By Bernice Lee (800 words, 5-minute read) Dance Clinic by Choy Ka Fai is thick with information and ideas. The choreographer performs a trickster role in an artistic approach similar to his previous offerings of SoftMachine (2015). Dance Clinic projects into the future, and digs into the past. It is in conversation with a curated canon of dance, with neuroscience, with […]
Choy Ka Fai’s “Dance Clinic”: The Dance Doctor Is In Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (534 words, 5-minute read) Pangdemonium’s Fun Home is a musical based on the same-titled graphic novel by cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Set in Pennsylvania, Fun Home zigzags between forty-something lesbian cartoonist Alison, “young Alison” as a child, and “medium Alison” as a college student. Her father is an English teacher and director of
Pangdemonium’s “Fun Home”: Safety in Numbers Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (483 words, 4-minute read) “Have you eaten?” is the go-to greeting for Singaporean Chinese families. Typically asked in dialect (“Jiak ba buay?”), or sometimes Mandarin (“Chi bao ma?”), “Have you eaten?” is a sign of courtesy towards your parents or grandparents, a simple question that bolsters familial bonds. W!ld Rice’s Grandmother Tongue
Lessons in “Grandmother Tongue” Read More »
The “SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now” exhibition in Tokyo has collected so much material that it could be split into two substantial halves, one at the Mori Art Museum and the other at The National Art Center, Tokyo. It is a showcase of a profusion of artworks through a sampling of important
“SUNSHOWER”: Encounters with Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia Read More »
In 2015 Singapore celebrated ‘SG50’, the city-state’s golden jubilee, marking 50 years of independence as a sovereign nation. Commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts to respond to that year’s theme of ‘Post-Empires’, W!ld Rice created Hotel, a sprawling, four-and-a-half-hour-long play in two parts intended to subvert the nationalistic triumphalism of the jubilee’s official
W!ld Rice’s “Hotel” at Adelaide’s OzAsia Festival Read More »
Duration: 33 mins Hot on the heels of our first podcast on Singapore International Festival of Arts 2017, which focused on the festival’s Singaporean commissions, the second part of our podcast recap zooms in on the international productions, which all saw their Asia-Pacific premieres at the festival. In studio, Chan Sze-Wei, Shawn Chua, Felipe Cervera, Naeem
Podcast 28: SIFA 2017 Part 2; International Shows Read More »
Duration: 39 mins Elaine Chiew, Naeem Kapadia, Matt Lyon and Kathy Rowland dissect some of the Singapore-led offerings at the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2017: Becoming Graphic, an original cross-genre commission by Sonny Liew and Edith Podesta, Art Studio by Nine Years Theatre, adapated from the novel by Yeng Pway Ngon, Dragonflies by Pangdemonium, written by resident
Podcast 27: SIFA 2017 Part 1; Singapore Commissions Read More »
In what ways does an art institution inhabit the stone mausoleums of two former colonial structures; how can citizens take ownership of those immaculately preserved halls? Susan Sentler trained at the Martha Graham School in New York, danced with the Martha Graham Ensemble and is currently based in Singapore, teaching at LASALLE College of the
Susan Sentler’s “Roof Response” to Danh Vō at National Gallery Singapore Read More »
The Human Voice at Loft 29 on the closing weekend of George Town Festival marks the first collaboration between veteran actress Susan Lankester and Joe Sidek, the festival’s founder and driving force, here in his directorial debut. In his stage notes to La voix humaine (The Human Voice), written in 1927 and first performed in
“The Human Voice”: Regrets? A Few. But Then Again, Too Few to Mention Read More »
Langkau sebuah joget sinkretik, joget fizikal, atau malah joget pascamoden (jika boleh kita gelarkan) yang berlingkar tentang sebuah mesin basuh yang bertanya. Ceritanya metafiksyen yang straight-forward dan salah satu poin reviu ini adalah untuk articulate ia tentang apa. Kerana dari judul, sinopsis dan teaser rata-rata ia tidak mendedahkan dengan jelas sebenarnya Langkau ini fasal apa.
“Langkau”: Atau Kisah Mesin Basuh Yang Bertanya Read More »
Duration: 21 min Dr Stephanie Burridge is joined by Sufri Juwahir, co-founder of Soul Signature, to discuss two shows that took place in August: Era Dance Theatre’s Tumasik – Revisiting History and Rewriting Our Story, and Dance Ensemble Singapore‘s Pulsating Resonance《鸣。鼓》. In reflecting on these performances, the conversation evolves into a larger discussion on the
Podcast 26: Traditional Malay and Chinese Dance in Singapore Read More »
By Isaac Lim (496 words, 4 minute read) In the beginning, there was light. Four characters are glimpsed on a bare stage as it gradually and sporadically lights up. They each hold a portable control board that operates the venue’s lights. They are silent. Then their thoughts appear as words projected on two panels, and
“Germinal”: Does consciousness go ‘Poc poc’? Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (500 words, 5-minute read) “Are you interested in the first series of major discoveries, such as the law of elementary mechanics?” a friendly voice asks over an intercom. “The wheel, perhaps?” Halory’s three companions shake their heads and he promptly replies, “No.” In classical physics, we deal with the observable world. In
“Germinal”: Mystery, Science, Theatre Read More »
By Chan Sze-Wei (920 words, 8-minute read) Given that the publicity synopsis to Dries Verhoeven’s video installation pretty much tells all, I’m surprised by how excited I am by the time I’m finally summoned to enter the heavy white door. A lot of the theatricality in my experience of Guilty Landscapes III is in the anticipation
The Easy Trigger of “Guilty Landscapes III” Read More »
By Felipe Cervera (1400 words, 10-minute read) It is as if Mozart were able to capture what death sounds like, in those moments when people run around trying to assert themselves in the face of a body that has just ceased to breathe. Personally, it takes just a few notes of his Requiem for me
“And So You See…”: The Irrational is in the Eye of the Beholder Read More »
By Elaine Chiew (1116 words, 10-minute read) Euripides’ play Trojan Women has been adapted and performed numerous times around the world, from a version written by Jean Paul Sartre to American playwright Charles Mee’s 2003 adaptation that included Holocaust and Hiroshima testimonials. [1] This time, it has been given a Korean pansori makeover by SIFA
SIFA’s “Trojan Women”: An Allegory for Modern Times Read More »
Duration: 30 mins Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia are back in the studio again to discuss yet another Singapore-bred musical: Singapore Repertory Theatre’s re-staging of the acclaimed Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress. Having run from 8 to 27 August 2017, this year’s production is its fourth iteration since its premiere at the Opening Festival of the Esplanade
Podcast 24: Singapore Repertory Theatre’s “Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress” Read More »
By Isaac Lim (514 words, 5-minute read) A large red-orange hued, tile-patterned cloth dramatically falls in a Kabuki drop, then rain falls on stage. The year is 2022, Brexit is complete and Trump has won a second term. The stage is set for a showdown between ‘the locals’ and ‘the foreigners’. Dragonflies, written by Pangdemonium’s
“Dragonflies”: The Foreseeable Truth Hurts Read More »
By: Patricia Tobin (500 words, 5-minute read) We are no different from dragonflies. With their tiny transparent wings flapping at 30 beats per second, these creatures travel thousands of kilometers to reproduce, to find a new home, to fight for their survival. This is what Pangdemonium’s Dragonflies alludes to: like dragonflies, our existence is dependent
“Dragonflies”: A Migrant Dreams For Home Read More »
By Ann Lee (1470 words, 10-minute read) Terbalik… mesti kena mata was billed as an “experimental workshop” performance that attempted to “displace the normal hierarchy found in performance-making” by having the lighting designer, Mac Chan, as the principal artist. Co-directors, Marion D’Cruz and Ivy Josiah, marking their first collaboration in these roles, adhered to the
Lighten Up: “Terbalik… Mesti Kena Mata” by Five Arts Centre Read More »
By Soumya Varma (985 words, 9-minute read) Illness, life, death: these performative themes have been explored by theatre makers extensively through the ages. However, what makes The Little Child unique is the imaginative and often whimsical way in which the performance explores the subjects. The director’s choice of puppets and performing objects takes the audience
“The Little Child”: Well-Crafted Wonder of Puppetry Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (800 words, 7-minute read) The Orange Production is The Necessary Stage’s platform for experimental collaborations, producing new, pocket-sized works. This inaugural showcase is a double-bill featuring Drip, by journalist and emerging playwright Nabilah Said, and Whale Fall by Faith Ng. While the two works are vastly different in structure and themes, they
The Orange Production: A Double Bill by The Necessary Stage Read More »
By Sherlyn Goh (970 words, 8-minute read) “Can one accurately re-construct an authentic traumatic memory?” Director Kuo Jian Hong posed this question to the audience before the start of the performance. Blank Run《空转》is an attempt to answer this, presented as a raw and visceral recollection of sexual trauma, where a woman pieces together memories that
“Blank Run《空转》” by The Theatre Practice: Repiecing Trauma Read More »
By Alvin Lim (1235 words, 10-minute read) Becoming Graphic is both a meditative and mediated performance about living and dying. Commissioned by Singapore International Festival of Arts, graphic novelist Sonny Liew and theatre practitioner Edith Podesta come together to create a cross-disciplinary performance that breaks boundaries. The parallels, and thus the comparisons, between two forms—theatre
“Becoming Graphic”: Life in Graphic Form Read More »
By Dan Koh (1,263 words, 12-minute read) “I finally felt that being an artist was a meaningful vocation,” Chua Mia Tee says towards the end of a career-spanning interview.[1] Best known for his 1950s oil paintings Epic Poem of Malaya, National Language Class, and Portrait of Lee Boon Ngan (depicting his wife, also an oil
“Art Studio” by Nine Years Theatre: Back to the Page Read More »
The performance event R.I.P. Tokyo began life as a commemoration for a cat which died at the grand age of 22, five years ago. The cat belonged to director Shirotama Hitsujiya who helms the Yubiwa Hotel theatre company. For three years, she has marked the occasion by hosting a soup dinner party for friends at
Tikam-Tikam Japan: R.I.P. Tokyo Read More »
In March 2017, Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Troupe morphed into Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre, receiving the highest accolade in the history of Singaporean Chinese dance. The only other professional dance company in Singapore bearing the country’s name is Singapore Dance Theatre, the descendant of the ballet group of National Dance Company. Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre’s
“Hearticulation” and “Speficifisfety”: Between too literal and too abstract Read More »
By Naeem Kapadia (960 words, 7-minute read) There’s no denying the impact of Michael Chiang’s Army Daze, which brought the world of national service (NS) to the Singapore stage for the first time in 1987. This light-hearted tale of the misadventures of five recruits as they bungled through Basic Military Training captured the Singapore zeitgeist
“Army Daze 2”: Green Popcorn, No Crunch Read More »
By Isaac Lim (562 words, 6-minute read) FRAGO by Checkpoint Theatre tracks a group of NSmen and Regulars, showing that the men, and woman, are all equally struggling with the system here in Singapore. Is that anything new? Jo Tan is on stage, doing standard push-ups that put this reviewer to shame. Then sit-ups, change.
Review of “Frago”: (Army) Lives, Fragmented Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (550 words, 5-minute read) Army exercises are typically perceived as tough, and even mind-numbing with their incessant drills. The monotony of army rounds can be found outside the battlefield too: our personal routines are akin to a civilian regime of sorts. Frago, the latest play by Checkpoint Theatre, directly tackles the contrast
Review of “Frago”: The Military and the Ordinary Read More »
