Tender notes on violence in “A Notional History” by Five Arts Centre
By Patricia Tobin ( 700 words, 5-minute read) It starts with a song. Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri strums the ukulele and gently sings about hope and the future. For a lecture-performance, A Notional History, a work in progress by Five Arts Centre, is…
Fahmi Fadzil’s “GE14”: The sound and fury signifying everything
By Patricia Tobin ( 700 words, 5-minute read) “GE14 will be the arts festival to outdo all arts festivals,” said performer-politician Fahmi Fadzil. He is referring to the live spectacle: from theatre productions to political speeches, performativity is a constant….
Transgression, triggers, and the thousand cuts of “Blunt Knife”
By Corrie Tan (2,700 words, 13-minute read) Content Warning: Mentions of a sexual relationship involving a teenager This response contains major spoilers for Blunt Knife by Eng Kai Er and A Doll’s House by Theatre of Europe. Dear Kai,…
Reconstructing the Virtual in “Frogman”
By Shawn Chua (1,088 words, 6-minute read) Having securely fastened the headgear, I am submerged into the virtual world of Frogman. The instructional voice of the Queensland Jury service informs me through an earpiece that I have been selected at…
Pretty Displaced: Staging Sexual Assault in the Age of #MeToo
By Nabilah Said (1,887 words, 7-minute read) Trigger/Content Warning: Discussions of sexual assault I watched two shows in the span of two weeks recently. Besides the fact that they were Singapore plays, they did not, from the outset, seem…
Go Big or Go Home: “Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner” Takes Flight
By Helmi Yusof (1,387 words, six-minute read) Why do people choose to go into poor, dangerous, war-torn countries to work as humanitarian workers? Do they have boundless courage, hope and kindness? Do they have a death wish? Do they believe…
“A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Reverie”: Down the Ant Hole
By Jocelyn Chng (1,138 words, five-minute read) My strongest memory from the first instalment of this three-year series by Toy Factory, A Dream Under the Southern Bough: The Beginning, was its dramatic cliffhanger of an ending. There, the protagonist, disgraced…
“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…
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,”…
“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…
“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….
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…
“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…
“A Disappearing Number” at NUS Arts Festival 2019: Approaching Infinity
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…
Pain and Cauterisation in “Off Centre”
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…
To V and S in “Off Centre”
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…
C(l)ocked: “Catamite” by Loo Zihan
By Ray Langenbach (1213 words, 5-minute read) 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…
“Inside Voices”: There’s Something About Malay Women
By Shanon Shah (983 words, four-minute read) 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…
Experiencing the Ebb and Flow of “yesterday it rained salt”
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…
Letters to and from “yesterday it rained salt”
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 —…
“Jogging” To Survive: Hanane Hajj Ali at M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019
By Stephanie Burridge (800 words, four-minute read) 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…
“Dionysus”: Suzuki Tadashi Brings Vengeance to SIFA 2019
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…
Film Review: Ten Years Thailand (via New Mandala)
“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…
Walking Alongside “BITTEN: return to our roots”
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…
Traversing Two Divergent Paths in “BITTEN: return to our roots”
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…
ITI’s “Extremities”: Routes for Escape and Redemption
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,…
“Teater Normcore: Stereo Genmai” dan Pengkarya yang Bertengkar dengan Idea
Oleh Azrin Fauzi (1640 patah kata, 9-minit bacaan) 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…
“Southernmost”: The Politics of Nowhereness
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…
“Guards at the Taj”: The Bloody Brushstrokes of Beauty
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…