Podcast 79: Asia TOPA (Part 2)
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by In this latest podcast episode, Nabilah Said and Carolyn Oei discuss various productions that were recently presented at Melbourne’s Asia TOPA: Are You Ready To Take The…
International Women’s Day: Inspiring Women
By ArtsEquator For International Women’s Day, ArtsEquator asked 11 women arts leaders in SEA to tell us about a woman who has inspired, supported or mentored them on their arts journey. Their stories recall mothers, bosses, Hollywood directors and an…
Draconic Self-Portrait: An intimate conversation with Margaret Leng Tan on Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep
By Shahril Salleh (1,357 words, 4-minute read) Doyen. Icon. Self-professed Dragon Lady. These are some of the facets of Margaret Leng Tan, Singapore’s Cultural Medallion award recipient in 2015. Margaret is a treasured Singaporean musician and performance artist who is…
From the Macarena to Chicago: A LASALLE performer’s journey
By Ke Weiliang (1,719 words, 7-minute read) Monday, 20 January 2020. It is 8.45am and I am seated inside one of the dance studios at LASALLE College of the Arts. Over the course of the next 75 minutes, I watch…
Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep: Brilliance Is Margaret Leng Tan
The following review is made possible through a Critical Residency programme supported by By Carolyn Oei (638 words, 5-minute read) Note: This review may contain some minor spoilers for Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep by Margaret Leng Tan. ONE: “Music;…
Podcast 77: Fika and Fishy by Patch and Punnet
In this latest podcast episode, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss the recent production of Fika and Fishy by Patch and Punnet, the collective’s first production for the year about the friendship between a dog and a fish….
Dancing with the Demons: “The Son” by Pangdemonium
By Naeem Kapadia (914 words, 4 minute read) Everyone tells us that a person battling mental health issues should seek professional help. But how exactly does one find the means to get the help they need? When confronted with a…
Podcast 76: The Runaway Company
Duration: 30 min Nabilah Said speaks to Izzul Irfan and Mahirah Abdul Latiff of The Runaway Company about structures, succession and misconceptions about their work. The Runaway Company has an upcoming show, The Story of Tonight, which runs from 6-8 March…
Open Calls and Opportunities: Feb 2020 (Singapore/SEA)
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…
Wretchedness and absurdity: Thoughts on Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite
By Teo You Yenn (760 words, 4-minute read) I watched Bong Joon-ho’s award-winning film Parasite later than most people I know, and after many people had told me I had to see it. It is indeed, as everyone promised, amazing….
Between Worlds: Café Sarajevo, ATARA and No Place
By Nabilah Said and Germaine Cheng (1,580 words, 7-minute read) What does it mean to be between worlds? To behold yet not belong? Three works – Café Sarajevo, ATARA and No Place – presented as part of M1 Singapore Fringe…
Behind the scenes with the Women of SIFA
By Nabilah Said ArtsEquator speaks to four women that are part of the local commissions of SIFA 2020 – Siti Khalijah Zainal, Jodi Chan, Ellison Tan and Mia Chee. SITI KHALIJAH ZAINAL, THE YEAR OF NO RETURN Siti…
Podcast 75: Patch and Punnet
Duration: 25 min Nabilah Said speaks to Krish Natarajan and Astley Xie of Patch and Punnet about their upcoming production, Fika & Fishy, which is billed as a kids’ show made for adults. Warning: This podcast contains language that is…
A house is not a home: Centre 42 and Arts Resource Hub
By Nabilah Said and Kathy Rowland The fate of a certain house is a matter of contention amongst a group of people in Singapore. In this case, the house – a bright blue, pre-war bungalow located on 42 Waterloo Street…
A sound collaboration: 宿 (stay) at Sydney Festival 2020
By Maria Herminia Graterol Garrido (571 words, 4-minute read) There is a huge difference between watching a great piece of theatre with a beautiful original score, and experiencing a process that gives equal importance to all the creative aspects, including…
Podcast 74: M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020
Duration: 30 min Matt Lyon, Naeem Kapadia and Nabilah Said discuss three productions at this year’s edition of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival – Contemplating Kopitiam & Kampong Wa’ Hassan by NAFA and Oliver Chong; A Tiny Country by Attempts;…
Pico Iyer and Raffles Hotel, or the Nowhere Hotel
Celebrated writer Pico Iyer spent fifteen days in Singapore last August doing a residency at the newly reopened Raffles Hotel as its first official writer-in-residence. His new book, titled This Could Be Home: Raffles Hotel and the City of Tomorrow, published…
20 Arts and Cultural Festivals to Visit in Southeast Asia in 2020
It’s the year 2020 and the world is rife with new Instagram filters, hashtag 2020vision (yes, we get it) and the perennial “new year, new me” declarations. Well, if you’ve got travelling and #jetsetter on your new year’s resolution list,…
Alternate Realities <3 <3 <3: "I Dream of Singapore"
By Poh Yong Han (1,279 words, 7-minute read) I Dream of Singapore follows an injured Bangladeshi migrant worker, Feroz, who is temporarily residing at a Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) shelter, Dayspace, as he waits for his case to be…
Podcast 73: Spacebar Theatre
Duration: 21 min In our latest episode of our Fresh Blood podcast, Nabilah Said speaks to Lee Shu Yu and Eugene Koh of Spacebar Theatre about their latest production, The Utama Spaceship, which imagines what happens when Singaporeans are sent…
In a Material World: IMPART Collectors’ Show 2020 & Justice for All
By Aditi Shivaramakrishnan (1,200 words, 5-minute read) When it comes to analysing an artwork, the artist’s choice of materials can be as revelatory as other elements in suggesting what they might wish to communicate. Two forthcoming shows due to open…
The top ArtsEquator articles of 2019
Here’s a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2019: Enter Stage Right: Tay Tong by ArtsEquator “It is amazing how one’s identity is so associated with one’s job. Especially for me – after 30 years, all of…
Podcast 72: ArtsEquator End-of-Year Theatre Podcast 2019
Matt Lyon, Naeem Kapadia, Kathy Rowland and Nabilah Said discuss their top picks for theatre in 2019. Content warning: Mentions of sexual assault/violence, self-harm and suicide. Duration: 38 minutes Stream Podcast 72: Also available on Spotify. Download Podcast 72 here (right-click…
Podcast 71: ArtsEquator End-of-Year Dance Podcast 2019
Soultari Amin Farid, Chan Sze-Wei and Germaine Cheng discuss their top picks for dance in 2019, and discuss trends they’ve observed in the scene this year. Duration: 36 minutes Stream Podcast 71: Also available on Spotify. Download Podcast 71 here (right-click…
Everything In Its Right Place: The Body Politic and the Body
By Nabilah Said (1,400 words, 7-minute read) “You’re a guest, you’re a guest, you’re a guest.” This anodyne version of the Beauty and The Beast song played in my head as I walked through the exhibition The Body Politic and…
Chain reaction: Lie With Me by Intercultural Theatre Institute
By Kathy Rowland (1,014 words, 6-minute read) ITI’s graduation production, Lie With Me is filled with broken characters, caught in capsules of emotional decrepitude. The work, written by Kaite O’Reilly is based on Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde, repurposed to examine…
Podcast 70: The Hawker & Rumah Dayak
In this latest podcast episode, Kathy Rowland, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss recent productions The Hawker by Second Breakfast Company, an immersive piece that pays homage to individuals in a hawker centre, and Rumah Dayak by new theatre collective…
Lightfay ofway ancyfay: “Peter Pan in Serangoon Gardens” by Wild Rice
By Naeem Kapadia (1,062 words, 7-minute read) It’s quite impossible to bid the year goodbye without WILD RICE’s traditional holiday pantomime, a veritable institution on the Singapore theatre calendar. Over the past 15 years, the company has developed a niche…
Embracing A Bigger Human Identity: “PheNoumenon” by T.H.E Dance Company
By Joelle Cecilia Quek (900 words, 6-minute read) I sit cross-legged on the floor in Goodman Arts Centre, the beat from the speakers thumping my chest as I watch the forms in front of me twist and writhe. Their pounding…
Monsters’ Ink: A Fiend’s Diary & Heather
By Nabilah Said (1,500 words, 7-minute read) Spoiler Alert: The following contains major spoilers for the shows A Fiend’s Diary and Heather. I watched the stories of two monsters in the theatre recently. In A Fiend’s Diary, Oliver Chong…