Damansara International Arts Festival (DIAF), DPAC, 3–15 July In conjunction with the fifth anniversary of performing arts space DPAC, DIAF features two weeks of music, puppetry, dance, theatre and more. Many shows feature international performers. I recommend Malaysia’s Adab Berguru by BaiZam Generation, featuring three generations of dynamic wayang kulit tok dalang performers in one […]
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (2–8 July 2018) Read More »
This year, with an increased number of international programme collaborators, M1 Open Stage features innovative and exhilarating works by a diverse range of dance artists over two nights. As part of this year’s M1 Open Stage + DiverCity platform at M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival, created in collaboration with Taiwanese film artist Chen Yan-Hong and
M1 Open Stage + DiverCity: Chiew Peishan and Liu Wen-Chun Read More »
By Jocelyn Chng (960 words, 6-minute read) EARTH opens the 2018 edition of the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival, the annual festival organised by T.H.E Dance Company. Now in its ninth year, the festival is a relatively small feature of the performing arts landscape in Singapore, but nevertheless a crucial one. Amidst the generally higher
Flowing Reflections: “EARTH” at the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018 Read More »
The Rainforest Fringe Festival started in 2017 to spotlight Sawarak’s distinct jungle heritage. The second edition this year (July 6 to 15) promises to unveil an even wider spectrum of both traditional and contemporary expressions. Presented in the heart of Kuching, the festival’s slate is an eclectic and vibrant mix of dance, music, photography, design,
Chinatown Crossings by Drama Box 22 June – 18 August 2018 Experience Chinatown through an Indian man named Kumalan who grew up in Chinatown’s shophouse during the 1960s and 1970s. Relive the old Singapore while discovering the lost and forgotten practices and art form of Chinatown’s community in this theatre performance. Follow his story during
Weekly Picks: Singapore (25 June – 1 July 2018) Read More »
By Nur Athirah Abdullah The Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018 (RFF 2018) is less than a month away! Not to be mistaken for the Rainforest World Music Festival, one of the region’s best world music festivals, the Fringe is a cool combo of the very best of Sarawak’s music, art, craft, film, photography, and food. Helmed
Rainforest Fringe Festival 2018: Top 8 Picks Read More »
This article is republished from the Singapore International Film Festival editorial. It is part of New Waves 2018, an annual series of screenings and dialogues with regional filmmakers. For this third edition of the New Waves series, SGIFF invites participants the festival’s Youth Jury and Critics’ programme to offer an introductory analysis on the four
The Pontianak Talks Back: Two Women Discuss Monstrous Femininity in Their Art Read More »
This article is the first in a series of essays by students from the Singapore Management University Arts and Culture Management programme. I’ve caught myself leaving a theatre many times unsure about how I felt about the production, questioning whether my interpretation of the production was valid, or sometimes even leaving with no idea what
SMU Series: A Dance Spectator’s Perspective On Engagement Read More »
Kungfu Bonda by Purple Aura Productions 16 June 2018 Kungfu Bonda is Baggy’s new stand-up solo show. After his questionable success in his 20s, when Baggy approached 30, he hopes to be a comic where he lives his life one strip at a time and shares the cartoon of his existence with everyone. After his
Weekly picks: Singapore (11 – 17 June 2018) Read More »
By Ke Weiliang (2,470 words, 10-minute read) In March 2017, Gaurav Kripalani was officially unveiled as the Festival Director for Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2018 – 2020. I was over the moon, but only because a rare opportunity to stop indiscriminately splurging my money on arts events seemed to have finally presented itself.
Was a Skeptic, Still a Skeptic: A Festival-Goer’s Impressions of SIFA 2018 Read More »
This article is republished from the Singapore International Film Festival editorial. It is part of New Waves 2018, an annual series of screenings and dialogues with regional filmmakers. For this third edition of the New Waves series, SGIFF invites participants the festival’s Youth Jury and Critics’ programme to offer an introductory analysis on the four
Sentiments of Space: Reading Between the Frames of Don Aravind Read More »
25th Singapore International Piano Festival by Singapore Symphony Orchestra, 7-13 June 2018 This year’s celebration brings in six phenomenal virtuoso pianists from across Asia, Europe and the Americas. All six pianists will present varied, colourful programmes in The Singapore International Piano Festival for their 25th anniversary with a variety of works from Mozart, Beethoven,
Weekly Picks: Singapore (4 – 10 June 2018) Read More »
StoryFest: International Storytelling Festival Singapore, The Arts House, 1-3 June 2018 Come and listen to tales both old and new from Singapore and around the world at StoryFest 2018. StoryFest is back for their second edition this year with the theme Be Legendary. The festival that is happening from 1-3 June at the Arts House features a
Weekly Picks: Singapore (28 May – 3 June 2018) Read More »
By Lainie Yeoh NINE Theatre Festival, at Sunway University Rooftop Theatre, 21 & 22 May The students from the Diploma in Performing Arts 2016 of Sunway University offer a wide selection of staged performances, readings, and site-specific installations in this festival. The themes explored are Love, Time & Death. Individual shows are RM15, a festival
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (21 – 27 May 2018) Read More »
6am is a pretty unremarkable time. It’s the time Singaporean students are woken up by alarm clocks or family members, blearily rubbing the sleep from their eyes to prepare for another school day. It’s the time people start making breakfast or getting ready for work. It’s that quiet, dim hour before the sun rises over
Voices on Death Row: GroundZ-0’s “0600” at SIFA 2018 Read More »
Pissed Julie by Nine Years Theatre, KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT, 17 – 20 May Nine Years Theatre’s rendition of August Strindberg’s Mies Julie brings the 19th century European tale head to head with the concerns of 21st century post-colonial Asian cities. This production is born from a collaboration between the Singaporean theatre
Weekly Picks: Singapore (14 – 20 May 2018) Read More »
By Lainie Yeoh Majlis Himpunan Warga Seni PH (Pakatan Harapan), Auditorium MATIC, 15 May 3pm Despite the name (Assembly of Artists PH), this is not officially sanctioned by Pakatan Harapan, nor does it seem to be organised by Pakatan Harapan supporters (although political allegiances in the arts have been tenuous lately, so who knows). This
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (14 May – 20 May 2018) Read More »
The artistic intention to merge histories and futures is almost always poised as a double-edged sword. One mounts the impossible task of adhering to an imaginary time that is not re-presentable; the other conjures the multitude of never-ending possibilities that are only constrained by the material world. The perfect marriage lies in how the creators
“Anticipation of One”: Futuristic Rituals of Sight and Sound Read More »
By Jocelyn Chng (813 words, 5-minute read) A Festival Commission for the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2018, Toy Factory’s A Dream Under the Southern Bough – The Beginning is, as the title suggests, the first part of a continuing work. The second and third parts of the complete trilogy are planned for subsequent
“A Dream Under the Southern Bough – The Beginning”: Kun Opera for the Millennial Stage Read More »
By Chan Sze-Wei (849 words, 5 minute read) L-E-V Dance company’s OCD Love is tightly choreographed and intense in its physicality, as might be expected from a choreographer issuing from years dancing, choreographing and directing for the iconic Batsheva Company whose Gaga style of dancing and theatrical physicality has become iconic of Israeli contemporary dance.
“OCD Love” by L-E-V Dance Company: Mental Illness Plus Dance Equals Ballet and Horror Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Denpasar, and other cities in Indonesia from 7 – 13 May 2018 If you’re in Indonesia this week, here are some events that you might be interested to attend. Indonesia’s biggest European film festival returns this year from 3 to 12 May 2018. Europe on Screen
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (7 – 13 May 2018) Read More »
By Lainie Yeoh GE14 Results Night at Merdekarya 9 May, 5pm until all GE14 results are announced Things get inevitably political this week as Malaysia holds its 14th General Election. Merdekarya will be making an event out of it, with live crowdsourced GE14 results and election-night shenanigans. There’ll be a big screen scoreboard, and
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (7–13 May 2018) Read More »
By Dan Koh (1,715 words, 15-minute read) At this year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), the two films from Southeast Asia are documentaries, or hybrid-documentaries—just like last year’s three, curiously. Despite the glaring gaps that remain in the funding, distribution, marketing, and audience reception of our internationally overlooked non-fiction, plus their increased local censorship
Mayfly Docus: “Die Tomorrow” and “14 Apples” at SIFA’s “Singular Screens” Read More »
Shakespeare in the Park – Julius Caesar, by Singapore Repertory Theatre, Fort Canning Park, 2 – 27 May Opening this Thursday is the return of SRT’s Shakespeare in the Park with Julius Caesar. Shakespeare’s histories from over five centuries ago have never been more relevant. This renowned classic is turned contemporary in the light of
Weekly Picks: Singapore (30 April – 6 May 2018) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Makassar, Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Jakarta from 30 April – 6 May 2018 It’s an exciting week for art in Indonesia as we have 2 festivals that are opening this week! The Makassar International Writers Festival is back this week from 2 – 5 May 2018. Since it was
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (30 April – 6 May 2018) Read More »
Duration: 19 mins A Dream Under The Southern Bough by Toy Factory is a series of three plays commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts, to be staged over three editions of the festival. The first instalment, titled The Beginning, premieres at SIFA 2018 later this month. This three-part modern-day spin on the classic Ming
Podcast 39: Toy Factory’s “A Dream Under the Southern Bough” at SIFA 2018 Read More »
Singular Screens by Asian Film Archive, Screening Room at The Arts House, 28 April – 11 May, various timings The Singapore International Festival of Arts 2018 opens later this week! Singular Screens is its film programme that organised by the Asian Film Archive and is an eclectic showcase of 13 new works having their Singapore premiere
Weekly Picks: Singapore (23 – 29 April 2018) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Makassar, Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Jakarta from 23 – 29 April 2018 For our first pick this week, we’re bringing you to Makassar in South Sulawesi. If you’re a dance practitioner, join Densiel (enci) Lebang’s 3-day Contemporary Dance Workshop. This workshop aims to get participants to develop awareness and
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (23 – 29 April 2018) Read More »
0600 is named for the time that executions are carried out. What makes an artist take on the polarising topic of the death penalty in Singapore? Zelda Tatiana Ng has been a fixture in the Singapore performing arts scene for over 20 years. Her newly founded collective, GroundZ-0, makes its Singapore and SIFA debut with
SIFA 2018: Walking death’s footsteps in Zelda Tatiana Ng’s “0600” Read More »
Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge by Zai Kuning returns from its showing at the 2017 Venice Biennale for a month long exhibition at Theatreworks Singapore. The exhibition runs from 12 April through 13 May 2018. A series of public talks and performances are planned. On 19 April, Professor John N.Miksic will present a public lecture,
Zai Kuning’s “Dapunta Hyang”: Homeward Bound From Venice Read More »
