An epic set, an epic story, and epic four years of painstaking training is one way to describe The Finger Players’ OIWA – The Ghost of Yotsuya, an aching horror story that retells the classic tale of vengeance revolving around a jilted woman. Combining techniques of Kabuki, Bunraku and Ningyo Buri, as well as the […]
OIWA – The Ghost of Yotsuya: Primal story of love, or the failures of it Read More »
Let’s face it. In the early days of the pandemic, we mourned for live theatre. Zoom theatre felt like the next best thing, if not quite the real thing. And yet, that period was also one of great experimentation, and brought to us different kinds of online experiences created by artists, with various degrees of
Who’s Afraid of the VOD?: Highlights of SIFA On Demand Read More »
Singapore lighting designer Lim Woan Wen shares about her practice and process, and chats with critic Daniel Teo about the impact of lighting in a performance, and whether critics should be expected to write more about lighting design in a review. This session took place on 18 May 2021 as part of the Asian Arts
Master Conversations: Lighting Design with Lim Woan Wen and Daniel Teo Read More »
Costume designer and supervisor Catherine Kodicek shares about her practice and process, and issues around costume awareness and advocacy within the UK theatre context, alongside UK theatre critic Lyn Gardner. This session took place on 25 May 2021 as part of the Asian Arts Media Roundtable at SIFA 2021. The inaugural Master Conversations series focuses
Master Conversations: Costume Design with Catherine Kodicek and Lyn Gardner Read More »
In this video, part of the W.O.W (Women on Women) Classics project, Vanessa Chan shares more about “A Bad Girl’s Book of Animals” (1969), a book of poetry by Wong May. Vanessa was mentored by award-winning writer Elaine Chiew. W.O.W Classics is an effort by ArtsEquator and Chiew to introduce literary classics written by Singaporean
W.O.W Classics: Vanessa Chan on Wong May Read More »
We recently announced our selected resident writers for the inaugural AE x Goethe-Institut Critical Writing Micro-Residency, focusing on the development and promotion of critical writing about arts and culture in Southeast Asia. They are: Nhuan Dong from Saigon; Dwiki Aprinaldi from Yogyakarta; Eddie Wong from Petaling Jaya; Wilda Yanti Salam from Makassar; Mariah Reodica from
AE x Goethe-Institut Critical Writing Micro-Residency: Meet the Writers (Part 2) Read More »
In this month’s Cakap-Cakap (chit-chat), ArtsEquator speaks with poet and critic, Daryl Lim Wei Jie, who curated the poems featured in Local Flavours, an interactive site based on the concept of food delivery mobile apps. Produced by digital storytelling studio, Tusitala, it features 30 Singapore-based illustrators and poets and their works, which were inspired by 15
Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Daryl Lim for Local Flavours Read More »
SDEA is holding its first fully online Theatre Arts Conference this year, since its inaugural run in 2011. Expanding from the traditional weekend format to an 8-day event, the conference will feature 70 presentations, workshops, and masterclasses by 64 practitioners from 14 countries. [Read our highlights here, and Part 1 of our Keynote Interviews here]
SDEA Theatre Arts Conference Keynote Interviews: Drama lessons in a pandemic (Part 2) Read More »
By Joel Tan To borrow and distort the title of David Shield’s lyrical manifesto against fiction: I’ve been HUNGRY for reality in the month of May. And so for this month’s edition of SEE WHAT SEE, I’m training my sights on documentaries from Southeast Asia or about Southeast Asian subjects that you can stream right
SEE WHAT SEE (May 2021): SOUTHEAST ASIAN DOCUMENTARIES Read More »
By Shahril Salleh ( 1,215 words, 6-minute read) We thought about after a year of not singing together in a live performance, we wanted to have a concert about beginnings and about trying to become like the new normal again as a choir. So of course the idea of morning and dawn and sunrise came
At dawn’s first light: “Matins” by the SYC Ensemble Singers Read More »
We recently announced our selected resident writers for the inaugural AE x Goethe-Institut Critical Writing Micro-Residency, focusing on the development and promotion of critical writing about arts and culture in Southeast Asia. They are: Nhuan Dong from Saigon; Dwiki Aprinaldi from Yogyakarta; Eddie Wong from Petaling Jaya; Wilda Yanti Salam from Makassar; Mariah Reodica from Las
AE x Goethe-Institut Critical Writing Micro-Residency: Meet the Writers (Part 1) Read More »
Every first Wednesday of the month, ArtsEquator releases our editor’s picks of shows/events/programmes that our readers can look out for in that month. Note: The events below are subject to changing conditions due to COVID-19. Do check with the respective presenters. This list in published in no particular order. 1. The Music of Checkpoint
ArtsEquator’s Hot List: May 2021 Read More »
SDEA is holding its first fully online Theatre Arts Conference this year from 22 to 30 May. Expanding from the traditional weekend format to an 8-day event, the conference will feature 70 presentations, workshops, and masterclasses by 64 practitioners from 14 countries. [View some highlight events here] ArtsEquator catches up with two of the conference
SDEA Theatre Arts Conference Keynote Interviews: Drama lessons in a pandemic (Part 1) Read More »
Earlier this year Producers SG launched the Producers SG Directory, an online directory of independent producers and arts managers working in Singapore and around Southeast Asia, which it hopes can become a starting point for future collaborations and projects in the region. In our latest podcast episode, Nabilah Said from ArtsEquator and Mok Cui Yin
Podcast 87: Southeast Asian Producers Read More »
In this month’s Cakap-Cakap (chit-chat), ArtsEquator speaks with visual artist Anaïs López about her multimedia exhibition The Migrant which is currently showing at the Chapel Gallery, Objectifs. Through audio, video, text and photography, López discusses migration, urbanisation and human-animal relationships through the character of the ubiquitous Javan mynah and its evolving place in Southeast Asia,
Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Anaïs López for The Migrant Read More »
In the early hours of Monday, 1 February 2021, the leaders of Myanmar’s elected civilian government were seized and detained in a military coup d’état. Over the past 81 days, the Burmese Armed Forces (also known as the Tatmadaw တပ်မတော်) have installed themselves as an illegitimate regime in Myanmar, declared a state of emergency in
#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar – and how you can help Read More »
A new addition to the genre of online theatre, Oppy & Professor Communitas by Five Arts Centre is a thoughtful, humorous, and self-reflective examination of the role and struggle of Malaysian theatremakers. Anchored through a series of workshop lectures, the play centres on Oppy, a young actor and musician who is at a crossroads about
Oppy & Professor Communitas: Meanderings of the Malay male theatremaker Read More »
The SDEA Theatre Arts Conference is back in 2021 with a fully-online programme, featuring presentations, workshops and masterclasses responding to the theme of Creative Disruption: Exploring New Ground. The conference, first started in 2011, is an international platform for artists, theatre practitioners, educators, and applied drama practitioners to share their work, methodologies, and research through
8 online programmes not to be missed at SDEA Theatre Arts Conference Read More »
As a resident of Yishun, I do not usually expect any sort of art exhibition to come to my town. As a town notorious for cat killing and the occasional murder, you wouldn’t expect any cultural experience to rank high on the list of places to go in Yishun, which was why I was pleasantly
Artistic intervention: An orange truck lands in… Yishun? Read More »
ArtsEquator Lobang is a list of available open calls, job postings and other opportunities open to people from Singapore and Southeast Asia. “Lobang”, a Malay word for “hole”, is used in Singlish as a shorthand for an opportunity, valuable contact or a tip. Scroll down or click for easier access. Info & Resources | Open
Open Calls and Opportunities: Apr 2021 (Singapore/SEA) Read More »
Text and photos by Joelle Cecilia Quek The Substation’s 2021 SeptFest made a full comeback in March after 6 years, marking the 30th anniversary of Singapore’s first independent home of the arts. Titled In The Margins, the month-long festival focuses on stories of the marginalised, displaced, and forgotten – communities who often go unseen and
The Substation’s SeptFest 2021: Endnote Read More »
Note: This review contains some spoilers. Why do we do the things we do? In the beginning, we are dreamers. We remain true to ourselves and our purpose, until some forces along the journey manoeuvre us, changing our trajectory. Our society and its present system pushes us to fit into certain templates. We react in
Model Citizens: Pursuit of happiness, prosperity and progress Read More »
Filled to the brim at 25% capacity, Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Robertson Quay theatre was cold. The starched whiteness of Petrina Dawn Tan’s set — comprising piles of books that would function effectively as furniture, storage space, and the psychological landscapes of the play’s two characters — added to this austere atmosphere. I didn’t know what
The Sound Inside: Duet of life and loss Read More »
Every first Wednesday of the month, ArtsEquator releases our editor’s picks of shows/events/programmes that our readers can look out for in that month. This list in published in no particular order. 1. VECTOR#1: An Economy Of Means Physical show: 16-18 April, Block O Multipurpose Studios, Goodman Arts Centre [SINGAPORE/In-venue] Dance Nucleus presents its new
ArtsEquator’s Hot List: April 2021 Read More »
By Azura Farid and Nabilah Said The pandemic led theatre collective HATCH to dream up Keturunan Ruminah (Ruminah’s Family), a play that takes place entirely on WhatsApp. Rightly, HATCH identified the potential of the WhatsApp group chat to be a site of potent family drama, this one centred on ghostly possession, complete with videos of
Keturunan Ruminah: WhatsApp play on family inheritance Read More »
After a short hiatus, the ArtsEquator theatre podcast is back. In the latest episode, Kathy Rowland, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss three productions at the 2021 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival – a line could be crossed and you would slowly cease to be by Koh Wan Ching and Andrew Sutherland; i am not here
Podcast 86: M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2021 Read More »
By Joel Tan Welcome back to See What See! It’s our monthly round-up of interesting stuff by Singapore and regional makers that you can stream right here on the Internet. In this edition, I thought I’d pay a little attention to film, TV, and shorts with a genre fiction flavour, so I went around sniffing
SEE WHAT SEE (Mar 2021): GENRE FICTION Read More »
From now till 25 April, a truck carrying precious cargo will travel around Singapore, hoping to enchant you with its treasures and stories. Titled The Bottled City, this orange-hued truck contains art and design works curated and created in response to books by Singapore authors. Inspired by the concept of a cabinet of curiosities, the
So Lit: The Bottled City of mini objects travelling through Singapore Read More »
In the latest of our Cakap-Cakap series, ArtsEquator chats with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan who star in Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)’s new play, The Sound Inside, written by by award-winning playwright Adam Rapp. The Sound Inside turns the spotlight on an unusual connection forged between a pair of literary-minded people – a professor and
Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan Read More »
By Nabilah Said Against the backdrop of a battle of words, an impossibility is happening. SeptFest, one of The Substation’s most enduring annual programmes, is taking place this month, in March, six months too late. This, of course, is because of COVID restrictions last year, but it also feels strangely early, unseasonal – like when
The Substation’s SeptFest 2021: The last chapter Read More »
