In the next few years, we will be witnessing the completion of some new theatre facilities, such as Wild Rice’s own theatre space in the redeveloped Funan Mall, and Esplanade’s new medium-size theatre. How are these new theatre facilities designed? What will theatres look like in future? How would lighting, projection, sound and other technologies […]
The Future is Here – Interview with Mathias Woo (via ArtsRepublic) Read More »
The following roundtable discussion was held as part of the Lyn Gardner Theatre Reviewing Training Programme. Particpants Teo Dawn, Ezekiel Oliveira, Isaac Lim, Patricia Tobin, and Richard Chung discussed Displaced by Ground Cover Theatre, staged at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2018. The play examined the migrant experience through the lives of three women from different backgrounds,
“Displaced” by Ground Cover Theatre at the Singapore Fringe: A Roundtable Read More »
By Naeem Kapadia (885 words, 5-minute read) It’s an exciting time for the emerging playwright in Singapore. Workshops, residencies and other artistic opportunities abound to develop and showcase fresh work, often in collaboration with theatre companies. These include platforms such as The Wright Stuff by Toy Factory, The Orange Production by The Necessary Stage and
“Platform Series: Journeys”: Of Skin and Sole Read More »
Cambodian-American poet Sokunthary Svay is tired of hearing about the Khmer Rouge. After concluding a yearlong review of Cambodian literature available in English, Svay found that nearly every accessible text about the country of her birth concerned either Angkor Wat, the ancient Angkorian Kingdom, the Khmer Rouge, or memoirs written by Cambodians who survived the
A Child of Cambodian Refugees Finds her Past through Poetry (via Electric Literature) Read More »
‘Street Mining: Contemporary Art from the Philippines’ features the works of Poklong Anading, Louie Cordero, Victor Balanon, Nona Garcia, Kawayan de Guia, Mm Yu, and the collective ‘Broke’. The show runs at Sundaram Tagore Gallery from 20 January to 2 March 2018 and has been guest-curated by ‘Broke’ co-founder Gary Ross Pastrana. I am meeting
In Conversation with Contemporary Art’s Street Miner (via The Artling) Read More »
Cross-Border Series: Malaya by Raksasa Collective and Pennylane Events, The Substation, 10 Feb, 5pm The first of many showcases, as part of the Cross-Border series between nations around Singapore, celebrates the ties that have been left unsaid in current times. This showcase present musicians from both Malaysia and Singapore as part of the Malayan Exchange to
5 – 11 February 2018: Singapore Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali from 5 – 11 February 2018 JAKARTA Setelah Residensi Trimatra, 11 February – 11 March 2018, Galeri Salihara. Opening: 10 February 2018, 7 PM. This exhibition presents the works of 3 young contemporary artists who won Salihara Trimatra competition in 2016. The 3
5 – 11 February 2018: Indonesia Read More »
Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC) has finalised the selection for its second edition, focusing on first-time filmmakers from Laos, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Established producers such as Fran Borgia (A Yellow Bird) and Anthony Chen (Pop Aye) are attached to some of the projects, which cover topics including family strife, sociopolitical bureaucracy, cross-cultural humour
By Chloe Chotrani (1400 words, 12-minute read) Dance was practiced as a devotional union between the ancestral and earthly realms through ritualistic performances in architectural spaces, with its genesis in India, extending into Southeast Asia. This essay examines the bronze figures of deities and temple traditions in Angkor, Cambodia in relation to ancient Hindu traditions
Dance as Devotion in South India and Southeast Asia Read More »
Lorenzo Rudolf seems to be taking the adage “all publicity is good publicity” a bit too far. Speaking on the opening day of Art Stage Singapore, the president and founder of the annual contemporary art fair gave such a downbeat description of the city state’s art market that seemed like a peculiar ploy to get
“After nearly 10 years of documenting the vanishing stand-alone movie theaters in Southeast Asia, I’d like to invite the public into my world, to experience exactly what it is that I experience when doing this work.” Philip Jablon is a cultural researcher and photographer based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He has been documenting the stand-alone movie
One Man, Stand Alone: On the trail of the old movie theaters (via Asiola) Read More »
By Corrie Tan (1228 words, 10-minute read) A man is rising from the water. The sea is birthing him: his closely-cropped hair, his bare chest and shoulders, his damp sarong clinging to his thighs. On land, another man with a shorn scalp is sitting cross-legged in the sand and mud, his distended lips pulled back
“Cinta Tuah Jebat”: Love on the Rocks Read More »
“The party is not the….”, a visitor beside me squints into a portrait, trying to make out the tiny words handwritten just below it. After the words, an ‘Erica’ is signed. “The past is not the past”, I corrected him. He grins and then realises. That is the name of the exhibition, after all. ===
“The Past is not the Past”, an exhibition to remember (via The Online Citizen) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Yogyakarta and Bali from 29 January – 4 February 2018 YOGYAKARTA Jazz Mben Senen, 29 January 2018, 8:30 PM, Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta Jazz Mben Senen started as a place to share cultures. It has grown into a sharing of the art form every Monday night at Bentara
29 January – 4 February 2018: Indonesia Read More »
The Dark Web by USP Productions, Drama Centre Theatre, 2 – 4 Feb The Dark Web is a play that examines the culture and implications surrounding the titular part of the internet known as the ‘dark web’ – where users and their activities are concealed behind layers of anonymity and encryption, and content ranges from
29 January – 4 February 2018: Singapore Read More »
By Wong Wen Pu (600 words, 4-minute read) Forked by Jo Tan follows the experiences of one Jeanette Peh (played by Ethel Yap), a Singaporean student, as she heads to London to study acting, against the vehement objections of her father and the reluctant acquiescence of her mother. Already a minor celebrity in Singapore through
“Forked” by Jo Tan: An Uneven Production Read More »
By Bernice Lee (722 words, 5-minute read) Jo Tan’s first full-length play Forked hits plenty of right notes. High energy, uncomfortably honest and deliberately racist, it’s funny because it’s true. In spite of its great momentum however, the play’s pace feels weighed down by its thematic frames, just as the characters are stuck within their
“Forked” by Jo Tan: Shapeshifting Identities Read More »
By Richard Chung (738 words, 7 minute read) Jo Tan’s playwriting debut offers a simple yet familiar story of one Singaporean girl with big dreams. In Forked, Ethel Yap plays Jeanette, a young aspiring actor who heads to London for drama school. Upon arrival in London, Jeanette gets the biggest culture shock of her life
“Forked”: Privilege Gets Served Read More »
By Isaac Lim (676 words, 6-minute read) Jeanette Peh promotes herself as a ‘star’, with ‘over 500 followers’ on her ‘Stage Whispers’ YouTube channel which promises straight-up, no-holds-barred confessions. Is that the reality, or is she just a wannabe? Jo Tan’s first full-length play, Forked, directed by Chen Yingxuan, is a laugh-a-minute comedy, albeit one that
“Forked”: An Asian Crisis Read More »
By Teo Dawn (736 words, 7 minute read) (Transcript for SunSh!neGurrl*94’s YouTube video – A Reaction Video to Forked by Jo Tan) Hello everybody, ni hao and welcome back to my channel. I have been reading your comments and you asked for more of my reaction videos. Love that you guys think so highly of
A Reaction Video to Jo Tan’s “Forked” Read More »
By Ezekiel Oliveira (546 words, 4-minute read) Jeanette Peh is determined to become an actor, but she already thinks she is something of a star on her YouTube channel ‘Stage Whispers’ which has 500 subscribers. She turns down a place at Law School in Singapore to fulfil her acting dreams instead. But in London, her
“Forked”: Jeanette doesn’t do Asian Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (800 words, 6-minute read) When I was 19, I left Singapore to pursue my studies in Melbourne. I foolishly thought that any city, anywhere else in the world, would be better than this tiny island. In Melbourne, I became more aware of my “otherness”. At an Irish pub in St Kilda, a
Get “Forked”: Finding our Racial Identity Read More »
By Euginia Tan (707 words, 5-minute read) As I am waiting for the show to begin, the glint off the four silver chairs forming the basis of the set of Forked is sharp, unyielding, with a trophy rested on one of them. Forked then commences with a highly frenetic, animated monologue by protagonist Jeanette Peh,
M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2018: Forked by Jo Tan Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Patricia Tobin (788 words, 6-min read) “She is a terrorist, she is a cultist, she works for sex.” “Who is she?” Like a foggy recreation of a Black Mirror episode, Rei Poh’s Attempts: Singapore
Looking within with “Attempts: Singapore” Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Isaac Lim (508 words, 4 minute read) 1957hrs: I arrive at the lobby of Centre 42, which has been converted into the headquarters of multi-million dollar corporation, ARC. In Attempts: Singapore, a theatre-game-experience created
“Attempts: Singapore”: Is the Anne nigh? Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Richard Chung In a world of innovative theatrical experiences, you often come across too many that scrimp on either execution or narrative. That’s not the case for Rei Poh’s Attempts: Singapore, which operates as a thoroughly
“Attempts: Singapore”: Game On Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Ezekiel Oliveira (589 words, 5-minute read) Humanity may be under threat, the end of the world might well be nigh. That’s the premise for Attempts: Singapore, an immersive performance where the audience is cast
“Attempts: Singapore”: The Curtains Don’t Match the Drapes Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Teo Dawn (650 words, 5-minute read) Attempts: Singapore by Rei Poh is a participatory piece of theatre inspired by Martin Crimp’s Attempts on Her Life. Fragmented, non-linear, and similar to a video game experience,
“Attempts: Singapore”: Let The Games Begin Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Jocelyn Chng (518 words, 4-minute read) Most performances in Singapore keep the audience in their place, passively sitting and watching. Attempts: Singapore is an attempt at getting the audience up on their feet and
“Attempts: Singapore”: An Uncertain Attempt Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Sherlyn Goh Xue Ting (1295 words, 9-minute read) Entry 26,371: 25 January 2018, 2000hrs It has been a few days since the mysterious databank in J.O.A.N. appeared, and the system is overwhelmed by memories
Investigation Report for “Attempts: Singapore” Read More »
