Performance Archives

Screen. Shot. at M1 Fringe 2022: Starve a fire, feed a flame

Rebecca G. reviews Bound Theatre’s newest work, which explores the darker elements of our always-connected lives : cancel culture, fake news, and modified behaviours, in an interactive performance that involved the audience to varying degrees of success. Our journey into the all-too-real world of Screen. Shot. starts before any audience member has even stepped foot […]

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Brian Gothong Tan

The Swimming Pool Library Exhibition: Mind The Gap?

By Daniel Teo (1,018 words, 4-minute read) When the tour party assembles for Brian Gothong Tan’s The Swimming Pool Library exhibition, I realise I am likely the oldest person in the group. Our tour leader, Elijah Tay (pronouns “they”/“them”), introduces themselves and announces they had just turned 20. Just great, my mid-30s self thought. When

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0.01 at M1 Fringe 2022: The Space Between

An estranged father, a disillusioned employee, a human case study, those behind the scenes – all yearning for more in a collective plea for help. A joint collaboration between graduating students from NAFA’s BA (Hons) Performance Making cohort and directors Rei Poh and Goh Shou Yi, 0.01 is a non-linear exploration of interpersonal possibilities. The

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Daniel Teo / The Second Breakfast Company / Rinrada Pornsombutsatien

Critics Live (on Telegram!): M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2022

Critics Live! is a critics-led programme series created by ArtsEquator to give arts audiences an insight into how critics formulate their responses to performances. In this session, join critics Lee Shu Yu, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia in a post-show conversation about three productions: The Essential Playlist by The Second Breakfast Company (Singapore), Being: 息在 by 微 Wei Collective

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The Secret Life Of Haw Par Villa: How tours are bringing the arts to life

Ever since the pandemic hit, the notion of travel in Singapore has manifested in a variety of forms. The word “staycation” is now commonly associated with a quick getaway from the same walls we’ve grown accustomed to in our HDB flats, as well as the offering of SingapoRediscovers vouchers. Since the beginning of the pandemic,

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The top ArtsEquator articles of 2021

Below is a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2021, in random order: The Substation: How many more canaries in the coal mine? by Hoe Su Fern Published on: 20 Feb 2021 “Although the current situation facing The Substation is not new or unique, its impending fate is emblematic of, and raises

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Podcast 100: Singapore Theatre Year In Review

Listen as speakers Ke Weiliang, Lee Shu Yu, Matt Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia share their thoughts about Singapore theatre in 2021, including observations and shows they found memorable. Mentioned in this episode: ArtsWok, Brown Voices, Checkpoint Theatre, Double Confirm Productions/Sight Lines Entertainment, Drama Box, Eng Kai Er, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay,

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Agam Theatre Lab

Re Somma and Tamil Theatre in Singapore

By Vithya Subramaniam, in conversation with Karthikeyan Somasundaram Why stage a piece about, and play your own father? What is Tamil Theatre in Singapore? And did Karthik really need to put on a full face of paint just for that one 12-minute scene? Vithya Subramaniam and Karthikeyan Somasundaram chat about Re Somma—a ‘bioplay’ on Singaporean

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Crispian Chan / Tuckys Photography

Podcast 99: The Mother and ________ Can Change

In this episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Naeem Kapadia, Matthew Lyon and Nabilah Said discuss two productions: The Mother by Pangdemonium, and ________ Can Change by The Necessary Stage. Stream Podcast 99: ArtsEquator · Podcast 99: The Mother and ________ Can Change Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Nabilah Said (NS): Hello and

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Wild Rice

Podcast 98: Love & Information by Young & Wild

In this episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Naeem Kapadia, Matthew Lyon and Nabilah Said discuss Love & Information by Young & Wild, which is the youth arm of Singapore theatre company Wild Rice. Stream Podcast 98: ArtsEquator · Podcast 98: Love & Information by Young & Wild Also available on Spotify. Podcast

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Mah Jun Yi and Low Pey Sien

ANCER Lab 03 Manila: How arts managers are surviving COVID-19

By Wennie Yang (1,200 words, 4-minute read) Pandemic restrictions have put arts and cultural workers and institutions in a bind: choosing between sustaining their missions at times of a global pandemic or ceasing operations altogether. How have Southeast Asian arts managers survived? That was the question at the heart of the third ANCER Lab, formed

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Courtesy of Zinkie Aw and Drama Box

Reframing The Mental Health Discourse ‘With Time’

For his directorial and playwriting debut, Drama Box’s resident artist, Chng Yi Kai, wants to reframe the discourse around mental health. This might seem ambitious for a young artist of 29, but this issue has been percolating in his mind since he was in university a couple of years ago. “I was going through some

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Keluarga Besar En. Karim: Pressing play on family drama

By Faezah Zulkifli (921 words, 3-minute read) The setting is familiar—every Sunday night, my family gathers in the living room to watch TV. Tonight, we are watching Checkpoint Theatre’s Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims). It was déjà vu; versions of this image of the TV in the living room have greeted my Instagram feed

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Air Con: Who Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Who do you want to be when you grow up? At the end of the play AIR CON, the character William (Nick Davis) asks the character Asif (Ryan Lee Bhaskaran) this question. This stuck with me because I found myself asking the question: What happens when a play grows up? Does it? Are plays allowed

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Screen Shot 2021-09-29 at 5.10.12 AM (2)

Kornkarn Rungsawang

Performance Making during a Pandemic: Of Innovation, Form and Embeddedness

By Adriana Nordin Manan (1,000 words, 3-minute read) If arts panel discussions are meant to reflect the times, “Critical Responses to Performance-Making in A Post-Pandemic World” positioned itself well: at this stage of the pandemic, it was less about open-ended contemplation of how the performing arts can retain vitality amidst the prohibitive circumstances, and more

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Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Jo Kukathas for Air Con

We cakap-cakap (chit-chat) with Jo Kukathas about The Instant Café Theatre Company’s upcoming screening of Air Con, an award-winning 2008 play written by Shanon Shah. The play revolves around the murder of a sex worker near an elite boys school in Kedah and how it roils the school community. The play, which was directed by

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BIPAM 2021: Delight, despair, dialogue and the despot

By Nabilah Said (1,800 words, 6-minute read) I’ve never actually attended the Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM). This year, the pandemic allowed me to, as BIPAM offered a five-day digital programme full of showcases, talks and other activities. It brought me, a Singaporean, a world of imagination – colourful and joyous in parts, provoking

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Bernie Ng

Bedside Banter: Cyril & Michael by Bridging the Gap Collective

By Naeem Kapadia (800 words, 2-minute read) Two strangers meet on gay dating app Grindr and share an encounter in a hotel room. Except it’s not just fast, meaningless sex. Budding playwright and theatremaker Theo Chen’s assured two-hander, presented by Bridging the Gap Collective, is a deceptively simple play that slowly draws one into its

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The working processes of artists: Grace Kalaiselvi

Theatremaker Grace Kalaiselvi talks about her journey in theatre, the Tamil theatre scene and issues of diversity and representation in Singapore theatre in this video, titled Creating as a Tamil Artist in Singapore, directed and conceptualised by LASALLE students Nur Ashikin Ali and Raman Mruthika. “We wanted to shed some light and understanding on the

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Arts House Limited / Nine Years Theatre and The Pond Photography

Podcast 95: Three Sisters and _T0701_ at SIFA 2021

In this episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Naeem Kapadia, Matthew Lyon and Nabilah Said discuss Three Sisters by Nine Years Theatre and _T0701_ by Zeugma, which were both part of SIFA 2021. Stream Podcast 95: ArtsEquator · Podcast 95: Three Sisters & T0701 at SIFA 2021 Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Naeem:

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Lychee Bye in boudoir_1_Image courtesy of Win (@cheetouk)

Lychee Bye in boudoir. Photo by Win (@cheetouk)

Festival of Women N.O.W. 2021: Bold claims on identity

By Patricia Tobin (1,382 words, 4-minute read) Led by artistic director Noorlinah Mohamed, this year’s online edition of the Festival of Women N.O.W. 2021 explores issues pertaining to women that are often forgotten or overlooked. There is Not Grey: Intimacy, Ageing & Being, a series of livestreamed and pre-recorded virtual performances featuring 15 women aged

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Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Salty Xi Jie Ng

In this month’s Cakap-Cakap (chit-chat), ArtsEquator speaks with artist Salty Xi Jie Ng, whose most recent project, Not Grey: Intimacy, Ageing & Being, excavated what intimacy means for older Singapore women (hint: it’s not all about sex!). The digital experience, comprised of video vignettes, interactive performances and writing, was presented by T:>Works as part of the

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The Second Breakfast Company

The frenemy’s handshake: The Singapore Trilogy as political theatre

My phone vibrated one night, with a notification that Singapore political party Workers’ Party (WP) was premiering a live video on Instagram. Curious, I tuned in – digital and social media being the default, on-tap mode of infotainment during the pandemic. It turned out to be an “office tour”, via live video feed, of LO

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The Second Breakfast Company

Podcast 94: The Singapore Trilogy by The Second Breakfast Company

In the episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss The Singapore Trilogy by The Second Breakfast Company, which ran from March 11 to March 21 2021. Stream Podcast 94: ArtsEquator · Podcast 93: The Singapore Trilogy Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Matthew Lyon (ML): Hello, everybody,

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Pangdemonium

Podcast 93: Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium

In the episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium, which ran from 25 Feb to 14 Mar 2021. Stream Podcast 93: ArtsEquator · Podcast 92: Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Naeem Kapadia (NK): Hello everyone, and

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The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre

The performing arts industry of Malaysia is drowning

As many parts of Southeast Asia are hit by recurrent waves of Covid 19 infections, arts industries across the region face imminent collapse due to prolonged closures and scant state support. In Malaysia, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre’s Artistic Director Joe Hasham and his wife and co-founder, Datuk Dr. Faridah Merican, recently released an

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Arts House Limited

Podcast 92: Critics Live: OIWA by The Finger Players at SIFA 2021

Critics Alice Saville (UK), Amitha Amranand (TH), Matthew Lyon (SG) and Taisuke Shimanuki (JP) discuss OIWA: The Ghost of Yotsuya by The Finger Players, presented at Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA). The performance took place from 28-30 May 2021 at Victoria Theatre, and from 5-20 June via video on demand. Critics Live! is

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CRISPI

End of an epic journey: A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Existence

By Jocelyn Chng (1,180 words, 4-minute read) Existence is the third instalment in the Southern Bough series commissioned by Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA). As its title implies, this third piece closes the full work with a more philosophical tone than in the previous two. The first instalment, The Beginning (2018), introduced the first

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Crispian Chan

The Commission: Why do these three meet again?

By Eugene Tan (1,503 words, 5-minute read) As has become customary for every review of a Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA) 2021 show (or as the festival programme now calls them, “content”), we should applaud the fact that these shows are happening at all. After all, COVID-19 restrictions are wildly challenging for artmaking

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Master Conversations: Multimedia Design with Shimpei Yamada and Bilqis Hijjas

Japanese video designer Shimpei Yamada shares about his practice in multimedia and video design and installation, for both theatre and dance, alongside KL-based critic-facilitator Bilqis Hijjas. This session took place on 8 June 2021 as part of the Asian Arts Media Roundtable at SIFA 2021. The inaugural Master Conversations series focuses on production and technical

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