★★★★★ Theatre Review: Fragments of Tuah by Mark Teh and Five Arts Centre

Mesmerising docutheatre production delves into the myth of Malayan national hero Hang Tuah while asking who gets to shape history, and why we continue to believe the stories we inherit. Duration: 90min Mythological figures have long served as vessels for morality, identity and national aspiration. Their stories are repeated until they begin to feel inseparable from the societies that tell them, their contradictions smoothed over … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Fragments of Tuah by Mark Teh and Five Arts Centre

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Iranian theatremaker Amir Reza Koohestani on surveillance, solidarity and the power of ‘Blind Runner’

Surveillance cameras watch every interaction. A husband visits his imprisoned wife once a week, their conversations becoming increasingly strained under the weight of constant observation. Elsewhere, he agrees to guide a young blind marathon runner through the streets of Paris, discovering that trust, like freedom, is something built one careful step at a time. In Blind Runner, acclaimed Iranian playwright and director Amir Reza Koohestani … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Iranian theatremaker Amir Reza Koohestani on surveillance, solidarity and the power of ‘Blind Runner’

Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Mark Teh on retelling legends of national heroes in Five Arts Centre’s ‘Fragments of Tuah’

Hang Tuah has occupied a singular place in the Malaysian imagination for centuries. The legendary warrior appears in school textbooks, literature, films and political speeches, often held up as the embodiment of loyalty, courage and duty. It is precisely because he is so deeply embedded in the national consciousness that theatre-maker Mark Teh never imagined he would make a work about him. “He’s a mythic … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2026: An Interview with Mark Teh on retelling legends of national heroes in Five Arts Centre’s ‘Fragments of Tuah’

Preview: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s The Studios 2026 – Precarious Bodies

In a world shaped by uncertainty, shifting power structures and contested truths, theatre becomes more than entertainment, and becomes a space to question, reflect and connect. This year, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay launches a bold new chapter of The Studios, its annual theatre season, with Precarious Bodies, a thought-provoking exploration of vulnerability, control and the invisible forces that shape our lives. Running from … Continue reading Preview: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s The Studios 2026 – Precarious Bodies

★★★☆☆ Review: Scenes From The Climate Era by David Finnigan and Ellison Tan

Myriad views of the climate disaster and the desperation and depression that emerges in its rise. How does one frame a play about climate change and still add to the already burgeoning conversation? Adapted for a Singaporean production, Australian playwright David Finnigan’s Scenes From The Climate Era is keenly aware of the weighty and convoluted nature of the climate crisis, and how difficult it can … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Scenes From The Climate Era by David Finnigan and Ellison Tan

The Studios 2025: An Interview with playwright David Finnigan on ‘Scenes From The Climate Era’

A couple debates whether to bring a child into a world on fire. Scientists race to build a coral reef in a lab. Somewhere in Antarctica, a team attempts to hold back a melting glacier with a seawall. And in the dark, the last frog of its species calls out—hoping, futilely, for a mate. In Scenes from the Climate Era, Australian playwright David Finnigan zooms … Continue reading The Studios 2025: An Interview with playwright David Finnigan on ‘Scenes From The Climate Era’

★★★★☆ Review: This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May) by Wichaya Artamat

A closer look at ordinary life that carries on in spite of the extraordinary. Thai writer-director Wichaya Artamat claims that his play This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May) is an unpolitical play. But can any play truly be completely devoid of any political attachment? Rounding off the Esplanade’s 2024 season of The Studios, This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May) by Wichaya Artamat

★★★☆☆ Review: One Day We’ll Understand 有那么一天​ by Sim Chi Yin

Performance-lecture on biased historiography and hidden knowledge urges us to critically reconstruct our interpretations to formulate our own version of the truth. The Malayan Emergency in the late 1940s continues to remain a traumatic memory for many Chinese Malaysians, where families would recall relatives hurriedly leaving the country, or worse – hauled away for questioning over suspected Communist relations, and never seen again, at least, … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: One Day We’ll Understand 有那么一天​ by Sim Chi Yin

Esplanade’s The Studios 2024: An Interview with director/playwright Wichaya Artamat and producer Sasapin Siriwanij on ‘This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May)’

Fathers in Asian society have always had certain stereotypes associated with them – a sense of the austere, reserved and detached from openly expressing love for their children, and perhaps, even as a microcosm of the greater paternalistic, patriarchal governance style adopted by those in power. In many ways, a father is often an anchor within a family that determines their relations and dynamics, resulting … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2024: An Interview with director/playwright Wichaya Artamat and producer Sasapin Siriwanij on ‘This Song Father Used To Sing (Three Days In May)’

Esplanade’s The Studios 2024: An Interview with artist Sim Chi Yin on ‘One Day We’ll Understand’ (有那么一天​)

For artist Sim Chi Yin, history has always formed an integral part of her work and practice. Be it presented in the form of photography or film or even book-making, Sim’s work often takes her into the recent past, excavating and researching into academia and accounts to unearth previously hidden narratives. Through her artistic interventions, she paints a more complete picture of what has come … Continue reading Esplanade’s The Studios 2024: An Interview with artist Sim Chi Yin on ‘One Day We’ll Understand’ (有那么一天​)