“Beautiful Water”: Intercultural Theatre Made in Threes
By Ken Takiguchi (1,229 words, 6-minute read) As I enter the auditorium of Kirari Fujimi, a public theatre located about one hour away from the centre of Tokyo, I find myself in the waters of somewhere in Asia. The audience…
Reframing Colonialism: “Civilised” by The Necessary Stage
By Naeem Kapadia (954 words, 4-minute read) There has been a slew of works responding to the bicentennial of Singapore’s founding by Sir Stamford Raffles, an event that the authorities have chosen to spend all year celebrating through a series…
The Paris Opera Ballet performs Crystal Pite’s “The Seasons’ Canon”: Esplanade’s da:ns series 2019
By Elizabeth Chan (750 words, four-minute read) The prestigious Paris Opera Ballet arrives on local shores this June as part of Esplanade’s da:ns series, bringing with them a trio of wide ranging works. These include the stories of romantic love…
Silent Rooms, Silent Memories: “Flowers” by Drama Box
By Akanksha Raja (1,155 words, 5-minute read) It’s a series of plastic white flower-fans lining the fence of 74 Jalan Kelabu Asap that lets me know that I’ve arrived at the site of Drama Box’s first work of 2019, Flowers,…
Open Calls and Opportunities: May 2019 (Singapore)
Chow and Lin – Mentorship for Visual Artists 2019 Chow and Lin will like to extend an open call of mentorship for 4 aspiring and emerging visual artists from Singapore and Malaysia. We are looking for visual practitioners concentrating in…
Does Singapore Theatre Have a Directing Problem?
By Adam Marple (1,781 words, 9-minute read) I always tell people this, right, if there was an international convention that invites the main people, directors from Singapore over, and that plane crashes, we’re screwed, right? We don’t have anything…
Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Vietnamese artwork ruined; Myanmar rocket festival
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week,…
Confronting Truths in Ho Tzu Nyen’s “The Mysterious Lai Teck”
By Patricia Tobin (736 words, 3-minute read) Spoiler Alert: This review contains spoilers for The Mysterious Lai Teck, which will run from 17 to 19 May at the Singapore International Festival of Arts. “I am the shadow of Ho Chi Minh,”…
The Body Remembers: Kitt Johnson on “Stigma” at M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2019
By Germaine Cheng (605 words, three-minute read) 2019 marks the 10th edition of the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival, a humble endeavour by Kuik Swee Boon, artistic director of T.H.E Dance Company, that has expanded to be an incredible force…
What If Your Body Turns into a Sculpture?: Interview with Sasha Waltz on “Körper” at SIFA 2019
By Winnie Chen Dixon (600 words, four-minute read) Have you ever imagined dancers’ bodies turning into sculptures, as if time stood still? This is the impression of Körper (Body), the signature dance performance of this year’s edition of the Singapore…
Unravelling the History of Nudity in Singapore Theatre
By Akanksha Raja (2144 words, nine-minute read) The naked body on stage (even if only imagined) has a potent social power: taboos surrounding the body can shock and offend some Singaporeans. But when did this start? How has public response…
Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Starchitecture in the Philippines; Thong Lor’s erotic art museum
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week,…
The Beauty of Time and Image: “ST/LL” at SIFA 2019
Seamlessly blending the digital image, live dance and a richly evocative music score, ST/LL is startlingly beautiful treat for the eyes and the ears. This production celebrates the performance collaboration of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and visual and multimedia artist Shiro Takatani. (Sakamoto’s concert Fragments, with visuals…
Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Myanmar’s satirical poets fighting censorship; “Terompet Rakyat” herald Indonesia’s elections
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week,…
“Miss British”: Embodying the Post-Colonial Complaint
By Aparna Nambiar (1440 words, six-minute read) “How has colonialism affected you?” This question flashes upon the giant screens that span the studio walls of The Esplanade Theatre Studio. Miss British, directed by Felipe Cervera and devised by The Art of Strangers…
Podcast 56: Reflections on the 8th World Summit On Arts And Culture, Malaysia
Duration: 39 min The 8th World Summit On Arts And Culture took place 11 – 14 March 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kathy Rowland, Sunitha Janamohanan, Ann Lee and Kai Brennert reflect on the event, in relation to issues of…
Open Calls and Opportunities: April 2019 (Singapore)
Auditions for The Second Breakfast Company’s The Hawker We are casting for our upcoming production this coming November! Interested participants can email us your CV and headshot by 26 April. Auditions* will be held 3 – 5 May. *Only shortlisted…
Frontier Danceland’s “LEAP 2019”: Showcasing the Scholars of PULSE 2018/19
By Jocelyn Chng (930 words, four-minute read) LEAP is an annual platform from contemporary dance company Frontier Danceland, showcasing the young trainee dancers of the M1-Frontier Danceland PULSE Programme. The PULSE Programme is now in its ninth year, and since…
Weekly S.E.A. Radar: Myanmar’s political punk rockers; the story of Chiang Mai’s contemporary art museum; Hanoi’s emerging street art
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week,…
Book Review: “The State and The Arts in Singapore: Policies and Institutions”
By Chin Ailin (734 words, four-minute read) Commissioned by the Institute of Policy Studies of Singapore (IPS) to trace the course of cultural policy in Singapore from the 1950s to the present, The State and the Arts in Singapore: Policies and…
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan: Between East and West, Heaven and Earth
By Stephanie Burridge (800 words, four-minute read) Sustainability, remaining fresh and engaging is challenging in the present day, content-saturated global world. Lin Hwai-min and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan are among a handful of contemporary dance companies that have…
“Gold Rain and Hailstones”: There and Back Again
By Carmen Nge (1593 words, six-minute read) It was a Wednesday night and DPAC was packed. It’s just as well the staging of Gold Rain and Hailstones experienced a 10-minute delay because theatregoers kept streaming in well past 8:30 PM….
Weekly S.E.A. Radar: SEA’s only underground EDM festival; Filipino writer Leoncia Deriada dies; KL’s Rex Cinema repurposed to arts centre REXKL
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week,…
“orbit” by Ethos Books: the gravity and pull of insignificant destinies
By Nah Dominic (1550 words, six-minute read) “I reached for those insignificant destinies again; the smallest collision of time and incident that throws life out of orbit” – “Stillborn”, Khin Chan Myae Maung A new series by Ethos Books titled…
SIFA 2019: Top Ten Picks
By Akanksha Raja The 42nd Singapore International Festival of Arts returns this year from 16 May to 2 June 2019. In its second year under Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani, it promises a larger smorgasbord of critically acclaimed international performances as…
She Creates: Nine Years Theatre’s “FAUST/US 浮世/德”
By Daniel Teo (1400 words, six-minute read) All eyes are on Cherilyn Woo in her solo directorial debut for Nine Years Theatre (NYT), FAUST/US. It’s the first time in the Mandarin theatre company’s seven-year history that someone other than Artistic…
Weeky S.E.A. Radar: The Krossing Over Arts Festival in Vietnam; Thailand’s first transgender MP, filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit
ArtsEquator Radar features articles and posts drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region. Here’s a round-up of content from this week,…
Podcast 55: “Not In My Lifetime?” by The Finger Players
Claire Teo and Stephanie Esther Fam respond to Not In My Lifetime? by The Finger Players which was staged at Gateway Theatre from 5 – 17 March 2019. Billed as an inclusive theatre experience, it explores the special education system…
Podcast 54: “FOUR FOUR EIGHT” by Emergency Stairs
Duration: 41 min As part of ArtsEquator’s Critics Reading Group programme, we got together three arts writers – Corrie Tan, Jocelyn Chng and Loo Zihan – to discuss FOUR FOUR EIGHT by Emergency Stairs. Corrie, Jocelyn and Zihan’s conversation sets the work…
“Still Life” by Checkpoint Theatre: Art Recreates A Life
By Soumya Varma (900 words, four-minute read) In today’s world of Instagram, blogs, vlogs and reality TV where we gaze at other people’s lives, autobiographical theatre is unique for the intimacy created between the actors and the audience as they…