Interview: Playwright Benedict Lim spills the ‘Beans’ on class, scarcity and taking creative risks

“Maybe because the world is burning and I might as well do the things I want to do.” That’s a statement that feels integral to Singaporean playwright Benedict Lim’s reason for making art. There is humour in the line, but also a sense of practicality: if the circumstances are already uncertain, there is little point waiting for the perfect moment to make the work you … Continue reading Interview: Playwright Benedict Lim spills the ‘Beans’ on class, scarcity and taking creative risks

★★★★★ Theatre Review: ART (2026) by Godot Theatre Company

Godot Theatre’s take on Yasmina Reza’s beloved classic reminds us how art reveals uncomfortable truths about ourselves and how we live in a world of myriad perspectives. Duration: 135 minutes John Berger, in Ways of Seeing, famously writes that “the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled”. It is an idea that applies directly to Yasmina Reza’s ART, a play … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: ART (2026) by Godot Theatre Company

★★★★★ Film Review: Once Upon A Time In The Middle East 欢迎来龙餐馆 dir. Wen Muye

From China comes one of the best anti-war blockbuster films in recent history that captures the human cost of senseless conflict, in both body count and morality. Duration: 140 minutes War films are so often constructed around the perspectives of the countries that wage them, making it unusual to see a film so openly interested in the consequences of American intervention in the Middle East … Continue reading ★★★★★ Film Review: Once Upon A Time In The Middle East 欢迎来龙餐馆 dir. Wen Muye

Theatre Review: One Love, A Legacy – Celebrating Joanna & Leslie Wong and Chinese Theatre Circle 《一缕柔情千秋业》

Documentary, biographical theatre tracing Chinese Theatre Circle’s roots, its impact, and the love that’s carried it for 45 years and beyond. For 45 years, Chinese Theatre Circle has been doing something no other company has done for as long and as fiercely as they have: keeping Chinese opera alive in Singapore. And to commemorate that, One Love, A Legacy: Celebrating Joanna & Leslie Wong and … Continue reading Theatre Review: One Love, A Legacy – Celebrating Joanna & Leslie Wong and Chinese Theatre Circle 《一缕柔情千秋业》

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: The Radicalisation of Mrs. Mary Lim-Rodrigues by Wild Rice

A precise, unsettling dissection of what happens when rules become more important than the people they are meant to serve. Duration: 90 minutes The Radicalisation of Mrs. Mary Lim-Rodrigues at times feels like a paradox: it is a play about the consequences of failing to see another person fully, yet it deliberately keeps its audience at a certain remove and emotional distance from its characters. … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: The Radicalisation of Mrs. Mary Lim-Rodrigues by Wild Rice

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice by Jeffrey Cheah Performing Arts Centre

Sarah Ruhl’s retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth comes alive under Ghafir Akbar’s inventive and imaginative staging, and the cast’s deeply sincere performances. Duration: 90 minutes For more than two thousand years, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice has endured as one of Greek mythology’s great stories of love and loss. Orpheus, the gifted musician, travels into the Underworld to retrieve his wife Eurydice … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice by Jeffrey Cheah Performing Arts Centre

The art and creativity behind Resorts World Sentosa’s Festival of Thrills

From neon-lit sea creatures to haunted Singapore legends, RWS is turning Halloween into a showcase of local stories, design and creative craft. There is a lot of work that goes into making something scary. The scream itself is easy enough. The difficult part is everything that comes before it: the story, the characters, the costumes, the lighting, the sound, the sets, the makeup, the food, … Continue reading The art and creativity behind Resorts World Sentosa’s Festival of Thrills

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: The Secret Drawer by Instant Café Theatre Company

New documentary theatre work excavates Malaysia’s buried history one memory at a time. There is a cleverness to The Secret Drawer that becomes apparent almost immediately: the production makes its black-box space feel like somewhere secret. Designed by producer Tan Cher Kian and directed by Jo Kukathas, the stage resembles an underground lair or private archive, with objects and figures surrounding Ling Tang and Lim … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Theatre Review: The Secret Drawer by Instant Café Theatre Company

Interview: ‘Eurydice’ director Ghafir Akbar speaks on Greek, grief and the future of Malaysian theatre

When Jeffrey Cheah Performing Arts Centre (JCPAC) approached Ghafir Akbar about presenting a production, he already knew which play he wanted to pull from the back of his mind: Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, “I love Greek plays and I love this play,” he says. “But one of my concerns was also that sometimes when you think about classic plays, the language can be quite demanding, and … Continue reading Interview: ‘Eurydice’ director Ghafir Akbar speaks on Greek, grief and the future of Malaysian theatre

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Come From Away by Pangdemonium!

Pangdemonium’s final show finds hope and grace with how Come From Away finds the extraordinary power of care, community and an open door, even in the face of loss and tragedy. Duration: 105 minutes It seems poetic that Pangdemonium should end its 16-year journey as a company with Come From Away. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the musical arrives as a story about what … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Come From Away by Pangdemonium!