BATU: Ayu Permata Sari and Hasyimah Harith on reimagining the kitchen, sharing stories and space

A kitchen can be many things. It is a place where food is prepared and domestic work is done, but it can also be where women gather, where stories are exchanged, where knowledge is passed between generations, and where rituals are repeated almost without thought. For Indonesian choreographer Ayu Permata Sari and Singaporean artist Hasyimah Harith, it is also a space through which questions of … Continue reading BATU: Ayu Permata Sari and Hasyimah Harith on reimagining the kitchen, sharing stories and space

Still Lives – Singapore: Daniel Kok and Luke George on using shibari to explore trust, tension and stories

A performance called Still Lives might sound, at first, like an exercise in holding still. But for artists Daniel Kok and Luke George, stillness is only the beginning. Built around rope, bodies, objects and the act of carefully binding people into sculptural compositions, Still Lives is less a fixed work than an evolving encounter with each place it enters. Since its beginnings during the pandemic, … Continue reading Still Lives – Singapore: Daniel Kok and Luke George on using shibari to explore trust, tension and stories

Preview: da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now (CAN) 2026 by Esplanade – Theatre on the Bay

In a world where we’re constantly scrolling, multitasking and moving from one thing to the next, taking the time to truly see has become something of a luxury. This October, Esplanade’s da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now (CAN) returns with a timely reminder that contemporary performance can do more than entertain, and encourage us to pause, pay attention and reconnect with ourselves and those around … Continue reading Preview: da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now (CAN) 2026 by Esplanade – Theatre on the Bay

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Blind Runner by Mehr Theatre Group and Amir Reza Koohestani

A deceptively simple premise of a husband and wife’s relationship torn apart by imprisonment turns into something much more devastating in the face of political activism. Performance watched on 1 August, 8pmDuration: 60 minutes In Iran, where dissent can turn an ordinary life into one shaped by surveillance, imprisonment and separation, freedom is never simply an abstract ideal. In Iranian theatremaker’s Amir Reza Koohestani’s Blind … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Blind Runner by Mehr Theatre Group and Amir Reza Koohestani

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Le Père (The Father) 父亲 by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre

by D.Y. Mandarin adaptation of acclaimed Florian Zeller play finds heartbreaking new resonance; spotlighting the Asian sensibilities of a family at war with Alzheimer’s disease.  In theatre, there are few plays that break the trust between audience and performer in its storytelling; And with an unassuming title such as ‘The Father’, the audience is lured into a false sense of familiarity. But, when the naturalistic, … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Le Père (The Father) 父亲 by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre

★★★★☆ Dance Review: Diary VII ・ The Story Of…… by Mui Cheuk-yin

Mui Cheuk-yin transforms a chance encounter with a stray cat into a profound reflection on migration, memory and the circular nature of time. Diary entries often feel like streams of consciousness, a flow of thought. So for a dance piece to take inspiration from one, that results in a performance where there is no dramatic overture, no attempt to overwhelm. Instead, the theatre fills with … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Dance Review: Diary VII ・ The Story Of…… by Mui Cheuk-yin

Huayi 2026: An Interview with Hong Kong dance icon Mui Cheuk-yin ‘Diary VII ・ The Story Of……’

For more than four decades, Mui Cheuk-yin has shaped the language of contemporary dance in Hong Kong through works that are deeply personal yet quietly expansive. Her long-running Diary series, begun in 1986, traces a life in motion: recording memories, migrations, encounters, and the passing of time through the body. With Diary VII・The Story Of……, which makes its Singapore premiere this February as part of … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with Hong Kong dance icon Mui Cheuk-yin ‘Diary VII ・ The Story Of……’

Huayi 2026: An Interview with King Shih-chieh, star of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s ‘Le Père (The Father)’, and director David Jiang

Quick-witted and sharp-tongued, André is used to commanding every room he enters. But as small ruptures begin to surfac;a missing watch, rearranged furniture, unfamiliar faces at the dinner table, the boundary between memory and reality starts to dissolve. Le Père (The Father) draws audiences into the disintegrating inner life of an ageing man confronting Alzheimer’s, unfolding with unsettling intimacy and emotional precision. Presented as part … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with King Shih-chieh, star of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s ‘Le Père (The Father)’, and director David Jiang

Huayi 2026: An Interview with ‘The Sun’ director Tora Hsu and writer Chen Yi-En

Set in a post-apocalyptic future marked by division and survival, The Sun is a contemporary reimagining of Japanese playwright Tomohiro Maekawa’s celebrated science fiction fable. Directed by award-winning Taiwanese theatre-maker Tora Hsu, with script adaptation by Chen Yi-en, this new staging reframes the work through a distinctly Taiwanese lens, responding to the fractures, anxieties and ideological tensions of the present moment. Premiering internationally at Huayi … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with ‘The Sun’ director Tora Hsu and writer Chen Yi-En

Huayi 2026: An Interview with director Roy Szeto and playwright He Jiping as they bring epic period drama ‘Deling and Cixi’ to the stage

Set against the twilight of the Qing dynasty, Deling and Cixi brings together two formidable women at a moment when an empire and a worldview stands on the brink of collapse. Written by celebrated playwright He Jiping and directed by Roy Szeto, the play looks beyond familiar historical narratives to uncover an intimate, humane encounter between Empress Dowager Cixi and the Western-educated aristocrat Deling. Through … Continue reading Huayi 2026: An Interview with director Roy Szeto and playwright He Jiping as they bring epic period drama ‘Deling and Cixi’ to the stage