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 sorted out so he can make his compensation claims. At the shelter, much of Feroz’s time is spent waiting. We see Feroz watching […]
Alternate Realities <3 <3 <3: "I Dream of Singapore" Read More »
By Casidhe Ng (1,156 words, 7-minute read) The first thing one notices about the space is its fluidity. I am part of the second set of audience members to enter the Esplanade Theatre Studio. It is bleak, dark, and saturated with red lights. An enigmatic mass of scarlet hangs from above, suspended in mid-air. I
Serendipitous releases: “PheNoumenon” by T.H.E Dance Company Read More »
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 and select ‘Save Link As’ on Windows; control+click and select ‘Save Link As’ on Apple)
Podcast 72: ArtsEquator End-of-Year Theatre Podcast 2019 Read More »
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 and select ‘Save Link As’ on Windows; control+click and select ‘Save Link As’ on Apple)
Podcast 71: ArtsEquator End-of-Year Dance Podcast 2019 Read More »
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 the Body, currently on at ILHAM Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. For a show referencing the
Everything In Its Right Place: The Body Politic and the Body Read More »
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 the fissures of contemporary relationships. Set in an urban landscape marked by anonymity and repressed
Chain reaction: Lie With Me by Intercultural Theatre Institute Read More »
By Chan Sze-Wei (1,031 words, 7-minute read) “Dance making in Singapore: an instant noodle culture?” I’ve never forgotten the title of this talk hosted at the Dance Nucleus in 2016 (then helmed by Foo Yun Ying). At the time, local companies and choreographers bemoaned resource limitations and annual grant requirements that seemed to drive everyone
Slow food: liTHE 2019 by T.H.E Second Company Read More »
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 Rupa co.lab, which puts the experiences of troubled Malay youths centrestage. Duration: 30 minutes Stream
Podcast 70: The Hawker & Rumah Dayak Read More »
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 in blending this uniquely British tradition with colourful local characters and themes, creating an occasion
Lightfay ofway ancyfay: “Peter Pan in Serangoon Gardens” by Wild Rice Read More »
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 plays an unnamed man who kills a young victim in a fit of what can
Monsters’ Ink: A Fiend’s Diary & Heather Read More »
By Nabilah Said and Eugene Tan (2,500 words, 10-minute read) Spoiler Alert: This review contains major spoilers for the show Caught. Nabilah: I approach the venue for Caught with some trepidation. There had been scant details from the Singapore Repertory Theatre about what to expect from the show – ArtsEquator ran an interview with
Caught: Goodbye Lin Bo, we hardly knew ye Read More »
Theatre critics Corrie Tan, Nabilah Said, Carolyn Oei and Kathy Rowland discuss the recent production of WILD RICE’s Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம், in a critics-led post-show conversation held in front of an audience on 19 October 2019 at WILD RICE’s Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre. The Critics Live session is organised by ArtsEquator. The transcript below
Podcast 68: Critics Live! Wild Rice’s Merdeka Read More »
By Bernice Lee (1,507 words, 7-minute read) Forward Shift, a new platform for works-in-progress within Esplanade’s da:ns festival, begins with much fanfare. Members of the public were treated to three performance experiments featuring artists whose artistic and audience development have been supported steadily at #mydurian. In What She Said, choreographer Raka Maitra and music composer
Progress at work: “Forward Shift” at da:ns festival Read More »
By Elaine Chiew (1,050 words, 6-minute read) Now in its fifth edition, Objectifs returns with its annual showcase in the Women in Film and Photography series. From its early years of blockbuster-ish exhibitions held in conjunction with Magnum or featuring other groups of women photographers, the Objectifs showcase in the last two years has carried
Rage or Loss: Women in Photography 2019 | Remedy For Rage Read More »
Antara pengarah teater yang kurang dicanang dan disebut-sebut dalam pementasan teater kontemporari adalah Sharul Mizad atau lebih senang dikenali sebagai Ejad. Beliau merupakan graduan terawal Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (kini ASWARA) bersama beberapa seniman teater seperti Nam Ron dan Norzizi Zulkifli. Dalam bidang teater beliau lebih dikenali sebagai pelakon, dan kebanyakan projeknya merupakan lakonan solo. Antara
Jelmaan Baharu Teater Tradisional dalam “Hikayat Cendawan Putih” Read More »
Trigger warning: Descriptions of sexual assault. This review contains spoilers for The Professor. I began Faisal Tehrani’s new novel, The Professor, with the hope that he might provide some new images for Malaysian literature. We desperately need human and nuanced female characters, as well as real representations of female intimacy, so I was intrigued by
The architecture of patriarchy: The Professor by Faisal Tehrani Read More »
Theatre reviewers Matt Lyon and Naeem Kapadia are joined by ArtsEquator editor Nabilah Said in this newly rebooted theatre podcast discussing recent productions Urinetown: The Musical by Pangdemonium, and Lim Boon Keng – The Musical by Musical Theatre Ltd. This local edition of Urinetown, directed by Tracie Pang, sets the satirical piece against the backdrop
Podcast 67: Urinetown and Lim Boon Keng – The Musical Read More »
Jauh perjalanan, luas pandangan. Mungkin itulah prinsip yang diambil oleh dua orang seniman Jakarta, Irwan Ahmett dan Tita Salina apabila mengambil keputusan untuk menjalankan kajian sosial dan artistik selama 10 tahun menjejaki negara-negara Lingkaran Pasifik. Setelah lima tahun kajian dibuat, mereka telah menjelajah ke beberapa negara di rantau Asia Tenggara, Jepun, Chile, New Zealand dan
By Chan Sze-Wei (786 words, 4-minute read) I’ve recently been reading articles about how childhood trauma is determinative of one’s risk of future health issues from asthma to cancer. Also how ancestral trauma is recorded in our DNA. Snow White is the original first Disney Princess. She is 82 this year (!) and it’s quite
Fantasy issues: “Princess” by Eisa Jocson Read More »
By Nabilah Said (890 words, 5-minute read) Draw a straight line. Draw a straight line freehand Draw a straight line freehand, with a 100g weight attached to your wrist. Repeat, ad nauseam. The moment you walk into Goodman Arts Centre’s Block O for RAW Moves’ latest work, you notice a sort of landscape artwork. On
RAW Moves’ “Being, and Organs” and the unbearable whiteness of Block O Read More »
Join critics Corrie Tan, Nabilah Said, Carolyn Oei and Teo Xiao Ting in a post-show conversation about W!ld Rice’s Merdeka. Critics Live is a critics-led programme series created by ArtsEquator to give arts audiences an insight into how critics formulate their responses to performances. REGISTER NOW at criticslive19.peatix.com PLEASE NOTE: This event is open to
CRITICS LIVE: A post-show response to “Merdeka” Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (561 words, 4-minute read) Constellation of Violence consists of a very simple setup: a giant screen on stage, a historian, two artists and a group of individuals. These elements are combined, in varying degrees, to form a three-part artistic investigation on the Cold War in Indonesia in 1965. Indonesian artist Irwan
The brutal examinations of “Constellation of Violence” Read More »
By Faezah Zulkifli (1,020 words, 4-minute read) “ORANG_” The wordplay in Teater Ekamatra’s A Clockwork Orange is no accident. An inventive linguist, author Anthony Burgess, who lived in Malaysia in the 1950s, borrowed the title for his magnum opus from a Cockney expression, and introduced the pun on the Malay word ‘orang’ into the subject.
Say No To Droogs: Teater Ekamatra’s “A Clockwork Orange” Read More »
By Teo Xiao Ting (1,414 words, 6-minute read) A vivacious viscous zoo swirling with prestige and art, the Venice Biennale spins me exhausted after 45 days. When I was asked to write about the Southeast Asian artworks I’ve encountered here, a lingering sense of lightheartedness arose, lilting humour almost dry. There is humour, uncanny warmth
Contortions and Gentle Songs: SEA at Venice Biennale Read More »
By Shahril Salleh ( 1,000 words, 6-minute read) As cultural icons go, very few choirs have the same gravitas and history as the SYC Ensemble Singers. This ensemble is led by Cultural Medallion winner Jennifer Tham, the beloved doyen of Singapore choir. As its Artistic Director, Jennifer has also been a friend and mentor to
Music as a love language: “Love! Be: Sing;” Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (1,493 words, 6-minute read) It’s almost 4pm as the KTM train I’m travelling on trudges to a slow halt at the railway station in Kluang, Johor. The first thing that catches my eye is Kluang Rail Coffee, right in the middle of the station, one of the town’s most famous – and
Discovering and Re-discovering Kluang: The INXO International Residency Programme Read More »
By Ke Weiliang (1,131 words, 6-minute read) Dear 艺族 STRANGER, After spending my Saturday afternoon with you at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, I struggled long and hard to make sense of the titular ‘knots’ that your inaugural play endeavoured to grapple with. Over the course of an hour, you gave me a glimpse into the
KNOTS: An open letter to 艺族 STRANGER Read More »
We step into the dimly-lit theatre of The Lion & Unicorn, a soft, almost dream-like blue wash over the noticeable emptiness of the stage – save for a skeletal cardboard cut-out resembling a door frame, carefully set stage left. There was nothing, yet everything to expect. Researching about The Cardboard Kitchen Project had been a
Diasporic Dispatches: “The Cardboard Kitchen Project” by FK Co-Lab Read More »
By Syed Muhammad Hafiz (1,823 words, 7-minute read) Recently I was asked by a friend, “How come I don’t see any local Malay artists in the current show at National Gallery Singapore (NGS)?”. My immediate response was, of course, that it simply wasn’t true. I was thrown off-guard, but then I started asking myself what
Siapa Nama Kamu? – Questions to Answer a Friend Read More »
By Shahril Salleh (1,000 words, 6-minute read) New music is the epitome of unfamiliar territory. Even as someone who read music at university, often I find myself unprepared (and even dreading) to watch new music concerts. Part of my own anxieties comes from a need to know and be familiar with what is being performed.
Conversations in a small room: “Dialogues And Reflections” Read More »
