The performance event R.I.P. Tokyo began life as a commemoration for a cat which died at the grand age of 22, five years ago. The cat belonged to director Shirotama Hitsujiya who helms the Yubiwa Hotel theatre company. For three years, she has marked the occasion by hosting a soup dinner party for friends at […]
Tikam-Tikam Japan: R.I.P. Tokyo Read More »
By Eugene Koh (924 words, 7-minute read) Triple Bill at the M1 Peer Pleasure Youth Theatre Festival 2017 presents three acts in a single show, each of them presenting different issues that are all extremely timely. Each act in its own way contends with an issue that people try to avoid. Each of these acts is a
“Triple Bill” at M1 Peer Pleasure Festival: Hard Bills to Swallow Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta and Solo from 14 – 20 Aug 2017 JAKARTA OCTOPUS, 14 – 15 August 2017, 3 & 8 PM, Teater Kecil, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta A second performance from the Djakarta Teater Platform program, OCTOPUS by Teater Poros began as a research by Teater Poros actors
14 – 20 August 2017: Indonesia Read More »
In March 2017, Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Troupe morphed into Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre, receiving the highest accolade in the history of Singaporean Chinese dance. The only other professional dance company in Singapore bearing the country’s name is Singapore Dance Theatre, the descendant of the ballet group of National Dance Company. Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre’s
“Hearticulation” and “Speficifisfety”: Between too literal and too abstract Read More »
By Naeem Kapadia (960 words, 7-minute read) There’s no denying the impact of Michael Chiang’s Army Daze, which brought the world of national service (NS) to the Singapore stage for the first time in 1987. This light-hearted tale of the misadventures of five recruits as they bungled through Basic Military Training captured the Singapore zeitgeist
“Army Daze 2”: Green Popcorn, No Crunch Read More »
By Isaac Lim (562 words, 6-minute read) FRAGO by Checkpoint Theatre tracks a group of NSmen and Regulars, showing that the men, and woman, are all equally struggling with the system here in Singapore. Is that anything new? Jo Tan is on stage, doing standard push-ups that put this reviewer to shame. Then sit-ups, change.
Review of “Frago”: (Army) Lives, Fragmented Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (550 words, 5-minute read) Army exercises are typically perceived as tough, and even mind-numbing with their incessant drills. The monotony of army rounds can be found outside the battlefield too: our personal routines are akin to a civilian regime of sorts. Frago, the latest play by Checkpoint Theatre, directly tackles the contrast
Review of “Frago”: The Military and the Ordinary Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Bandung, and Bali from 7 – 13 Aug 2017 JAKARTA ART STAGE Jakarta, 11 – 13 August 2017, Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City Hotel, Jakarta ART STAGE Jakarta returns for its second year this coming weekend. Like its sister fair ART STAGE Singapore, the Jakarta fair
7 – 13 August 2017: Indonesia Read More »
Duration: 31 min Akanksha Raja speaks with Jeffrey Tan, producer of Open Homes, a theatre-in-the-home experience presented as part of the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2017. Audiences are welcomed into the homes of residents where they enter not only into intimate spaces, but lives, hearts and deeply personal experiences shared through creative storytelling. Joining
Podcast 22: Open Homes at SIFA 2017 Read More »
The Asia Europe Foundation’s Culture360 and ArtsEquator present a series of 5 co-commissioned articles that look at arts groups, artists and performances in Southeast Asia that are comprised of or address artists with disabilities. In this article, Mark Louie Lugue meets Filipino artist Nolet Soliven and his wife Tosh, to talk about Nolet’s practice, and the challenges
Art Beyond Words: The Struggles and Triumphs of Filipino Artist Nolet Soliven Read More »
Duration: 25 min Young dancer Adelene Stanley joins Dr Stephanie Burridge to discuss Singapore Dance Theatre’s latest edition of the annual Masterpiece in Motion series, which was a triple-bill of ballet works of a kind that Stephanie describes as “contemporary dance en pointe“. It featured works by George Balanchine, Edwaard Liang and Marius Petipa. Stephanie
Podcast 21: Masterpiece in Motion 2017; Singapore Dance Theatre Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali from 31 July – 6 Aug 2017 JAKARTA My Life, My Choice, Now – 9 August 2017, Leica Store Indonesia, Plaza Senayan, Jakarta My Life, My Choice is a photography exhibition on the life of Mak Rini, a drag queen living in
31 July – 6 August 2017: Indonesia Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (860 words, 7-minute read) “By taking possession of the stage, the Spect-Actor is consciously performing a responsible act. The stage is a representation of the reality, a fiction. But the Spect-Actor is not fictional. He exists in the scene and outside of it, in a dual reality. By taking possession of the
Drama Box’s “The Lesson”: Rehearsal for Life Read More »
MAC at The Movies @ Hero’s, 26 July, 8pm “We’re going to the movies in July. It’s FREE and you decide what we watch.” July is the birth month of Robin Williams and we can’t think of a better person to honour in our first movie event. Doors 7pm. Showtime 8pm.
24 – 30 July 2017: Singapore Read More »
by Kathy Rowland (1102 words, 6 minute read) “In order to change people’s minds, you have to break their hearts”. So said Reverend Miak Siew at O.P.E.N’s curtain raiser, Art as Res Publicae. Unfortunately, there was never any danger of broken hearts. Art as Res Publicae, conceived by O.P.E.N Director Noorlinah Mohamed and SIFA Artistic
“Art as Res Publicae”: Where the Devil was the Devil? Read More »
Duration: 20 min Dr Stephanie Burridge chats with Eng Kai Er and Felicia Lim, two of the three performers from The Roundest Circle, taking place at Theatreworks 72-13 on 27 and 28 July 8pm. The performance is the result of a collaborative process along with dancer Faye Lim. Felicia and Kai Er discuss their dynamics, the democracy
Podcast 20: “The Roundest Circle” Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bandung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta from 24 – 30 July 2017 BANDUNG Inspyro Moves Dance Workshop, 29 – 30 July 2017, Jl. Karapitan No. 53, Bandung, Indonesia Calling all Bandung dancers! Come and join Inspyro Moves 2-day workshops where you can take various classes given by dancers from the
24 – 30 July 2017: Indonesia Read More »
“Is it possible to look at the practices of Indonesian women artist in a feminist perspective? This is precisely what researcher and PhD in Indonesian Studies Wulan Dirgantoro decided to investigate with her book “Feminism and Indonesian Contemporary Art: Defining Experiences” (Amsterdam University Press). Though the book has an academic scope, it sparked conversation about
Feminism in Indonesian Art [Indonesia] Read More »
“Fresh off the (vacation) boat and ready to sail into George Town Festival 2017 (GTF 2017), Rebecca Duckett has been working around the clock with her artsy and nature-inspired pieces. She is one of several women artists from Korea, Taiwan, the USA and Malaysia who are participating in the International Women’s Arts Festival, which this
Art with hope and a conscience: Rebecca Duckett [Malaysia] Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (1030 words, 8-minute read) The inaugural Rainforest Fringe Festival (RFF), a prelude to the renowned annual Rainforest World Music Festival, ran from 7 to 16 July 2017 in Kuching, capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The RFF is the brainchild of Joe Sidek, who’s also the artistic director of the Georgetown
Rainforest Fringe Festival 2017: Where the Wild Things Are Read More »
“In 2016, I was asked to speak at a Singapore Writers Festival panel discussion titled “SG HORROR: Who’s Afraid of the Dark”. This surprised me, since I had never identified myself as a horror writer. Nor had my two co-panellists, Audrey Chin and Jon Gresham. The very purpose of the event was, apparently, to ponder
A history of Singapore Horror [Singapore] Read More »
Duration: 25 min The M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival, presented by T.H.E Dance Company, is in its 9 year. In this month’s dance podcast, Dr Stephanie Burridge chats with Zhuo Zihao, a founding member of the company. They discuss one of the highlights of this year’s festival, Borderline, a collaboration between the company and Muscle Mouth
Podcast 19: M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival 2017 Read More »
By Naeem Kapadia (1020 words, 10-minute read) Singapore marks fifty years of national service (NS) this year and it’s only apt that we commemorate this integral aspect of our local culture in the arts. Much focus has been placed on the two years of full-time service and particularly basic military training, a powerful experience that
FRAGO: A tender meditation on our brothers in arms Read More »
“The stories of Javanese cultural hero, Prince Panji Inu Kertapati, dating from the 13th century, mark the development of a truly Javanese literature that was no longer overshadowed by the great Indian epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Set among the eastern Javanese kingdoms, the stories tell of Panji’s search for his beloved Princess Candra Kirana, before the two
Tales of Panji [Indonesia] Read More »
I Ia bermula dengan saya tiba lambat ke Meeting of Writers/Critics/Reviewers in Performing Arts di Cafe White Sands, DPAC, Damansara. Di sekeliling meja sudah ada 13 orang membincangkan tentang perbezaan di antara ulasan vs kritikan dan kepentingannya sebagai bahan dokumentasi. Richard Chua dari Theatrex Asia mengendalikan sesi ini. Ini merupakan pertemuan pertama yang tercetus dari
Kata Terkesat Dilempar Estragon: Kritik! Read More »
SPH Gift of Music Series: SSO Lunchtime Concert, 21 July, @ Victoria Concert Hall Jason Lai, conductor Sponsored by the Singapore Press Holding’s Gift of Music series, liven up your lunch hour with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Associate Conductor Jason Lai. Refresh yourself with the captivating Eastern European dance tunes of Dvořák and Brahms,
17 – 23 July 2017: Singapore Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya from 17 – 23 July 2017 JAKARTA Octavio Paz, Jorge Amado Dan Pemikiran Modern, 22 July 2017, 4 PM, Serambi Salihara Literature reacts towards modern thinking through various ways. They often critique or offer a mix of modern world to the local thinking
17 – 23 July 2017: Indonesia Read More »
“Sophal Neak was born in Takeo, a province in southern Cambodia, in 1989. Since 2011, her works—in particular her photographs—have been showcased across Asia, Europe and Australia. Her unique and uncompromising take on history and people, as well as her distinctive and powerful vision, has played an important role in contributing to the cultural re-awakening
Photographing the Soul of Cambodia: Interview with Sophal Neak [Cambodia] Read More »
Art that Moves is an occasional series where we ask artists and other creative workers to reflect on artworks, performances or events that were personally important to them. This article is also one of three pieces on ArtsEquator this week focusing on the people, plays and processes of The Necessary Stage, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Aside
Art That Moves: Embracing the Off Centre Read More »
“Ahead of Ilu Leto’s appearance at this month’s Rainforest World Music Festival, Southeast Asia Globe grabbed a quick word with co-founder Alena Murang. Tell us a little about your band… We formed in 2017, so we’re quite new. There are only a few professional female sape players around – three of us are based in Kuala Lumpur
The all-female band breaking taboos in Malaysian music [Malaysia] Read More »
