“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 »
A deeply personal tale of revenge and redemption is set to return this weekend as Sophiline Arts Ensemble brings the celebrated “A Bend in the River” to Phnom Penh’s Chaktomuk Theater. While director and choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro will keep the story’s original roots, her focus will be to increase the production values of the
‘Bend in the River’ set to take a new twist: Khmer Times [Cambodia] Read More »
The music should be familiar to most in the audience—pop tunes known the world over—but not so for the dance, “Re/Play Dance Edit,” which was choreographed over the past week by Cambodian and Japanese dancers. As the artists perform in Phnom Penh on Friday and Saturday, they will gracefully move across the stage without interacting
Championing Diversity, Dancers Move to Their Own Stories [Cambodia] Read More »
Art that Moves is an occasional series where we ask artists and other creative workers to reflect on artworks, performances or events that were personally important to them. This week, actor Brendon Fernandez tells us about a production he saw as teenager that gave him the courage to become an actor. We caught up with Brendon
Art that Moves: Brendon Fernandez Read More »
“Today, the 35-year-old is one of Singapore’s most exciting film-makers with a robust slate of award-winning short films and documentaries under her belt. Her first feature, Pop Aye – an offbeat tale about a disenfranchised architect and the elephant he adopts – just nabbed prizes at two of the world’s most important film festivals: Sundance
By Akanksha Raja (920 words, 9-minute read) Normal opens with a dreary, dull morning assembly at Trinity Girls’ School, immersing the audience in a mise-en-scène that is all too familiar to anyone who has been through any part of public education in Singapore. This bleary-eyed 7AM routine, of forced uniformity and subservience, is broken by
Who’s Normal Anyway? Read More »
Review of POLITICAL ACTS: PIONEERS OF PERFORMANCE ART IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, Arts Centre Melbourne Steven Tonkin has curated a useful survey of Southeast Asian performance art as part of the inaugural Asia Triennial of Performing Arts. The photographs and videos of seven artists contain glimpses of their social environments, reminding us that performance art comes
Political Acts review: Artists weave defiance into performance art [SEA] Read More »
At the opening of Art Fair Philippines in Manila last month, a young sound artist named Jon Romero was using an overseas visitor to conduct electricity between metal sheets. Each time Romero tapped on the visitor’s arm, the electrical charge created a sound. Romero began playing the visitor like an instrument. “It’s the electricity flowing
By Nuraini Juliastuti (1124 words, 12 minute read) Satan Jawa (Garin Nugroho, 2017) a silent movie, in black and white (inspired by Nosferatu and Metropolis), had its world premier with the ‘live’ performances of Gamelan Garasi Seni Benawa and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as part of AsiaTOPA (Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts) in Melbourne recently. To
Garin Nugroho’s ‘Satan Jawa’ Flirts with the Dark Side Read More »
28.8 by Teater Kami, 7-8 Apr, Aliwal Arts Centre Written and directed by Adib Kosnan, this play targets a specific audience of young men and women who can relate to the challenges that living in Singapore poses to them financially. The play sees the blossoming of a relationship moving into marriage, before hitting different obstacles that
3 – 10 April: Singapore Read More »
Top Picks in Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta from 3 – 9 April 2017 JAKARTA Arus Bawah, 3 – 16 April 2017, Kineforum, Jakarta For the first half of April, Kineforum are bringing films with the theme of Arus Bawah or Under Current. Arus Bawah is a reflection of the undercurrent in society. Just
3 – 9 April 2017: Indonesia Read More »
“The Philippines and Hungary on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation that is expected to further enhance bilateral ties between the two countries. The MOU is between the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) – Foreign Service Institute (FSI) and the Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) of Hungary. It was signed
Philippines to boost ties with Hungary on culture and the arts Read More »
Yet Sarin, a star dancer of Cambodia’s classical male masked dance lakhaon kaol, died on Saturday at Phnom Penh’s Calmette Hospital after a long illness. He was 91. He had fought hepatitis for a year, his wife Bin Van, 50, said on Monday. Born in 1925, Yet Sarin trained in Kandal province at Wat Svay
With Classical Dancer’s Death, Loss of a Cambodian Legend (via The Cambodia Daily) Read More »
SEATTLE, Washington — The public is invited to a special cultural night presentation of the hit musical “Here Lies Love” on June 3, 5:30 p.m. at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Seattle’s Philippine Soiree is presented by three-time Tony and Grammy Award-winner Jhett Tolentino, in cooperation with FYLPRO. “Here Lies Love” tells the story of the eventful
Seattle soiree for musical on rise and fall of the Marcoses (via Inquirer.net) Read More »
The Age of Bones, written by Sandra Thibodeaux and directed by Iswadi Pratama & Alex Galeazzi, follows the story of an Indonesian boy, Ikan, who goes fishing one day and fails to return. Sandra Thibodeaux latest production to hit the Brown’s Mart stage tackles the traumatic experience of Indonesian teenagers caught up in Australia controversial
“What I present is not about Singapore history, but rather it is the history and living cultures across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand up to Vietnam. This is the Malay world that the world knows very little about. Even the Malays in Singapore do not know it well. Singapore is one part of the Malay
SINGAPORE: “I think it’s safe to say that I have a reputation of not doing weird s**t. I do love mainstream work. I don’t think it’s a dirty word. So I’m not shy, embarrassed or apologising for that at all,” said Gaurav Kripalani, with a laugh. The 45-year-old artistic director of Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)
Commemorating its 12th year anniversary in Australia, the Indonesian Film Festival 2017 will be the most grandiose celebration of Indonesian Screen Culture held in Australia, showcasing an eclectic range of art house cinema from a particular corner of the globe often known for its striking beauty and rich culture. IFF 2017 will strive to become
12th Indonesian film festival, Australia (via IFF Australia) Read More »
Cerita Anak (Child’s Story) takes pre-school children and their adults on a sea journey never to be forgotten. Cerita Anak (Child’s Story) is inspired by the seafaring history of Java, Indonesia, and a true tale of a small boy’s arrival in Australia. Cerita Anak places children at the heart of the story by inviting the
“#BKKY is a coming-of-age love story following Jojo, who embodies an amalgamation of interviews the director conducted with 100 Thai teenagers. #BKKY’s opening scene is a brilliant five-minute-long single-shot piece of cinematography, taken from underneath a desk. We see only the legs of two young high school girls and hear them talk flirtatiously with one another.
By Kathy Rowland (920 words, 8 minute read) Eric, a social worker based in Australia, has returned to Singapore for his father’s funeral. He visits an old neighbour, Kak Biba/Habiba, whose home was a childhood refuge from his own impersonal family. The reunion seems like a genuinely happy occasion. There are hints however – a
Review of “Fundamentally Happy”: Shame and Scandal in the Family Read More »
