★★★★☆ Review: Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding by Singapore Repertory Theatre

SRT ends the year with a riotous dinner theatre production about a lust for life. In 1998, the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) went where no local theatre company had gone before when they staged a play called Ah Kong’s Birthday Party. Considered one of the earliest forms of dinner theatre in Singapore, the interactive production featured actors entertaining each table, karaoke moments, and of course, … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding by Singapore Repertory Theatre

★★★★☆ Review: Happy Indian Women by The Necessary Stage

An authentic, diverse exploration of what it means to be an Indian woman today. The Singaporean Indian identity is deeply multi-faceted. Within the community, there are already diverse languages, skin tones, religions, sexualities, family histories and rootedness to one’s culture, where every Indian person has a unique story to tell. As a minority race within the country, Indians have also faced and continue to face … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Happy Indian Women by The Necessary Stage

★★★★★ Review: Into The Woods by Pangdemonium!

Local all star production of Sondheim’s classic is the must-see musical of the year. Among Stephen Sondheim’s many works, Into The Woods remains one of his best and most enduring. On the surface, the musical, with a Tony Award-winning book by James Lapine, ostensibly seems like a colourful mash-up of the most renowned fairy tales, utilising the clever conceit of the woods to bring them … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Into The Woods by Pangdemonium!

★★★★☆ Review: The Vault – Past Perfect by Centre 42

Lessons drawn from reflections on the past and those who came before in the local theatre scene. How much value is there in looking back on the past? For that matter, how many young artists and theatre practitioners today know about those that came before them and their history, when performance is such an ephemeral, fleeting art form? Answering those questions, to an extent, is … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Vault – Past Perfect by Centre 42

★★★★☆ Review: Mamma Mia! by BASE Entertainment Asia

ABBA musical guaranteed to leave you with a smile and dreams of a beach holiday. With the end of the year fast approaching, most Singaporeans can’t wait to get away for a well-deserved holiday. But for those who aren’t able to just yet, there’s always a feel good musical that’s there to tide you over till then. This season, that musical happens to be ABBA … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Mamma Mia! by BASE Entertainment Asia

★★★★☆ Review: The Golden Temple by Teet Kask

Obsessive desire takes centrestage for multidisciplinary adaptation of Yukio Mishima novel. Making its Asian premiere last Sunday as part of the 2023 Asia-Europe Cultural Festival, Estonian director and choreographer Teet Kask’s The Golden Temple has been nothing short of a miracle. From multiple performers pulling out days before the show, to finding replacements willing to put in the work to learn everything while hopping an … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Golden Temple by Teet Kask

★★★★☆ Review: Session Zero by Checkpoint Theatre

Dungeons and Dragons becomes marriage counselling homebrew. The joy of roleplaying games (RPGs) has always been in its escapism, to allow its players to be whoever they want to be, slaying dragons and fighting evil wizards. And even when they fail, there’s always a second chance to try again, and eventually emerge the celebrated hero. In many ways, it’s also akin to theatre, where players … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Session Zero by Checkpoint Theatre

★★★★☆ Review: Lapse by Melati Suryodarmo

Finding the rhythm of chaos through seeing and re-connecting. We live in a time of disorder. From conflict that doesn’t make sense to seemingly inexplicable disasters, how can we start to accept the chaos we’re constantly surrounded by? Rather than attempting to resolve these tensions, Indonesian artist Melati Suryodarmo seems to suggest accepting and connecting precisely because of such turbulence, rather than reject and attempt … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Lapse by Melati Suryodarmo

★★★★☆ Review: Mali Bucha: Dance Offering by Kornkarn Rungsawang

Tradition and technology come together to get closer to the gods. There are some beliefs and rituals that are no longer practiced today, either due to this modern life leaving little time for preparation, or the knowledge lost between generations. What Thai dancer Kornkarn Rungsawang wants to do then, is to reconnect us to these traditions through her technologically-driven work Mali Bucha: Dance Offering, that … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Mali Bucha: Dance Offering by Kornkarn Rungsawang

Review: Artificial Indian by Rishi Budhrani

Microaggressions make for poignant, hard-hitting jokes that reveal the reality of being a racial minority. Why is Rishi Budhrani, a born and bred Singaporean-Indian, considered an ‘artificial Indian’? Is it because he is ‘fair for an Indian’? Because he ended up becoming a ‘joker’ onstage? Confused by these stereotypical assumptions, Rishi embarks on a stand-up comedy journey to figure out exactly how he should identify. … Continue reading Review: Artificial Indian by Rishi Budhrani