Japan

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Courtesy of Comatonse Recordings

The disturbing cruelty of Terre Thaemlitz’s “Deproduction”

Content warning: References to sexual content, situations and violence The final line of Terre Thaemlitz’s Deproduction reads: “Admit it’s killing you, and leave.” It is a neat summary of the work—a deeply nihilistic critique of contemporary family values and neo-liberal queer politics. But, as this last piece of text scrolls off the screen, it also

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Courtesy of Comatonse Recordings

Disturbing behaviour: “Deproduction” by Terre Thaemlitz

By Patricia Tobin (670 words, 4-minute read) Content warning: References to sexual content or situations    Deproduction by musician-producer Terre Thaemlitz was released on December 28, 2017 as a multimedia album consisting of audio, video and text. In TPAM 2019, it was staged as an “anti-live AV performance”, as Thaemlitz combined the album’s textual, audio

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Photo: Hideto Maezawa

Fahmi Fadzil’s “GE14”: The sound and fury signifying everything

By Patricia Tobin ( 700 words, 5-minute read) “GE14 will be the arts festival to outdo all arts festivals,” said performer-politician Fahmi Fadzil. He is referring to the live spectacle: from theatre productions to political speeches, performativity is a constant. All the world’s a stage, as the production of GE14 shows, from the car parks

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1DPWD (1) Courtesy of Checkpoint Theatre
Courtesy of Checkpoint Theatre

Critics Live: A Post-Show Response to Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner

Below is a summary of Critics Live! for Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner by Checkpoint Theatre. This took place live at The Arts House on 24 May 2019. The panelists were:  Dede Pramayoza (Indonesia), Helmi Yusof (Singapore), Hiroyuki Takahashi (Japan) and Pawit Mahasarinand (Thailand). The session was moderated by ArtsEquator’s co-founder, Kathy Rowland. Kathy Rowland opened

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Tikam-Tikam Japan: Table and Chairs

Recently I caught a round of theatrical experimentations by Southeast Asian and Japanese directors in Tokyo. Called One Table Two Chairs Meeting 2017, it was the second of a 3-year series at the Za-Koenji Theatre. Taking part were Prumsodun Ok (Cambodia), Kamei Juntaro (Japan), Fasyali Fadzly (Malaysia), Chey Chankethya (Cambodia) and Liu Xiaoyi (Singapore). One

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Asian Dramaturgs’ Network in Adelaide: Getting Messy to Make Sense

By Kathy Rowland (770 words, 5 minute read) The Asian Dramaturgs’ Network, launched in April 2016 in Singapore by dance dramaturg Lim How Ngean, has quickly extended its regional footprint this year with meetings in Yokohama and Australia. Its Satellite Symposium in Adelaide, presented by Centre 42, brought Australian and Asian cultural practitioners into the same

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Ken Takiguchi: A Dramaturg’s Sanctuary

The Necessary Stage, in collaboration with HANCHU-YUEI, one of Tokyo’s most innovative theatre companies, brings us a work that explores the digital remains of life after death in another thought provoking work, “Sanctuary” opening 1 November 2017. Acclaimed playwright Leow Puay Tin interviews the production’s dramaturg, Ken Takiguchi about being the man in the middle. Ken

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Tikam-Tikam Japan: R.I.P. Tokyo

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

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YAYOI KUSAMA: Life is the Heart of the Rainbow, National Gallery Singapore

By Eva Wong Nava (1390 words, 14-minute read) Pumpkins, phalli, polka dots, stainless steel balls. These are the iconographies of YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929), the influential Japanese artist, who is equally famous for her commission by Louis Vuitton to imprint her [in]famous dots on their emblematic handbags and clothing line. Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition at the

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