Preview: First Storeys by Sean Cham (The Future of Our Pasts Festival)

Sean Cham’s 2019 is fast shaping up to be one of his busiest ones yet – hot on the heels of his photo exhibition This Is Where as part of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019, the young artist returns this March to present an ambitious new work as part of Yale-NUS’ The Future of Our Pasts Festival. Titled First Storeys, punning on the homonym of ‘stories’ … Continue reading Preview: First Storeys by Sean Cham (The Future of Our Pasts Festival)

Preview: Late Company by Pangdemonium

This February, Pangdemonium opens their 2019 season of past tense/future perfect with Canadian playwright Jordan Tannahill’s Late Company, in its Asian premiere.Centering around the issue of bullying is a poignant one, as Singapore has been reported to see the third highest rate of bullying among youths globally, and the second highest in the world for cyberbullying. – Stay tuned to our EXCLUSIVE interview with Xander Pang, Adrain … Continue reading Preview: Late Company by Pangdemonium

Preview: Still Life by Checkpoint Theatre

Last year, we caught a preview of a new play from Checkpoint Theatre while it was still in development. Now, that play is finally ready to be staged, as Checkpoint Theatre premieres artist-writer Dana Lam’s Still Life as the very first production of their 2019 season this February. Directed and dramaturged by Checkpoint Theatre co-artistic director Claire Wong, Still Life is Dana Lam’s reflection on her life and art-making, … Continue reading Preview: Still Life by Checkpoint Theatre

Review: Off Centre (2019) by The Necessary Stage

A Singaporean classic through and through, as disturbingly relevant now as it was then. There’s good reason why Off Centre is considered one of the most important works of the Singapore literary canon; the hallmark of a classic play lies primarily in its ability for both story and characters to transcend time, and Off Centre achieves all of these in spades, triumphantly returning to the stage as bold as it … Continue reading Review: Off Centre (2019) by The Necessary Stage

In London’s West End 2019: King’s Head Theatre’s Coming Clean at Trafalgar Studios (Review)

The lines of desire are set ablaze with this 80s drama about fidelity and the rules of engagement within (and without) a queer relationship.  LONDON – After a well-received run at London’s King’s Head Theatre, late British playwright Kevin Elyot’s debut play has received a West End transfer. Coming Clean, which premiered at the Bush Theatre in 1982, was landmark for its time with its normalization of a … Continue reading In London’s West End 2019: King’s Head Theatre’s Coming Clean at Trafalgar Studios (Review)

Toy Factory’s The Transition Room: An Interview with Stanley Seah and Goh Boon Teck

This February, Toy Factory opens their 2019 season with a brand new production. Written and directed by Toy Factory Associate Artistic Director Stanley Seah, The Transition Room will be making its premiere at the Drama Centre Black Box, after previously having had a dramatized reading held at Toy Factory’s space at NOWplaying@17. Originating about 4 years ago as a school play, Stanley elaborates more on how The Transition … Continue reading Toy Factory’s The Transition Room: An Interview with Stanley Seah and Goh Boon Teck

Preview: Off Centre (2019) by The Necessary Stage

26 years since its premiere in 1993, The Necessary Stage (TNS) is once more bringing back one of their most well known plays to the stage in 2019 – Off Centre. Written by TNS Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma and directed by TNS artistic director Alvin Tan, Off Centre was a bold new step forward for Singapore theatre as it cast an honest and unflinching spotlight on the stigma of … Continue reading Preview: Off Centre (2019) by The Necessary Stage

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: Catamite by Loo Zihan (Review)

A moving lesson on the life-cycle of objects. There is a belief in the Japanese Shinto religion that everything, including everyday household objects, possesses a life force of its own. From umbrellas to notebooks, clothes to food, each of these items, while seemingly non-living, have the potential to mean and be so much more than what they initially appear to be to the right person. … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: Catamite by Loo Zihan (Review)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: Q&A (the 36 questions) by Rachel Erdos and Dancers (Review)

Falling in love with dance. In a 1997 SUNY Stony Brook study, psychologist Arthur Aron and his colleagues explored whether intimacy between two complete strangers could be accelerated by having them ask each other a set of 36 questions. While the questions begin innocently and playful enough, postulating about an ability one might like to wake up to the next day or if one would like … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: Q&A (the 36 questions) by Rachel Erdos and Dancers (Review)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: precise purpose of being broken by Koh Wan Ching (Review)

but precisely what is the purpose of this piece? Adapted from a collage of texts by Haresh Sharma, precise purpose of being broken presents 9 excerpts from the award-winning playwright’s most obscure texts, some of which have never been published or even performed. Directed and conceptualized by Koh Wan Ching, the multi-lingual movement work presents a collection of varied characters who are each broken in their own … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: precise purpose of being broken by Koh Wan Ching (Review)