Every first Wednesday of the month, ArtsEquator releases our editor’s picks of shows/events/programmes that our readers can look out for in that month.
Note: The events below are subject to changing conditions due to COVID-19. Do check with the respective presenters.
This list in published in no particular order.
1. The Music of Checkpoint Theatre
Digital livestream: Till 9 May (Ticket grants you personal access to the video for 72 hours from the ticket date)
[SINGAPORE/Online] Checkpoint Theatre has been really innovative in presenting stories in different ways, especially since the start of the pandemic, (have you seen their comic books?) and this music concert is really an indication of how much they are investing into this experimentation with form. Associate Artist and musician weish has reimagined seven songs from the “Checkpoint Theatre songbook”, accompanied by a nine-piece band which includes a trumpeter, violinist and pianist. One of the pieces in the 30-minute concert is the debut of a musical finale to Huzir Sulaiman’s The Nuclear Family, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. The concert is directed by Huzir Sulaiman and James Khoo and features theatre performers such as Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Jo Tan and ants chua.
2. The Bride Always Knocks Twice – Killer Secrets
31 May – 5 June for Chapter 1-2 (Online), 1-6 June for Chapter 3 (In-venue), 6 June for Chapter 4 (Online)
[SINGAPORE/In-venue and Online] The Theatre Practice debuts an original multi-platform interactive murder mystery, The Bride Always Knocks Twice – Killer Secrets, where the suspects are 8 women from different generations. Really exploring the onsite and online possibilities of performance, the show combines digital theatre with live interrogations, onsite investigations and even optional add-ons complete with tea time and even a staycation! Great for those who love solving mysteries.
3. Singapore International Festival of Arts
14-30 May, various times
[SINGAPORE/In-venue and Online] The Singapore International Festival of Arts returns not with a whimper, presenting a hybrid festival with plenty of new shows, programmes and installations taking place both onsite and online. For those based overseas, their on demand offerings are worth checking out. The SIFA festival house, offering programmes of healing and humanity, have been a hit too. We’re particularly intrigued by their easy listening podcast series, produced with MAMA Magnet, as well as the T42 podcast by best friends Kishan Singh and Joel Tan, which will be presented on the weekends of the festival and will be made available online after. ArtsEquator will also be presenting public programmes around live critique as part of the Asian Arts Media Roundtable @ SIFA.
4. Revealing Contexts: A Meeting Point on Art & Social Action in Asia
20-22 May
[INTERNATIONAL/Online] This collaborative effort by Mekong Cultural Hub presents a 3-day programme chockfull of discussions, presentations and talks by more than 40 curators and speakers such as Janet Pillai (MY), Ngiam Su-Lin (SG), Katrina Stuart Santiago (PH) and Anmol Vellani (IN) on the topic of Art & Social Action in Asia. There will also be more than 20 groups hosting local gathering in various countries, both in-person and online. Meeting Point is a space for people to make connections, exchange ideas and spark new movements going forward.
5. Something New Must Turn Up: Six Singaporean Artists After 1965
7 May – 22 August 2021
[SINGAPORE/In-venue] National Gallery Singapore presents what is billed as the first-ever joint exhibition of six solo presentations of work by six post-independence Singaporean artists: Chng Seok Tin, Goh Beng Kwan, Jaafar Latiff, Lin Hsin Hsin, Mohammad Din Mohammad and Eng Tow. The show features over 300 works and more than 100 archive materials. We’re excited by the survey of these artists’ respective practices, which promises to illuminate their groundbreaking contributions to local art, and look forward to seeing the curation for the ambitious show, which will hopefully help create connections between these artists for a more comprehensive art experience.
ArtsEquator is introducing three new series in 2021 – Hot List, Teaser Tuesday and Cakap-Cakap – to help promote shows, events and other arts and culture programmes in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia. Read here for more.
To submit a show/event/programme for consideration for any our new three series, you must fill in this form. All entries to be featured must be submitted by the 15th of the preceding month. ArtsEquator reserves the right not to publish any information that is shared, at our editorial discretion.
About the author(s)
Nabilah Said
Nabilah Said is an award-winning playwright, editor and cultural commentator. She is also an artist who works with text across various artforms and formats. Her plays have been staged in Singapore and London, including ANGKAT, which won Best Original Script at the 2020 Life Theatre Awards. Nabilah is the former editor of ArtsEquator.