The Kingdom of Cambodia was established in 1993 after suffering the Vietnam War, the horrors of Pol Pot and his regime, civil war and countless rebellions. The reconstruction of this country has been supported by around 3,500 different international non-government organizations (NGOs), working in many fields, from the environment, to infrastructure, human rights and fighting […]
On Sunday, 28 January, 3pm, ArtsEquator held its first public forum, “Theatre Reviews: Last Word or the Start of a Conversation”, featuring British theatre critic Lyn Gardner, M1 Singapore Fringe Festival director Sean Tobin, ArtsEquator’s guest editor Corrie Tan, and resident playwright at W!LD RICE, Alfian Sa’at. The conversation was moderated by Kathy Rowland, co-founder
Theatre Reviews: Last Word or the Start of a Conversation Read More »
There is an unspeakable tranquil that washes over the audience seated inside the chapel at Objectifs – Centre for Photography and Film in Singapore. For the first five minutes of Be Longing by Sara Tan and Yejin Kwon, the windows are thrown open and we watch the traffic of Middle Road roll past. Passers-by unknowingly become performers as
“Be Longing” moves between home and away Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali from 19 – 25 February 2018 We begin our first pick this week in Jakarta with the launch of Goenawan Mohamad’s new book: Si Majenun dan Sayid Hamid. In his new book, Goenawan discusses several areas from the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote, particularly
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (19 – 25 February 2018) Read More »
Singapore Cult & Underground Film Festival, SCAPE, 23 – 25 February The films in this inaugural showcase organised by the Society for Cult & Underground Movies explores the murkier sides of humanity and the underbellies of society, across the world: from the 1972 Yakuza cult classic Wandering Ginza Butterfly to the 2017 Golden Horse winner
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By Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai (1,150 words, 8-minute read) The final instalment in Ravindran Drama Group’s trilogy, Adukku Veetu Annasamy 3, picks up right after the lovers Rajendran (Annasamy and Kokilavani’s son) and Prema (Panchatcharam and Gunasundari’s daughter) have parted ways. Their incessantly nosy neighbour, Sathiavathy, is cajoling the family into finding Prema a groom in India. The
“Adukku Veetu Annasamy 3”: a rip-roaring trilogy comes to a close Read More »
By Corrie Tan (3,890 words, 20-minute read) A few days after the launch of the 2018 edition of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), I had coffee with newly minted festival director Gaurav Kripalani to discuss the programme he’s unveiled for his inaugural festival, which includes hits from London’s West End such as Robert
Gaurav Kripalani: a new festival director plots a different path Read More »
By Corrie Tan (4,360 words, 25-minute read) I sat down with Ong Keng Sen after the conclusion of the first edition of the Curators Academy, which ran from 24 to 28 January. Organised by TheatreWorks, the academy sought to establish a platform where aspiring curators from across Southeast Asia could come together for a series
Ong Keng Sen: educating the curator; curating the everyday Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta and Bali from 12 – 18 February 2018 We’re starting a little slow this beginning of the week but we have a few art events taking place at the end of the week that might pique your interest. In the middle of the week, on the 15th
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It may be the week leading up to the Lunar New Year weekend, but amid the festivities and holiday mood, there is still a wide variety of arts events to attend to get your culture fix! Love. Lies. Tricks by Performance Program at LASALLE College of the Arts, 13 – 14 Feb, 8pm Director of
Weekly Picks: Singapore (12 – 18 February 2018) Read More »
Fascinated by the diversity of faces found in Southeast Asia, artist Chris Cole has spent the last two decades immortalising Phnom Penh and Bangkok’s notorious nightscapes. Marissa Carruthers catches up with him ahead of his latest exhibition. “I’m not a moralist, I’m not glamourising sex tourism,” says artist Chris Cole, who originally hails from the
Noir Nights in Phnom Penh (via AsiaLIFE Cambodia) Read More »
1969’s Woodstock is probably one of the most iconic and influential music festivals to ever take place, with its 32 acts and 400,000 attendees making it not just the zenith of the whole counterculture movement that was such a big part of 1960s America, but also one of the most iconic events in the history of popular music.
In the next few years, we will be witnessing the completion of some new theatre facilities, such as Wild Rice’s own theatre space in the redeveloped Funan Mall, and Esplanade’s new medium-size theatre. How are these new theatre facilities designed? What will theatres look like in future? How would lighting, projection, sound and other technologies
The Future is Here – Interview with Mathias Woo (via ArtsRepublic) Read More »
The following roundtable discussion was held as part of the Lyn Gardner Theatre Reviewing Training Programme. Particpants Teo Dawn, Ezekiel Oliveira, Isaac Lim, Patricia Tobin, and Richard Chung discussed Displaced by Ground Cover Theatre, staged at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2018. The play examined the migrant experience through the lives of three women from different backgrounds,
“Displaced” by Ground Cover Theatre at the Singapore Fringe: A Roundtable Read More »
By Naeem Kapadia (885 words, 5-minute read) It’s an exciting time for the emerging playwright in Singapore. Workshops, residencies and other artistic opportunities abound to develop and showcase fresh work, often in collaboration with theatre companies. These include platforms such as The Wright Stuff by Toy Factory, The Orange Production by The Necessary Stage and
“Platform Series: Journeys”: Of Skin and Sole Read More »
Cross-Border Series: Malaya by Raksasa Collective and Pennylane Events, The Substation, 10 Feb, 5pm The first of many showcases, as part of the Cross-Border series between nations around Singapore, celebrates the ties that have been left unsaid in current times. This showcase present musicians from both Malaysia and Singapore as part of the Malayan Exchange to
5 – 11 February 2018: Singapore Read More »
By Corrie Tan (1228 words, 10-minute read) A man is rising from the water. The sea is birthing him: his closely-cropped hair, his bare chest and shoulders, his damp sarong clinging to his thighs. On land, another man with a shorn scalp is sitting cross-legged in the sand and mud, his distended lips pulled back
“Cinta Tuah Jebat”: Love on the Rocks Read More »
Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Yogyakarta and Bali from 29 January – 4 February 2018 YOGYAKARTA Jazz Mben Senen, 29 January 2018, 8:30 PM, Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta Jazz Mben Senen started as a place to share cultures. It has grown into a sharing of the art form every Monday night at Bentara
29 January – 4 February 2018: Indonesia Read More »
The Dark Web by USP Productions, Drama Centre Theatre, 2 – 4 Feb The Dark Web is a play that examines the culture and implications surrounding the titular part of the internet known as the ‘dark web’ – where users and their activities are concealed behind layers of anonymity and encryption, and content ranges from
29 January – 4 February 2018: Singapore Read More »
By Wong Wen Pu (600 words, 4-minute read) Forked by Jo Tan follows the experiences of one Jeanette Peh (played by Ethel Yap), a Singaporean student, as she heads to London to study acting, against the vehement objections of her father and the reluctant acquiescence of her mother. Already a minor celebrity in Singapore through
“Forked” by Jo Tan: An Uneven Production Read More »
By Bernice Lee (722 words, 5-minute read) Jo Tan’s first full-length play Forked hits plenty of right notes. High energy, uncomfortably honest and deliberately racist, it’s funny because it’s true. In spite of its great momentum however, the play’s pace feels weighed down by its thematic frames, just as the characters are stuck within their
“Forked” by Jo Tan: Shapeshifting Identities Read More »
By Richard Chung (738 words, 7 minute read) Jo Tan’s playwriting debut offers a simple yet familiar story of one Singaporean girl with big dreams. In Forked, Ethel Yap plays Jeanette, a young aspiring actor who heads to London for drama school. Upon arrival in London, Jeanette gets the biggest culture shock of her life
“Forked”: Privilege Gets Served Read More »
By Isaac Lim (676 words, 6-minute read) Jeanette Peh promotes herself as a ‘star’, with ‘over 500 followers’ on her ‘Stage Whispers’ YouTube channel which promises straight-up, no-holds-barred confessions. Is that the reality, or is she just a wannabe? Jo Tan’s first full-length play, Forked, directed by Chen Yingxuan, is a laugh-a-minute comedy, albeit one that
“Forked”: An Asian Crisis Read More »
By Teo Dawn (736 words, 7 minute read) (Transcript for SunSh!neGurrl*94’s YouTube video – A Reaction Video to Forked by Jo Tan) Hello everybody, ni hao and welcome back to my channel. I have been reading your comments and you asked for more of my reaction videos. Love that you guys think so highly of
A Reaction Video to Jo Tan’s “Forked” Read More »
By Ezekiel Oliveira (546 words, 4-minute read) Jeanette Peh is determined to become an actor, but she already thinks she is something of a star on her YouTube channel ‘Stage Whispers’ which has 500 subscribers. She turns down a place at Law School in Singapore to fulfil her acting dreams instead. But in London, her
“Forked”: Jeanette doesn’t do Asian Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (800 words, 6-minute read) When I was 19, I left Singapore to pursue my studies in Melbourne. I foolishly thought that any city, anywhere else in the world, would be better than this tiny island. In Melbourne, I became more aware of my “otherness”. At an Irish pub in St Kilda, a
Get “Forked”: Finding our Racial Identity Read More »
By Euginia Tan (707 words, 5-minute read) As I am waiting for the show to begin, the glint off the four silver chairs forming the basis of the set of Forked is sharp, unyielding, with a trophy rested on one of them. Forked then commences with a highly frenetic, animated monologue by protagonist Jeanette Peh,
M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2018: Forked by Jo Tan Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Patricia Tobin (788 words, 6-min read) “She is a terrorist, she is a cultist, she works for sex.” “Who is she?” Like a foggy recreation of a Black Mirror episode, Rei Poh’s Attempts: Singapore
Looking within with “Attempts: Singapore” Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Isaac Lim (508 words, 4 minute read) 1957hrs: I arrive at the lobby of Centre 42, which has been converted into the headquarters of multi-million dollar corporation, ARC. In Attempts: Singapore, a theatre-game-experience created
“Attempts: Singapore”: Is the Anne nigh? Read More »
Spoiler Alert: If you’re planning to experience the mystery and suspense of Attempts: Singapore, read only after you’ve attended the performance. By Richard Chung In a world of innovative theatrical experiences, you often come across too many that scrimp on either execution or narrative. That’s not the case for Rei Poh’s Attempts: Singapore, which operates as a thoroughly
“Attempts: Singapore”: Game On Read More »
