Articles Archives

Vietnam’s Award-Winning Documentary About a Trans Woman (via Saigoneer)

A critically acclaimed documentary about a member of Vietnam’s trans community will finally see an official premiere in Vietnam next month. Finding Phong, or Di Tim Phong in Vietnamese, tells the story of the titular character, a trans woman named Le Anh Phong who documented the journey from when she decided to undergo sex reassignment surgery to […]

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Ombak Potehi: the Malaysian group reviving traditional Hokkien puppetry (via SEA Globe)

In the performance room of Penang House of Music, a museum dedicated to the musical history of this Unesco-listed Malaysian island, a crowd claps excitedly. They are cheering the group of young performers who get up from behind the stage, fatigued and sweaty, holding colourful puppets high above their heads. Their performance tells the story

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (5– 11 Nov 2018)

IF WALLS COULD TALK vol.55, at The Gaslight Cafe, 8 Nov, 8pm The ever-popular Walls returns with its open mic for spoken word, and featured acts. This chapter features fresh indie band Senja, and writer Zedeck Siew with artist Sharon Chin, who have recently published an illustrated book, Creatures of Near Kingdoms. Cover charge

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (5 – 11 November 2018)

Bras Basah.Bugis Art Sprawl, Handy Road Open Space, outside The Cathay, 9 – 10 November The Bras Basah.Bugis Arts Sprawl is a two-day event that offers an eclectic line-up of arts and heritage offerings for visitors young and old, held along Handy Road Open Space outside The Cathay. ‘Art sprawlers’ can indulge in some “me

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Weekly Picks: Indonesia (5 – 11 November 2018)

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bandung, Jakarta, Solo, and Semarang from 5 – 11 November 2018 If you’re in Bandung, come and attend the last day of [NOT] ARTOFFICIAL – OUT OF TRACK, an art exhibition on Ikebana. This exhibition is a collaboration between Indonesian, Japanese, and Vietnamese artists, this exhibition aims to

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Foolishness and Enlightenment in “Lear is Dead”

By Casidhe Ng (1,200 words, six-minute read) “You are a madman, and we are but fools,” the ensemble resounds. So begins Nine Years’ Theatre’s Lear is Dead, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear that borrows from the Chinese opera tradition, and a densely layered performance described as a “play-within-a-play”. True to its word, the show

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Truth or Dare with “Lear is Dead”

By Teo Xiao Ting (1,069 words, six-minute read) After a gleaming heap of corpses dissipates into the afterlife and comes back for a closing bow, Lear is Dead ends with the quiver of revelation. But wait, what was it exactly that we gleaned? A sideways glance at the audience around me, and everyone is already

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Dramaturgy Under Capitalism (via Exeunt)

At first encounter, it’s a terrifying word. The first time I came across the title I was still at school, and had just become angrily aware of the existence of Ben Power, a person who somehow had my ideal job. Now the first ever deputy artistic director at the National Theatre, at that point he

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“8888 Uprising”: Thirty Years Later

Despite the flash of contemporary retail – some garish, some tasteful – Yangon’s old-world charms prevail. Today, walking past the crumbling moss-covered walls that advertise the pleasures of late 20th century globalisation – unlimited wireless connectivity – are slipper-wearing, lungi-wrapped, betel-nut chewing millennials generating unlimited images in a city that only a decade ago still

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Bernie Ng

Rianto’s “Medium”: Of Journeys, Transformations & Corporeality

Total darkness. The sound of sleep. Sleep of an eternal sort. Slowly the light reveals a solitary human body conveying a sense of sleep or is it semi-consciousness? Now, the entry of layers and strands of sound. Gentle clink of cymbals. Do I now hear the sound of waves lashing the shore? The lilting sound

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26th ENCATC Congress: Beyond European Year of Cultural Heritage – Key Reflections (via culture360.ASEF.org)

The 26th ENCATC Congress on Cultural Management and Policy on “Beyond EYCH2018. What is the cultural horizon? Opening up perspectives to face ongoing transformations” concluded recently in Bucharest, Romania and looked to cultural priorities in Europe beyond EYCH or the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018. ENCATC is the European network on cultural management and policy. Maria Sharon Mapa Arriola tells us

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Zinkie Aw for Both Sides, Now

“Closer” at Both Sides, Now: What Do We Choose to Remember?

“What will we forget? What do we hold on to? What will we remember? What do we let go of?” These were the questions posed by a volunteer in Mandarin to my 67-year-old mother at a void deck in Chong Pang. She was showing my mom how to make a paper windmill, a souvenir that

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (29 October – 4 November 2018)

Southernmost: One Table Two Chairs Project 2018 by Emergency Stairs, Centre 42, 3 – 10 Nov Catch Southernmost: One Table Two Chairs Project 2018 from 3 to 11 Nov 2018 at Centre 42 – an arts festival for the future presented by experimental theatre company Emergency Stairs. Immerse yourself in a week of artistic experimentation and dialogue across art forms, cultures,

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (29 Oct – 4 Nov 2018)

Man Bai, at No Black Tie, 30 Oct, 9pm The award-winning singer songwriter Man Bai is best known for his hit single and karaoke staple, Kau Ilhamku. He also has three solo albums. Man Bai will be doing a one night performance in NBT with a special guest appearance by ‘Malaysian Godfather of Rock’ Rahim

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Staring down the male gaze: Chuu Wai Nyein (via Frontier Myanmar)

A quick squeeze of a breast and the motorbike-riding groper was already vanishing into the Mandalay traffic. Ma Chuu Wai Nyein barely saw it happen. It would have been easy to forget and not make a scene, as usual, and perhaps that’s what she would have done if she were the victim. But the groper

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Weekly Picks: Indonesia (28 October – 4 November 2018)

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bali and Jakarta from 28 October – 4 November 2018 Sponsored by UNESCO, Borobudur Under the Full Moon is a photography exhibition by Caroline and Hughes Dubois. This exhibition showcases the first photos of Borobudur’s reliefs taken under the moonlight in their actual size. To capture the

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On Taipei Arts Festival with Tang Fu Kuen

The Taipei Arts Festival (TAF) began in 1998 as one of the main festivals in Taipei to mark the city’s contemporary consciousness through the staging of multiple artistic activities for international and national audiences. This year the TAF celebrates it 20th anniversary with a transformation: it combines with two other city festivals, the Taipei Children’s

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On the Indonesian Dance Festival with Maria Darmaningsih

As part of ArtsEquator’s series of interviews profiling festival directors in Southeast Asia, we get to learn more about Maria Darmaningsih, co-founder and current artistic director of the bi-annual Indonesian Dance Festival (IDF), which was launched in 1992. Its 14th edition this year runs from 6 – 10 November 2018 with pre-event programmes taking place before

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Some Southeast Asian picks from the Busan International Film Festival (via Bangkok Post)

How do Aceh and Japan, two places that seem unrelated, separated by a vast distance of land and sea, connect on the personal and historical level? For one, they both have been hit by a tsunami — Aceh in the massive tragedy that struck many parts of Southeast Asia in 2004 and Japan in 2011.

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“Peter and the Starcatcher”: An Invitation to Suspend Disbelief

By Casidhe Ng (1,100 words, six-minute read) The final show of Pangdemonium’s 2018 season, Peter and the Starcatcher is this year’s equivalent of Fun Home or RENT, an exuberant and expensive production intent on ending their year with a bang. In Peter and the Starcatcher, Pangdemonium presents an enchanting narrative with twists of self-reflexivity, fully

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Bernie Ng

Growing up Everywhere and Nowhere in “Peter and the Starcatcher”

By Teo Xiao Ting (1,300 words, seven-minute read) What does it mean to be a child? Specifically, what does it mean to be growing up, to be young, in this milieu? While set in the sepia of 1885, Peter and the Starcatcher by Pangdemonium asks questions that still resonate now, opening up to an extended

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (22–28 October 2018)

The 11th International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival 2018, at Publika, 22–28 Oct This annual environmental film festival has been here since 2008, and grown over the years in breadth. It tackles a whole host of critical environmental issues, including wildlife protection, pollution, indigenous rights, sustainability and more. This year, KLEFF offers more than 99

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Vietnam to Ban Gratuitous Smoking in Movies, Stage Productions (via Saigoneer)

Starting from November, filmmakers will need to carefully deliberate their decision to include smoking in their works or risk the ire of the culture ministry. As Tuoi Tre reports, from November 15 this year, Circular 25 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on smoking in theatrical works will officially take effect, tightening the ministry’s control

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (22 – 28 October 2018)

ETHNI-CITY III – Kali Yuga by SAtheCollective, LASALLE College of the Arts, Flexible Performance Space, 26 – 27 October Kali Yuga is the latest installment of ETHNI-CITY, and it’s slated to be held this October. It’s name is inspired by Sanskrit scripture and the Mahabharata. The multidisciplinary work is designed with the hope of raising awareness to

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Weekly Picks: Indonesia (22 – 27 October 2018)

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta and Bali from 22-27 October 2018 Don Quixote is a work that continues to be talked about and interpreted since it was first written in 1615. Indonesian writer Goenawan Mohamad also wrote a poetry book based on Don Quixote. On Wednesday and Thursday, these poems will be

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[Podcast] Arts Apart: Where Are Sabah and Sarawak in the Malaysian Arts? (via BFM)

With Malaysia Day just around the corner, there is a lot of conversation happening about East Malaysia. But why do Sabah and Sarawak mostly come to our minds only when it is time to celebrate Malaysia Day? The arts and culture industries, too, are not exempt from being problematic with issues like inclusion and representation

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Bernie Ng

“xhe”: Caught Between a Square and an Octopus

To preface: a statement to disclaim. Artist-choreographer-dancer Daniel Kok and visual artist Miho Shimizu remind the viewer in an artist statement[1] for xhe that any response to the performance is always already inadequate, calling for a critique of spectatorship and gesturing towards the plurality of selves. I caught both performances of xhe on the 12th and

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Bernie Ng

“Until the Lions” by Akram Khan Company: What About the Lioness?

By Jocelyn Chng (1160 words, six-minute read) Until the Lions, a work that premiered in 2016 at the Roundhouse in London, is presented as one of the main (Centrestage) programmes at the 2018 Esplanade da:ns festival. The Akram Khan Company has toured to Singapore on several occasions in the past two decades, most recently with

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Bernie Ng

“Invisible Habitudes”: Postcards From a Choreographer’s Journey

By Chan Sze Wei (1090 words, five-minute read) T.H.E. Dance Company turns 10 this year and Invisible Habitudes, a da:ns festival commission, reads as an eclectic postcard of the artistic signature of Kuik Swee Boon. The company, and Kuik himself, have been astoundingly prolific with new creations in the span of these 10 years –

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (15 – 21 September 2018)

Because it’s Fun by The Fool Theatre 愚者剧场, Drama Centre Black Box, 12 – 21 October The inaugural production for The Fool Theatre, Because it’s Fun shows how bullying is omnipresent in our society and how it affects our mental well-being. Don’t miss this mind-blowing new play by playwright Tung Ka Wai and artistic director Xavier Kang, founders

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