war and the pain it leaves in Schönberg and Boublil’s classic tragedy. Miss Saigon is often considered one of Broadway and the West End’s biggest legacy musicals, with a beautiful score composed by the duo that made smash hit Les Miserables, show stopping special effects and choreography that leave you breathless with its theatrics, … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Miss Saigon by Base Entertainment Asia

★★★☆☆ Review: One Day We’ll Understand 有那么一天​ by Sim Chi Yin

Performance-lecture on biased historiography and hidden knowledge urges us to critically reconstruct our interpretations to formulate our own version of the truth. The Malayan Emergency in the late 1940s continues to remain a traumatic memory for many Chinese Malaysians, where families would recall relatives hurriedly leaving the country, or worse – hauled away for questioning over suspected Communist relations, and never seen again, at least, … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: One Day We’ll Understand 有那么一天​ by Sim Chi Yin