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 watch the life being lived, re-lived and rediscovered. As Grace Sherrill rightly states “In the live theatre of AutoBiography, truth claims the […]
“Still Life” by Checkpoint Theatre: Art Recreates A Life Read More »
By Eugene Koh (945 words, five minute read) Part of the NUS Arts Festival 2019, NUS Stage’s A Disappearing Number, directed by Edith Podesta, presents a world of imperfect humans aspiring to fully grasp the wonder of this world. Like the mathematicians in A Disappearing Number, NUS Stage embarks on an adventure to reach the
“A Disappearing Number” at NUS Arts Festival 2019: Approaching Infinity Read More »
By Casidhe Ng (1, 543 words, eight-minute read) When the play ends (although it never really ends), Saloma sits on stage, alone, even after the house lights have been turned back on, with a look of uncertainty and shock plastered across her face. She feels – no, she is entirely real, and even more so
Pain and Cauterisation in “Off Centre” Read More »
By Teo Xiao Ting (1,103 words, five-minute read) Dear Saloma and Vinod, I first met the two of you seven years ago, when I was 16. I dissected your words, and tried to live alongside you in Off Centre. I fear I have outlived you. Yet after meeting the both of you again, I know
To V and S in “Off Centre” Read More »
The three definitions of the word “ghost” from the Oxford dictionary are as follows: the first, “an apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living”; the second, “a slight trace or vestige of something”; and the third, “a faint secondary image caused by a fault in an
“A Land Imagined” and The Ghosts We Forget Read More »
In this over-the-shoulder ‘clocking’ of Loo Zihan’s solo performance I see the silhouette of my own head looking on from the side. Having worked extensively with Zihan over the past several years, I find writing a review of his performance exceedingly difficult. How do I cram so much data into such a tiny space? The
C(l)ocked: “Catamite” by Loo Zihan Read More »
I love plays with Malay women characters. Call it my Malaysian Bumiputera baggage, call it internalised Orientalism – perhaps these are two sides of the same coin – but I have long relished the wit, feistiness, vulnerability and sensuality of Malay women captured in the growing canon of Malaysian and Singaporean plays in English and
“Inside Voices”: There’s Something About Malay Women Read More »
By Casidhe Ng (1,068 words, five-minute read) In yesterday it rained salt, we are always surrounded by the acoustics of the sea. The beating of waves upon the shore and the receding ebb of the ocean water feels both transformative and evocative as we enter the space. Subsequently, they become the vehicle of our transportation,
Experiencing the Ebb and Flow of “yesterday it rained salt” Read More »
By Teo Xiao Ting (and Nabilah Said) (1,600 words, eight-minute read) Dear yesterday it rained salt, You crept up on me. After I met you that Saturday afternoon, after those initial moments of inexplicable resonance with what you presented — about the intricacies of a father-son relationship, about a sea goddess that is at once
Letters to and from “yesterday it rained salt” Read More »
Metaphors abound in this complex work about living, loving and surviving. The broad canvas is a country at war. Jogging falls short of running full out, and this black clad woman has survived through thirty years of war in her city Beirut. Her storytelling is multi-layered and cleverly scripted, revealing a series of characters that
“Jogging” To Survive: Hanane Hajj Ali at M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019 Read More »
By Kathy Rowland (642 words, three-minute read) Suzuki Tadashi is one of the brand names in the international tour circuit, whose productions have earned critical praise and inspired several generations of audiences. A decade on from his last production in Singapore, Electra at the Singapore Arts Festival 2009, Suzuki Tadashi returns to Singapore in May
“Dionysus”: Suzuki Tadashi Brings Vengeance to SIFA 2019 Read More »
ArtsEquator held a live recording of its year-end dance podcast at Dance Nucleus SCOPE #4 on Sunday 2 December 2018, 7pm. Watch Chan Sze-Wei, Soultari Amin Farid and Bernice Lee share about the works they have seen this year in Singapore and Southeast Asia, and further questions and responses from the live audience at Dance
Video: The ArtsEquator End-of-Year Dance Podcast 2018 Read More »
“Will it still be customary for movie-goers to stand for the royal anthem ten years from now?” I wonder, as the familiar ritual compels me to my feet before the start of the feature. Ten Years Thailand invites four Thai directors to imagine what their country will be like a decade from now. It follows the
Film Review: Ten Years Thailand (via New Mandala) Read More »
Duration: 66 min ArtsEquator held a live recording of its year-end dance podcast at Dance Nucleus SCOPE #4 on Sunday 2 December 2018, 7pm. Listen in as Chan Sze-Wei, Soultari Amin Farid and Bernice Lee share about the works they have seen this year in Singapore and Southeast Asia – as well as further questions
Podcast 51: The ArtsEquator End-of-Year Dance Podcast 2018 Read More »
By Ke Weiliang (1180 words, six-minute read) NB: It is important to differentiate between the two versions of Shirkers that were filmed. In this article, Shirkers refers to the 2018 documentary film that I am reviewing, whereas Shirkers 1.0 refers to the road movie that was originally shot in 1992. “Memory is the sense of loss,
Sandi Tan’s “Shirkers”: Moving Backwards in Order to Move Forwards Read More »
By Teo Xiao Ting (1,420 words, seven-minute read) Taking a right turn towards Camp Kilo Charcoal Lounge (formerly Sam Tat Building) at Kampong Bugis, I spot a crew member sweeping the rainwater from the late afternoon downpour clear from the path that I will later walk on. To prevent people from slipping, I presume. These
Walking Alongside “BITTEN: return to our roots” Read More »
By Casidhe Ng (1,320 words, six-minute read) We move through the Kampong Bugis landscape throughout the performance, along patches of grass, the river, and brick-tiled pavements. A residue of dirt, sand, and mud clings to our soles, and the afternoon is afflicted with bouts of rain. The atmosphere invokes a stifling sensation brought upon by
Traversing Two Divergent Paths in “BITTEN: return to our roots” Read More »
By Aditi Shivaramakrishnan (1170 words, five minute read) As I enter the Esplanade Theatre Studio to watch Extremities, I’m already on my guard. The plot synopsis and content advisory in my programme booklet have primed me for what’s to come, and so each move I make seems a tiny, if unconscious, exercise in vigilance. I
ITI’s “Extremities”: Routes for Escape and Redemption Read More »
It was a night of emotional rollercoasters and an audio-visual feast at Frontier Danceland’s double bill Milieu 2018. Two original works – The Whole She-Bang by Deborah Nightingale and Dimensions of Dialogue by Sascia Pellegrini – left the eyes and ears satisfied, but not quite the brain. The Whole She-Bang Hopscotch and PE class: the
Frontier Danceland’s “Milieu” 2018: Emotional Rollercoasters Read More »
Dan pertengkaran ini berlaku di dalam ruang yang meyakinkan. Dengan ambiens pekat kemimpian yang mengujakan – sangat mengujakan. Malah siapa lagi yang benar-benar mampu mentafsir kontinuum idea-mimpi ini melainkan Ridhwan Saidi sendiri? Saya masih teringat-ingat – dan teruja – dengan set dan prop yang direka dan diguna dengan sangat bijak dalam memaknai drama-drama pendek tulisannya
“Teater Normcore: Stereo Genmai” dan Pengkarya yang Bertengkar dengan Idea Read More »
By Felipe Cervera (1400 words, six-minute read) Be future-ready: that seems to be one of the maxims of this country. The meaning of the adage varies. It means having strategic plans in place, contingencies identified ahead of time, having enough resources (or more than enough), educating not to cater to the job market now, but
“Southernmost”: The Politics of Nowhereness Read More »
By Naeem Kapadia (885 words, four-minute read) First there’s its scale – with its magnificent marble dome, soaring pillars and lush surrounding gardens. Then, the perfect symmetry; it can literally be folded in half both forwards and backwards. Finally, the purity of that incandescent white marble. Commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum
“Guards at the Taj”: The Bloody Brushstrokes of Beauty Read More »
By Teo Xiao Ting Click here to open the Twine in a new tab (if you’re reading this on a mobile browser, or otherwise have trouble viewing the Twine.) The Reunification of the Two Koreas by TheatreWorks was originally written in French by Joël Pommerat. Directed by Jacques Vincey, this staging ran at 72-13 from 1
Down the Fast Food Chain of Desire in “The Reunification of the Two Koreas” Read More »
By Casidhe Ng (1,160 words, six-minute read) The breaking apart of Pangaea. The parting of the Red Sea. The abolitionist movement in all its contexts. The division of Taiwan and China in 1949. The separation of Singapore from Malaysia on 9th August 1965. The erecting of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Its complete fall in
Looking at Love from Both Sides, Now in “The Reunification of the Two Koreas” Read More »
Click here to read this article in Malay. Klik di sini untuk baca rencana ini dalam Bahasa Melayu. It is rare to see social or political criticism delivered boldly and directly in Malaysian films. Even critical commentary, cloaked creatively, is difficult to do. There are many things that constrain creative freedom, not least the multiple legislations and regulations that bind the
“One Two Jaga”: The New Bravery of Malaysian Cinema Read More »
This review contains some spoilers of a few of the sight gags and plot points in Private Parts. Private Parts was first performed in 1992, and in this staging, it hasn’t been re-written. Given that in it, transgender characters and the people around them attempt to articulate what being transgender means, how the rest of
“Private Parts”: Sometimes You’ve Got to Fix What God Gave You Read More »
By Nabilah Said (1000 words, four-minute read) The most powerful moment of akulah BIMBO SAKTI’s Cerita Cinta is the end. To be perfectly clear, it is a dream of a production. The six-person ensemble is tight, the design is exacting, the 90-minute runtime breezes by. Credit goes to presenter The Esplanade for restaging this 1995
A History of Violence: The Sharp Edges of “Cerita Cinta” Read More »
By Casidhe Ng (1,200 words, six-minute read) “You are a madman, and we are but fools,” the ensemble resounds. So begins Nine Years’ Theatre’s Lear is Dead, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear that borrows from the Chinese opera tradition, and a densely layered performance described as a “play-within-a-play”. True to its word, the show
Foolishness and Enlightenment in “Lear is Dead” Read More »
By Teo Xiao Ting (1,069 words, six-minute read) After a gleaming heap of corpses dissipates into the afterlife and comes back for a closing bow, Lear is Dead ends with the quiver of revelation. But wait, what was it exactly that we gleaned? A sideways glance at the audience around me, and everyone is already
Truth or Dare with “Lear is Dead” Read More »
Total darkness. The sound of sleep. Sleep of an eternal sort. Slowly the light reveals a solitary human body conveying a sense of sleep or is it semi-consciousness? Now, the entry of layers and strands of sound. Gentle clink of cymbals. Do I now hear the sound of waves lashing the shore? The lilting sound
Rianto’s “Medium”: Of Journeys, Transformations & Corporeality Read More »
