By Chan Sze-Wei (1150 words, 10-minute read) This was one of those rare occasions where I realise that I’m watching an important work of art. A discovery, a risk, a breakthrough, that will influence my aesthetic and many others’ for years to come. I unfortunately did not see Pallavi and Space, the 2016 first instalment […]
“Pallavi in Time” by CHOWK: Seductive Virtuosity Read More »
“If you’ve ever taken a class on Philippine history, you’d know about the Battle of Manila — but perhaps not well enough. While you might picture a day of fighting that led to the liberation of Manila in World War II, in truth, the battle lasted the duration of February 3, 1945 to March 3,
Remembering the brutal battle that changed Manila forever [Philippines] Read More »
Recently, I caught Loo Zihan’s second iteration of With/Out at Esplanade Studio Theatre. Zihan’s work is an artistic reconstruction and reimagining of The Necessary Stage’s 1999 play, Completely With/Out Character, based on the life of Paddy Chew, the first Singaporean to go public with his HIV status. Completely With/Out Character is a deeply significant work
Completely With: Remembering Paddy Chew, Reflecting on Loo Zihan Read More »
“They could have been staging Shakespeare. Instead, this year’s batch of theater students from the Philippine High School for the Arts, aged 12 to 18, take on the difficult task of protest in a post-truth world. “A lot of our students [were] troubled and they don’t know what to believe in,” explained their directing and
A new generation finds its voice in protest theater [Philippines] Read More »
Top Picks in Jakarta, Bali and Yogyakarta from 24 – 30 April 2017 JAKARTA About A Woman, 25 April 2017, 7 PM, Goethehaus, Jakarta Goethe Institut Jakarta’s Art House Cinema screens Teddy Soeriaatmadja’s film titled About A Woman. The film is a story of two strangers that are made to live under one
24 – 30 April 2017: Indonesia Read More »
Of Fear & Faith: An Original Showcase of Short Plays, 29-30 Apr, Haque Centre of Acting and Creativity Haque Centre of Acting and Creativity introduces their very first Devised Theatre Collaborative Showcase: Of Fear & Faith. Multiple stories intertwine to become one story of people, living and dying, tested by the implacable nature of life. It’s a
24 – 30 April 2017: Singapore Read More »
“The Japan Foundation Asia Center presents “Mode Of Liaisons” exhibition featuring paintings, sculptures, films/videos, installations and performances by nearly 20 artists at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre until July 2. Curated by Pichaya Suphavanij, the exhibition is part of “Condition Report”, a collaborative art project with curators from Japan and Southeast Asian countries with the
Calling All Curators: “Mode of Liaison” at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre [Thailand] Read More »
So, if those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach, should those who shouldn’t, study? Theatre is not practical; Theatre Studies is less so(?) Everyone knows the “practical” reasons why one should not take a theatre degree. A Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Studies is not the easiest degree to convince your parents that it
A Useless Degree: Theatre Studies in Perspective [Singapore] Read More »
By Felipe Cervera (910 words, 9-minute read) Theatre is a memory machine. Its engines run with dialogues and recollections, fuelled by the invisible streams of thought and emotion that run in and out, through the minds and bodies of the people gathered. We enter the theatre hoping to forget, to remember, wanting it to remind
Review of Tropicana, The Musical: Memory Malfunction Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (770 words, 9-mintue read) The 2017 edition of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) returns with the theme “Enchantment”. It is the fourth and final edition helmed by Ong Keng Sen as Festival Director, and presents a range of artforms and interdisciplinary crossovers. It runs from June 28 to September 9,
The year was 1999, and I was an awkward little eighteen year-old virgin, still sweating my way through National Service. I’d only recently become involved in the Singapore theatre scene, and in a similar vein, I’d just begun embracing my identity as a gay man. Both decisions were fraught with danger: after all, Alvin Tan
Review of ‘With/Out’: AIDS, Archives, Activism Read More »
“The Thai Ferrari, made from woven rattan by Chiang Rai locals, will park at the Venice Biennale this year. “It can’t run, obviously,” said Anon Pairot of his rattan sports car. “The curator once remarked that somehow it was like Thailand. We build things, but we don’t really go anywhere.” The 57th Venice Biennale begins
Baby you can’t drive my car [Thailand] Read More »
“Two Vietnamese directors — Pham Ngoc Lan with the film project “Culi Never Cries” and Le Bao with “Taste” — are amongst the 16 directors that have made their way to the L’Atelier supporting programme for young filmmakers, organised by the film foundation Cinéfondation of the Cannes Film Festival. The sixteen directors whose projects have
Two Vietnamese Film Projects Gain Support from Cannes Festival [Vietnam] Read More »
“Indonesia’s foremost theatre director, the internationally acclaimed Iswadi Pratama, staged an extraordinary eight productions in 2016 There is no simple way of describing Iswadi Pratama. He claims to be a self-taught artist, yet his exceptional talents seem to suggest otherwise. Having spent most of his life bringing realities to the stage he insists that he
Iswadi Pratama, an auteur of Indonesian theatre [Indonesia] Read More »
“What do four contemporary artists from three other Southeast Asian countries have that could resonate in a country like Thailand? Turns out, a whole lot. From aesthetics, to spiritual beliefs, to societal struggles, Jim Thompson Art Center’s latest group exhibition, “People, Money, Ghosts (Movement As Metaphor)”, depicts the continual change that the region is going through,
A region in flux: “People, Money, Ghosts (Movement As Metaphor)” [Thailand] Read More »
“Queer cinema in the Philippines is going through some kind of resurgence. Although LGBTQ stories have always had a constant presence in local film — a number of iconic LGBTQ classics enjoyed mainstream success from the late 70’s to the early 90’s — the number of local pink movies released per year had dwindled dramatically.
Coming out and breaking through: The Philippine queer cinema roundtable [Philippines] Read More »
“Thailand and its neighbours join up for the 2017 edition of the Asean Puppet Festival The magic of marionettes will light up Bangkok later this week as more than 400 puppeteers from eight Asean countries put on shows guaranteed to keep spectators spellbound. Brought to Thailand at the initiative of the Culture Ministry, the Asean
Marionette marvels: ASEAN Puppet Festival 2017 [Thailand, SEA] Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (760 words, 7-minute read) Petty People marks the culmination of the undergraduate course for the graduating class of NUS Theatre Studies 2017. The play begins with a quadriptych of scenarios strung together by the enigma of a dog and its ambiguous mortality. The pooch is never seen. Its presence is indicated only
Dogged Delirium: “Petty People” by NUS Theatre Studies Read More »
Belgian-German contemporary dance choreographer Arco Renz — who recently staged Hanoi Stardust with Nguyen Duy Thành, Vũ Ngọc Khải and the Vietnam National Opera Ballet — shares his list of up and coming contemporary dancers in the region whose steps are worth following. “This mini directory of contemporary dancers from Southeast Asia is both very
Curated: Southeast Asia’s Contemporary Dancers [SEA] Read More »
School of Contemporary Music Festival 2017, 7 – 30 Apr, various timings and venues Held as part of The LASALLE Show 2017 at the end of the academic year, this graduation showcase presents the college’s music students performing at the culmination of their years of training. More information. Every Brilliant Thing by Bhumi Collective, 18 –
17 – 23 April 2017: Singapore Read More »
“Over the past year and a half, May Tran (writer, student and professional procrastinator of Vietnamese descent) has been inundated with PR for two professional and sixteen-hundred amateur productions of Miss Saigon. The following piece has been cobbled together from segments of the largely incomprehensible fury essays she wrote during her frequent and violent rage
#not pho your entertainment [Vietnam] Read More »
“Raka Maitra from CHOWK Productions (Singapore) presents a brand new piece of dance at Esplanade Theatre Studio under Esplanade’s Raga series of programmes showcasing Indian performing arts in dance, music and theatre throughout the year. After selling out performances of The Second Sunrise at Da:ns Festival in October, Raka offers Pallavi in Time. A follow-up
Raka Maitra discusses Pallavi in Time – I never look back [Singapore] Read More »
Top Picks in Jakarta, Bali and Yogyakarta from 17 – 23 April 2017 JAKARTA Pesona Sastra Jawa, 18 April 2017, 3:30 PM, Bentara Budaya Jakarta Javanese Modern literature is losing popularity and readership. Many Javanese authors had switched to write in Bahasa Indonesia to widen its readers, making Javanese literature even more rare.
17 – 23 April 2017: Indonesia Read More »
“Growing up, my dad always told me, “Every Vietnamese family has a remarkable story.” I was raised in Orange County, Calif., the home of Disneyland, the Angels baseball team, and Little Saigon—the largest population of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam. It means that we were surrounded by people who were refugees, veterans, war survivors—people who were forced
I Am Miss Saigon, and I Hate It [Vietnam] Read More »
“I was first introduced to writer and photographer Zhuang Wubin’s work when I moved to Cambodia. His writings on Cambodian photography are well-researched, accessible, and thoughtful — exactly what I was seeking as a newcomer to the area. Zhuang became an important node for me to learn from and think through photography in Cambodia, and later the region as a whole.
An Artist’s Comprehensive History of Southeast Asian Photography [SEA, Singapore] Read More »
SINGAPORE – A $30 million waterfront theatre will open at the Esplanade – Theatres On The Bay in 2021. The mid-size venue will seat around 550 people. It was announced on Monday (April 10) by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu during the annual theatre awards organised by The Straits Times’ Life. At
New $30 million waterfront theatre for Esplanade [Singapore] Read More »
By Kathy Rowland (728 words, 8 minute read) Teater Ekamatra’s Harap opens with its five characters frozen in the shadows, standing on low plinths. Taking centre-stage is a series of monochromatic, indeterminate images, projected on the backdrop and over their bodies. When the characters break free, the stage crackles with the easy energy of Hadi
‘Hope (Harap)’: No Hope in Contemporary Hell Read More »
When Space Dissolves into Luminosity; Where Flowers Bloom Amidst Rocks, iPreciation Gallery, 15 April – 29 April 2017 iPreciation presents an exhibition comprising works by 10 Singaporean artists, which spans different mediums ranging from sculptures, paintings, prints and mixed media, and seeks to examine how artists approach questions of authenticity while navigating the ever complex world. Artists
10 – 16 April 2017: Singapore Read More »
Top Picks in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Malang from 10 – 16 April 2017 JAKARTA Duet of Amplified Sewing Machine, 9 April 2017, 7 – 9 PM, Gudang Sarinah Ekosistem, Hall A2, Jakarta Can a Singer sewing machine sing? Artist Steffi Muller and Lisa Simpson will say, “Yes!” A closing event of the
10 – 16 April 2017: Indonesia Read More »
Malaysian novelist K.S. Maniam is still based in Malaysia and has not left to the United States as claimed in Dewan Sastera recently. Government department, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), through its monthly Malay language magazine, Dewan Sastera had reported in its April, 2017 issue that the 75-year-old had migrated to the United States. In an essay titled “Kolonialisme dan
K.S. Maniam is still in Malaysia, slams Dewan Sastera’s erroneous essay [Malaysia] Read More »
