Over the last four years, Gaurav Kripalani has served as Festival Director of the annual Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA). Considering the scale of the festival, that role alone would already be enough to keep any ordinary person’s day full. But if you look at the number of responsibilities he’s had in this past year alone, suffice to say that Gaurav is nothing less … Continue reading SIFA 2021 Wrap-Up: An Interview with Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani

When Gaurav Kripalani was first announced as the new Festival Director of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) four years ago, he had his fair share of skeptics and critics. But under his vision, it seemed pretty clear what he wanted to do with our national arts festival during his stint – cater to the widest number of people as possible through a varied … Continue reading Singapore International Festival of Arts 2021 wrap-up

Learning to connect again in three parts. After a year of the pandemic, watching dramatic readings on Zoom and pre-recorded archival footage, audience members are hungry for one thing – engagement. And one of the most effective ways of doing that is turning the tables and transforming the audience into the artist. In a way, that’s what 600 Highwaymen have done in A Thousand Ways, … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: A Thousand Ways by 600 Highwaymen (SIFA 2021)

Magical storytelling that bringing us closer online. I’m a cynic at heart, and have always known that stage magic is a matter of sleight of hand, misdirection and trickery to pull off an act. And when magic is performed via a digital medium, one cannot help but suspect its ‘authenticity’ even more, given how easy it is to manipulate videos and video feeds. But there’s … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: The Journey by Scott Silven (SIFA 2021)

An encounter with a refugee opens our eyes to the human pain behind the conflict. Moving to a new home can be hard. But it’s especially hard for refugees from war-torn nations finding themselves in a strange new land, reeling from the trauma of the past, adapting to their new life, and resisting strangers’ dirty looks and the creeping fear of feeling completely, absolutely alone. … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: As Far As Isolation Goes by Tania El Khoury and Basel Zaara (SIFA 2021)