More than sing sing dance dance: The realities of LASALLE Musical Theatre
(1,800 words, 7-minute read) [Note: At the time of publishing, due to the COVID-19 situation in Singapore, the production has been cancelled. We hope this article serves as an acknowledgement of the great work put in by the graduands.] Izzathy…
Creature comforts: “Creatures of Near Kingdoms”
By Kathy Rowland (650 words, 4-minute read) Zedeck Siew’s Creatures of Near Kingdoms is fashioned as a bestiary, detailing the appearance, characteristics, and habitats of 50 animals and 25 plants. Why “near”? Because like the auto-combusting Ash Swallowtail and the…
Interview with Wang Chong for “Made In China 2.0”
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by By Nabilah Said (1,000 words, 6-minute read) Experimental Chinese theatremaker Wang Chong presented a work-in-progress showing of his newest work, Made in China 2.0, at Asia TOPA…
World Poetry Day: Verse vs. Virus
by ArtsEquator (1,520 words, 5-minute read) It’s World Poetry Day on 21 March. Is there still a place for poetry in the unfamiliar world we find ourselves in? COVID-19 could remake the world in a few short weeks. There is…
The Space of/for Memory: ”Last Night I Saw You Smiling”
By Alfonse Chiu (2,078 words, 7-minute read) Every space tells a story: the empty prison cell speaks of redemptions, of wrongs that were righted, and to the cynical, more earthly, minds, of miscarriages of justice, and the irrevocability of tragedies…
Podcast 79: Asia TOPA (Part 2)
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by In this latest podcast episode, Nabilah Said and Carolyn Oei discuss various productions that were recently presented at Melbourne’s Asia TOPA: Are You Ready To Take The…
Podcast 78: Asia TOPA (Part 1)
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by In this latest podcast episode, Nabilah Said and Carolyn Oei discuss various productions that were recently presented at Melbourne’s Asia TOPA: Black Ties | HuRu-hARa | Chinese Square Dancers…
Eko Supriyanto’s “IBUIBU BELU”: Uncomfortable Questions
By Sharmilla Ganesan (754 words, 4-minute read) As the five women onstage came silently together in a halt, spot lit and wrapped once more in the tenun textile they had first appeared in, there was an initial hush. Ironically, for…
“No. 60”: Klunchun unmasks the Khon
By Katrina Stuart Santiago (936 words, 6-minute read) The past as a point of reference for contemporary cultural work is not new, and neither is the need to rethink it, reconsider it, or respond to it. Anyone who works in…
Thanapol Virulhakul’s “The Retreat”: Dance, Uncontained
By Amitha Amranand (1,350 words, 5-minute read) Thai dancer-choreographer Thanapol Virulhakul is certainly not the first artist to wonder whether art could become more of a part of our daily life nor to attempt through his art to make it…
International Women’s Day: Inspiring Women
By ArtsEquator For International Women’s Day, ArtsEquator asked 11 women arts leaders in SEA to tell us about a woman who has inspired, supported or mentored them on their arts journey. Their stories recall mothers, bosses, Hollywood directors and an…
Draconic Self-Portrait: An intimate conversation with Margaret Leng Tan on Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep
By Shahril Salleh (1,357 words, 4-minute read) Doyen. Icon. Self-professed Dragon Lady. These are some of the facets of Margaret Leng Tan, Singapore’s Cultural Medallion award recipient in 2015. Margaret is a treasured Singaporean musician and performance artist who is…
From the Macarena to Chicago: A LASALLE performer’s journey
By Ke Weiliang (1,719 words, 7-minute read) Monday, 20 January 2020. It is 8.45am and I am seated inside one of the dance studios at LASALLE College of the Arts. Over the course of the next 75 minutes, I watch…
À Ố Làng Phố: Less trick, more treat in Vietnamese bamboo circus
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by By Nabilah Said (730 words, 6-minute read) You go into a circus performance with certain expectations. You want the big shebang, the SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR. The physical feats…
Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep: Brilliance Is Margaret Leng Tan
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by By Carolyn Oei (638 words, 5-minute read) Note: This review may contain some minor spoilers for Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep by Margaret Leng Tan. ONE: “Music;…
Hades Fading: Modern-day Ancients
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by By Nabilah Said (708 words, 5-minute read) In Hades Fading, Eurydice has a memory problem. She can’t remember where she comes from. The books all tell her…
Are You Ready To Take The Law Into Your Own Hands: Tongue Scrapes Against Cheek
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by By Nabilah Said (670 words, 5-minute read) I watched Are You Ready To Take The Law Into Your Own Hands by Sipat Lawin and Friends on 26…
Torch the Place: Shedding the Dead Weight
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by By Nabilah Said (800 words, 5-minute read) The first thing one sees upon entering the Fairfax Studio in Arts Centre Melbourne for Torch the Place is a…
Podcast 76: The Runaway Company
Duration: 30 min Nabilah Said speaks to Izzul Irfan and Mahirah Abdul Latiff of The Runaway Company about structures, succession and misconceptions about their work. The Runaway Company has an upcoming show, The Story of Tonight, which runs from 6-8 March…
Wretchedness and absurdity: Thoughts on Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite
By Teo You Yenn (760 words, 4-minute read) I watched Bong Joon-ho’s award-winning film Parasite later than most people I know, and after many people had told me I had to see it. It is indeed, as everyone promised, amazing….
Between Worlds: Café Sarajevo, ATARA and No Place
By Nabilah Said and Germaine Cheng (1,580 words, 7-minute read) What does it mean to be between worlds? To behold yet not belong? Three works – Café Sarajevo, ATARA and No Place – presented as part of M1 Singapore Fringe…
Leading art collectors put pressure on Balai Seni Visual Negara
by Kathy Rowland In a first for Malaysian art history, a Collectors’ Petition signed by 55 private art collectors have warned Balai Seni Visual Negara that they will no longer be lending works from their collection to Balai in future…
Behind the scenes with the Women of SIFA
By Nabilah Said ArtsEquator speaks to four women that are part of the local commissions of SIFA 2020 – Siti Khalijah Zainal, Jodi Chan, Ellison Tan and Mia Chee. SITI KHALIJAH ZAINAL, THE YEAR OF NO RETURN Siti…
Podcast 75: Patch and Punnet
Duration: 25 min Nabilah Said speaks to Krish Natarajan and Astley Xie of Patch and Punnet about their upcoming production, Fika & Fishy, which is billed as a kids’ show made for adults. Warning: This podcast contains language that is…
Arts censorship: At the end of the day, this is not new
By Kathy Rowland (1400 words, 8 minute read) Balai Seni Visual Negara Malaysia (Balai) is once again accused of censoring artists’ work. The victim this time is noted visual artist Ahmad Fuad Osman, who was honoured with a mid-career solo…
Inspired moves: Five years of ILHAM Gallery
By ila (2,270 words, 10-minute read) Located in Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle in the heart of the CBD is ILHAM Gallery. The gallery is relatively new – it turns five in August – yet is considered by many to be…
Tangled and tackled: Black Ties at Sydney Festival 2020
By Maria Herminia Graterol Garrido (550 words, 4-minute read) The challenges of fusing and representing more than one culture while planning and executing a memorable wedding are well-known to us in real life and in fiction. Movies like My Big…
A sound collaboration: 宿 (stay) at Sydney Festival 2020
By Maria Herminia Graterol Garrido (571 words, 4-minute read) There is a huge difference between watching a great piece of theatre with a beautiful original score, and experiencing a process that gives equal importance to all the creative aspects, including…
Podcast 74: M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020
Duration: 30 min Matt Lyon, Naeem Kapadia and Nabilah Said discuss three productions at this year’s edition of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival – Contemplating Kopitiam & Kampong Wa’ Hassan by NAFA and Oliver Chong; A Tiny Country by Attempts;…
Pico Iyer and Raffles Hotel, or the Nowhere Hotel
Celebrated writer Pico Iyer spent fifteen days in Singapore last August doing a residency at the newly reopened Raffles Hotel as its first official writer-in-residence. His new book, titled This Could Be Home: Raffles Hotel and the City of Tomorrow, published…