Review: Singapore International Festival of Arts 2019

When the 2019 Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) programme line-up was announced in February this year, expectations ran high and hype was abound. With the impending arrival of some of the greatest living artists today and exciting new work from local artists, SIFA 2019 promised a season of arts that would establish May as Singapore’s month of arts, building on what Festival Director Gaurav … Continue reading Review: Singapore International Festival of Arts 2019

SIFA 2019: Crowd by Gisèle Vienne (Review)

The lines of desire are powerfully drawn over one crazy night at the rave.  While often considered a liminal space of chaos and pure freedom of expression, French choreographer Gisèle Vienne has managed to temper that manic energy and craft a scintillating, multi-layered dance work with Crowd, as we watch the lives of 14 dancers unfold over one night at a rave. Crowd dedicates itself entirely to the … Continue reading SIFA 2019: Crowd by Gisèle Vienne (Review)

SIFA 2019: Körper by Sasha Waltz & Hans Peter Kuhn (Review)

The discomfort of being in our own skin translates to the discomfort of being alive.   Often considered one of her signature works, Sasha Waltz’s Körper has remained incredibly iconic and relevant even 19 years on. While bodies are always a key part of any dance performance, rarely has a production chosen to so boldly examine the body itself in full visceral detail, tearing it down to … Continue reading SIFA 2019: Körper by Sasha Waltz & Hans Peter Kuhn (Review)

SIFA 2019: A Dream Under The Southern Bough – Reverie by Toy Factory (Review)

The second instalment of this adaptation of a Ming dynasty classic brims with potential – a quintessential Toy Factory production doing what they do best.  Trust is an incredibly delicate concept in the theatre world, and with Toy Factory’s epic production A Dream Under The Southern Bough, SIFA always knew it was running a risk when they invested resources that would see the production through, one … Continue reading SIFA 2019: A Dream Under The Southern Bough – Reverie by Toy Factory (Review)

SIFA 2019: Ryuichi Sakamoto – Fragments with Shiro Takatani (Review)

A transcendent performance brilliantly portraying the struggle of art and life.  Nobody ever said creating art was easy. But perhaps few people know it quite as well as living legend and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who had an eight year gap between his latest solo album async (2017) and Out of Noise (2009), during which he struggled to find inspiration. In that time, Sakamoto was also diagnosed with throat cancer, … Continue reading SIFA 2019: Ryuichi Sakamoto – Fragments with Shiro Takatani (Review)

SIFA 2019: Displaced Persons Welcome Dinner by Checkpoint Theatre (Review)

Humanitarian workers go through dreary office politics just like you and me.  The issue of refugees and mass migration has been one of the hottest topics on everyone’s lips in recent years, with many a play made about the problems the displaced go through themselves. But few plays have actually dealt with the oft forgotten players in the crisis – the humanitarian aid workers tirelessly … Continue reading SIFA 2019: Displaced Persons Welcome Dinner by Checkpoint Theatre (Review)

SIFA 2019: Oreste by Ifigenia by Tan Shou Chen and Ng Tian Hui (Review)

Reclaiming gender in this new adaptation of a classic Greek tale. In its various adaptations, Ifigenia at Tauris has seesawed between two perspectives. In Euripedes’ original play, like its title, the priestess Ifigenia took centrestage, the protagonist in this drama about a sister who has to make a choice between obeying the law and sacrificing her brother Oreste to the gods, or rebel and save him. … Continue reading SIFA 2019: Oreste by Ifigenia by Tan Shou Chen and Ng Tian Hui (Review)

SIFA 2019: ST/LL by Shiro Takatani, Dumb Type (Review)

The impossible task of putting the meditative mind onstage is achieved in this visually stunning work from Japan. Created by Japanese artist Shiro Takatani and his company Dumb Type, ST/LL is one of those rare, brilliantly inventive works of art that defies definition, combining dance, music, video and theatre to produce a series of masterful visual images in motion. Cerebral and abstract in form, there are perhaps … Continue reading SIFA 2019: ST/LL by Shiro Takatani, Dumb Type (Review)

SIFA 2019: An Interview with Tan Shou Chen and Ng Tian Hui, Creators of Oreste by Ifigenia

Last weekend, local artists Tan Shou Chen and Ng Tian Hui will be presenting their brand new work, Oreste by Ifigenia, as part of the 2019 Singapore International Festival of Arts. Crafted as a response to Handel’s opera Oreste, Shou Chen and Tian Hui’s version differentiates itself by placing the enigmatic Ifigenia as the protagonist instead, the sister of Oreste and forced to choose between saving or sacrificing him. … Continue reading SIFA 2019: An Interview with Tan Shou Chen and Ng Tian Hui, Creators of Oreste by Ifigenia

SIFA 2019: Ryuichi Sakamoto and Shiro Takatani in Conversation

Often considered one of the world’s most exciting living composers, it’s a rare treat to be able to come face to face with Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto before his performance at the Esplanade Theatre next Tuesday, which was also the first show at SIFA 2019 to completely sell out its tickets, within the first hour of ticket release in February. In both the SIFA shows Fragments and ST/LL, Sakamoto … Continue reading SIFA 2019: Ryuichi Sakamoto and Shiro Takatani in Conversation