By Akanksha Raja (830 words, four minute read) Before entering the performance space on the first floor lobby of The Whiteaways Arcade where 7Voices 2.0 takes place, my friend Denise and I are approached by two young “inspectors” demanding documentary proof that we were children. After I display on my phone an old photograph of
“7Voices 2.0” by Yayasan Chow Kit and Dramalab at George Town Festival 2018 Read More »
A new Taiwan-Thailand drama school collaboration is as delectable as pineapple tarts. One of the joys of attending a student theatre work – when it’s not the typical graduation project for which many of the aspiring artists have to do what their professors prescribe to get good grades –is that we can feel the energy,
On The Level with Theatre Students of Taiwan and Thailand (via The Nation) Read More »
The Bangkok Art Biennale beginning on October 19 will have as its theme “Beyond Bliss”. The event puts the Thai capital along cities around the world, from Berlin to Beijing, that host biennials, bringing together creative minds to construct their own unique narratives. The themes are always thought provoking and past events have run the
Biennale seen posing challenges for artists (via The Nation) Read More »
PAN Productions presents Popgiler, at No Black Tie, 19–20 Sept, 9pm A night of pop songs throughout the years, in the best jazz bar in town, with performances by award-winning vocal powerhouses Dina Nadzir, Elvira Arul, and Lynn Tan. The show is directed by Nell Ng, with musical direction by Dennis Law. Admission is RM70.
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (17 – 23 Sept 2018) Read More »
With its true-to-life representation of transgender sex workers in Manila, Gerardo Calagui’s 2017 film Those Long Haired Nights is not afraid to court controversy. Southeast Asia Globe spoke with the Filipino director about the film and the challenges facing the LGBT+ community in his homeland. Tell me a bit about the film… The story is about three transgender women
The Golden Record 2.0, NUS Arts Festival 2018, 21 – 22 September 2018, University Cultural Centre Theatre At the NUS Arts Festival 2017 was staged part one of The Golden Record, inspired by the 40th anniversary of the 1977 NASA launch of Voyager I and II, the interstellar crafts that carried two ‘Golden Records’ deep
Weekly Picks: Singapore (17 – 23 September 2018) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bali, Solo and Jakarta from 17-23 September 2018 The artists of Tampaksiring in Bali, part of the Amarawati Art Community, traced the history of arts in Tampaksiring to Ida Bagus Grebuak, a painter and sculptor who lived in the 20s. Ida Bagus Grebuak’s works are now stored in
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (17 – 23 September 2018) Read More »
Ten bold and emotionally stirring stories have been selected as finalists the 2nd Viddsee Juree Philippines, a festival of short films that celebrates and supports filmmaking communities in Asia. A wide range of independent filmmakers from different backgrounds turned in their work for selection including more familiar names like Ma. Jhayle Ann Marie Meer and
Short film fest to send winner to Hollywood (via The Manila Times) Read More »
Kilong Ung was just a teenager when the Khmer Rouge overtook his hometown of Battambang in Cambodia. Under the new regime, he and his seven sisters, along with their parents, were forced into concentration camps, where they worked 13 hours a day on a daily ration of two tiny bowls of rice porridge and whatever
Back in 2014, amid the weekly cycle of news, a particular image was more striking than most: Doctor and Professor Ngo Bao Chau stood in the middle of a makeshift classroom in a rural village in Thai Nguyen Province while teaching local kids. Chau is a Vietnamese-French mathematician who’s currently based at the University of Chicago, USA,
How Dép Tổ Ong Goes From Timeless Family Keepsake to Millennial Icon (via Saigoneer) Read More »
Faye Lim dances, facilitates, performs, improvises, makes, and mothers. In Singapore, she presents works with the Strangeweather Movement Group, a collective she founded to create and perform dance works at off-stage venues around Singapore. As part of Singapore’s Contact Improvisation (CI) community, Faye has also facilitated jams and workshops in Singapore and KL, and she runs child-friendly
Sitting in the ‘gap’: Faye Lim explores body autonomy for children (via Talking Circles) Read More »
From surprise visits to schools, replacing white shoes with black, and referencing the Finnish education system as a possible one to emulate, the new Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik has made waves with his fresh approach. Expectations are running high and the field of arts education is no exception – many are buzzing for the
Getting schooled on the arts (via The Star) Read More »
Some may say that modern performance art in Vietnam looks the way it does thanks to the works of Tuan Le and his colleagues. Almost two decades into a series of smashing theatrical successes across the country, Le invites Saigoneer into the creative power behind AO, Teh Dar, and Lang Toi. About 17 years ago, Le decided to turn his
Tiger of Malaya by Teater Ekamatra, 12 – 23 Sept, Drama Centre Black Box In 1943, the Japanese film ‘The Tiger of Malaya’ was released. Based on the life story of Tani Yutaka, a Japanese man who lived on the east coast of Malaya, the film portrayed him as a patriotic agent who liberated the
Weekly Picks: Singapore (10 – 16 September 2018) Read More »
YANGON — Veteran modernists and younger generations have teamed up to exhibit their works together in Yangon. Twenty-seven modernists are displaying more than 50 works at “Wild Eye” contemporary art exhibition at OK Art Gallery in Aung San Stadium. Their works are either of purely artistic creation or they reflect the contemporary history of their
Playwright and University of the Philippines faculty member Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero pioneered in bringing theater out into remote provinces in the ’60s through the UP Mobile Theater. This was to afford his grassroots audiences with his kind of theater away from the academe. The master playwright fed himself on his passion for theater until his
Vince Tañada’s postmodernistic theater (via The Manila Times) Read More »
NDO – The Vietnamese Culture Week opened at Chaktomuk theatre, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on September 11. The opening ceremony was attended by the Cambodian Minister of Cults and Religion Him Chhem, Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Khanh Hai, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia
Vietnamese Cultural Week opens in Cambodia (via Nhân Dân) Read More »
August 31, 2018 18:20 United Nations’ cultural agency Unesco’s Facebook page has hosted a heated debate between Cambodians and Thais over Bangkok’s proposal for the inclusion of “khon” masked dance on the agency’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Social network users across the border have claimed the dance was Cambodian, not Thai, in Facebook comments since
Cambodian FB users rage over dance ownership (via The Nation) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Yogyakarta, Bandung, Jakarta and Bali from 10 – 16 September 2018 It’s a brand new week, art lovers. Perhaps a dance performance on this Monday night can help to start your week right! Pendhapa Art Space in Yogyakarta presents The Garden of the Sun – a choreographic collaboration
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (10 – 16 September 2018) Read More »
BoboKL Presents: Cheryl Tan with Michael Veerapen, at BoboKL, 14–15 Sept, 9:30pm Cheryl Tan is a performer better known across the border in Singapore for her performances in musical theatre productions like Forbidden City and Dick Lee’s Singapopera. See Cheryl perform before she gets pulled back to Singapore again! Admission is RM60++ (RM45++ for diners).
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (10 – 16 Sept 2018) Read More »
The 15th Johor Arts Festival kicked off on 1 September, and runs until 23 September 2018. One of Malaysia’s longest-running festivals, it features a variety of performances, exhibitions, workshops, talks, and activities, ranging between the traditional and contemporary; the loud and the quiet; the lighthearted and hilarious and the moving and poignant. Here are ArtsEquator’s
Johor Arts Festival 2018: Top 8 Picks Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta from 3-9 September 2018 The Warna Warna Exhibition is a collaboration between the singer Andien and the Art Therapy Center Widyatama that is exhibited this week at Dia.Lo.Gue Artspace in Jakarta. Translated as “colors”, Warna Warna invites all of us to see the colors
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (3 – 9 September 2018) Read More »
Merdeka State of Mind documentary screenings, at APW, 8 & 9 Sept, 8pm A celebration of freedom of expression in Bangsar, this festival features two nights of timely documentary screenings: the subjects of child brides in Malaysia, and the Orang Asli blockades currently under siege in Kelantan. The director for each film will be
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (3 – 9 Sept 2018) Read More »
Potehi puppet theatre is a traditional Hokkien art form brought to Southeast Asia by immigrants from southern China several centuries ago. Despite originally being performed in Hokkien, potehi came to be performed in the different languages of the region, and is practised around Southeast Asia. Ombak Potehi is Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio’s glove puppet theatre group established
AExGTF Chats: Prof Tan Sooi Beng of Ombak Potehi at George Town Festival Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Yogyakarta and Jakarta from 27 August 2018 – 2 September 2018 The City of Yogyakarta is full of exciting events this week. On Monday and Tuesday, Hongkong’s Theatre Ash, in collaboration with Studio Tari Banjarmili, presents City of Darkness. Directed by David Glass, City of Darkness is a tragi-comedy
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (27 August – 2 September 2018) Read More »
Teh Tarik With The Flag, at Balai Seni Negara, 23 July–17 September. 14 Malaysian artists reflect on our relationship and identity with the Jalur Gemilang flag, and create artwork that reference it. Artists include Anurendra Jegadeva, Chong Kim Chiew, Sulaiman Esa, Hasnul Jamal Saidon and Hayati Mokhtar. More info here. Mud & Mashed Hydrangea
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (27 Aug – 2 Sept 2018) Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Bali and Jakarta from 20 – 26 August 2018. Continuing the spirit and celebration of independence, Bentara Budaya, one of Indonesia’s main network of venues and supporters of the arts presents Ode Bulan Agustus, a series of local collegiate choir performances in 4 different cities. The first performance
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (20 – 26 August 2018) Read More »
Artist-sharing: Hymen Instinct by Sonia Kwek, at Rumah Attap Library & Collective, 22 Aug, 8pm Performer Sonia Kwek, in conversation with her Malaysian collaborator Lucian, will share documentation and a new script of her solo work Hymen Instinct before the performance goes to the Asia Weekend Theatre Festival in Taiwan. The aim is to have an
Weekly Picks: Malaysia (20 – 26 Aug 2018) Read More »
The opening weekend of the George Town Festival 2018 also saw the opening of the Griffith Creative Arts Room at Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, Penang: a room dedicated to presenting the works of creative arts from the students and faculty of Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. This is the first time a university has been invited
AExGTF Chats: The Griffith Creative Arts Room at George Town Festival Read More »
Duration: October 2018 – March 2019 “What distinguishes the good, valuable theatre critic … is that you sense that [they are] writing about a cause – about a theatre in his or her mind. The … writing is possibly in some ways cloaked, but it is a crusade.” – “The Theatre Critic as Thinker”, New
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: ArtsEquator’s Reading Group for Critics Read More »
