Performance Archives

Grace Baey’s Portraits of Yangon’s Trans Population (via Coconuts Yangon)

Some photographers are able to capture the most delicate moments deftly. With her project Living Choices, Singapore-based shooter Grace Baey showed her ability to do just that. Baey spent one month in Yangon taking pictures of the city’s trans population for the photo series — and despite the short time frame and limited window for gaining the […]

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Weekly Picks: Indonesia (19 – 25 November 2018)

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bali, Solo and Jakarta from 19 – 25 November 2018 We start our picks this week from Sanur, Bali. Rumah Sanur Creative Hub is holding the exhibition Anxious Visual, a solo exhibition by Zulkarnain Putra Ramadhan. As a former inmate, Zulkarnain uses various sketches, photographs and installations to

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (19 – 25 November 2018)

Charlie by Bhumi Collective, Goodman Arts Centre Music Studio, 20 Nov – 7 Dec What would you say to an innocent child who has literally never seen the world? Bhumi Collective is delighted to present the Singapore premiere of Charlie by Victoria Chen, after two successful runs at the Edinburgh Student Arts Festival and the

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“Private Parts”: Sometimes You’ve Got to Fix What God Gave You

This review contains some spoilers of a few of the sight gags and plot points in Private Parts. Private Parts was first performed in 1992, and in this staging, it hasn’t been re-written. Given that in it, transgender characters and the people around them attempt to articulate what being transgender means, how the rest of

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (12–18 Nov 2018)

Bisikan Monsoon — Open Rehearsal, at Selangor & KL Kwang Tung Association, 13 Nov, 5:30pm An invitation to view the rehearsals for Kwang Tung Dance Company’s Bisikan Monsoon (the show is travelling to China later in the month). This opportunity is only open to 10 participants, and registration is required by Monday 12 Nov, with

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Weekly Picks: Indonesia (12 – 18 November 2018)

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bali, Bandung and Jakarta from 12 – 18 November 2018 If you’re in Bali, swing by the exhibition “Efek Samping” part of the Futuwonder Project: Masa Subur. The Masa Subur project is an interdisciplinary project that involves women artists in Indonesia. In this particular one, the artists selected

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Weekly Picks: Singapore (12 – 18 November 2018)

667, a Film Screening by Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, 17 – 18 November 2018 Here’s your chance to catch 667 《回程667》 as the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre celebrates the latest win of local filmmaker, Jun Chong, whose debut short film Ke《客》, was awarded the Best Asian Short at the 13th Sapporo International Short Film Festival. The

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Tuckys Photography

A History of Violence: The Sharp Edges of “Cerita Cinta”

By Nabilah Said (1000 words, four-minute read) The most powerful moment of akulah BIMBO SAKTI’s Cerita Cinta is the end. To be perfectly clear, it is a dream of a production. The six-person ensemble is tight, the design is exacting, the 90-minute runtime breezes by. Credit goes to presenter The Esplanade for restaging this 1995

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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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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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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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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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“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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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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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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Weekly Picks: Indonesia (15 – 21 October 2018)

Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bali, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta from 15-21 October 2018 The first edition of Art Bali is here from the 9th of October to the 9th of November. Held as a parallel event to the 2018 IMF-WBG Annual Meeting, Art Bali showcases the best artworks from balinese artists, and artists

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Weekly Picks: Malaysia (15–21 October 2018)

No Black Tie Ivory Series presents ‘To The Moon’, at No Black Tie, 15–16 Oct, 8pm Part of No Black Tie’s 20th anniversary celebrations, To The Moon draws inspiration from the likes of Jean-Philippe Rameau, Louis Couperin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Henry Purcell, and Gluck. It’s okay if you don’t know all the names, all you

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