“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…
Down the Fast Food Chain of Desire in “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”
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…
Looking at Love from Both Sides, Now in “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”
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…
“Private Parts”: Sometimes You’ve Got to Fix What God Gave You
By Eugene Tan (1720 words, six-minute read) 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….
A History of Violence: The Sharp Edges of “Cerita Cinta”
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,…
Foolishness and Enlightenment in “Lear is Dead”
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,…
Truth or Dare with “Lear is Dead”
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…
“Peter and the Starcatcher”: An Invitation to Suspend Disbelief
By Casidhe Ng (1,100 words, six-minute read) The final show of Pangdemonium’s 2018 season, Peter and the Starcatcher is this year’s equivalent of Fun Home or RENT, an exuberant and expensive production intent on ending their year with a bang….
Growing up Everywhere and Nowhere in “Peter and the Starcatcher”
By Teo Xiao Ting (1,300 words, seven-minute read) What does it mean to be a child? Specifically, what does it mean to be growing up, to be young, in this milieu? While set in the sepia of 1885, Peter and…
Padmini Chettur’s “Varnam” and Pichet Klunchun’s “I Am A Demon”: An Instructive Contrast
By Bilqis Hijjas (975 words, four-minute read) If you have ever felt that classical Indian dance is too melodramatic – if you have ever rolled your eyes at a dancer’s fervid abhinaya, or a poem narrator’s extravagant diction – or…
“The Misinterpreted Futures of George Town 2068”: Missing Futures
By Akanksha Raja (960 words, four-minute read) Prior to stepping into the mystifying world of The Misinterpreted Futures of George Town 2068, I was curious and fascinated by that science-fictioney title, coupled with the exciting premise of a performance with…
“Tiger of Malaya”: The Body Remembers What the Archive Cannot
By Corrie Tan (2,080 words, 10-minute read) Spoiler alert: this essay discusses certain plot points about Tiger of Malaya in detail. The Drama Centre Black Box, on level five of the National Library, is bracketed by floors and floors of…
“7Voices 2.0” by Yayasan Chow Kit and Dramalab at George Town Festival 2018
By Akanksha Raja (830 words, four minute read) Before entering the performance space on the first floor lobby of The Whiteaways Arcade where 7Voices 2.0 takes place, my friend Denise and I are approached by two young “inspectors” demanding documentary…
Podcast 47: TheatreWorks’ “13.13.13” and SRT The Young Company’s ‘The Fall’
Duration : 33 mins Theatreworks’ 13.13.13 and SRT’s The Young Company’s The Fall are the two works discussed in this month’s podcast. Hosts Matt Lyon and Naeem Kapadia are joined by Ann Lee, playwright, LGBTQ activist and PhD-to-be in reflecting on…
La Cie Maxmind’s “Isle of Dreams”: The Dark Fantastic
By Akanksha Raja (620 words, four-minute read) 拾念劇集 La Cie Maxmind’s Isle of Dreams (蓬萊) was the headlining event for the George Town Festival’s Taiwan-focused showcase this year. It is a three-hour long work of musical theatre, original in story…
Ombak Potehi’s “Kisah Pulau Pinang: The Penang Story”: A Slice of Malayan History
By Akanksha Raja (620 words, four-minute read) Ombak Potehi is Ombak Ombak Art Studio’s glove puppet theatre group established in 2015, consisting of young people – all under 30 – producing and performing puppet theatre, having been trained by experts…
“Pratthana: A Portrait of Possession”: Of Politics and Desire
By Amitha Amranand (1225 words, six-minute read) Everyone is always watching and being watched in Pratthana: A Portrait of Possession, the latest play by Japanese director Toshiki Okada. The play begins with a Narcissus-like image—a young man gazes into the…
“Kelantan: A Living Heritage”: Tributing the Traditional
By Akanksha Raja (1050 words, four-minute read) George Town Festival is now in its ninth year, and one of the distinctive qualities in every edition is the balance it strikes between presenting international touring works, and Malaysian shows that are…
“dead was the body”: Theatre Meets Breaking Meets Therapy
By Akanksha Raja (1500 words, seven-minute read) dead was the body till i taught it how to move (dwtb) is Bhumi Collective’s first production of the year, and just like their two principal works of 2017 – Every Brilliant Thing…
“Press Gang”: confessions of yet another ex-ST journalist
By Corrie Tan (2,015 words, 10-minute read) “My concern now is how to nurture the critical sensitivity of the playwright, and for that matter theatre and literature and all the other arts. Because I think we have a way of…
“Chinatown Crossings”: A Trail of Echoes
By Akanksha Raja (890 words, 5 minute read) Along the bustling roads of Chinatown and the throngs of long-time residents, local visitors and tourists, there’s an invisible, theatrical time machine that comes to life a few evenings a week, running…
“Framed, by Adolf”: Truth as Shadow-Play
By Akanksha Raja (850 words, six-minute read) In Framed, by Adolf, playwright-director Chong Tze Chien’s fascination with Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust continues from 2016’s Starring Hitler as Jekyll and Hyde, which explored the idea of the dictator as a…
“Fourteen” by Split Theatre: Getting Schooled
By Isaac Lim (810 words, five-minute read) At front-of-house before the doors open, a crew member encourages the audience to walk around the theatre space upon entering, and warns sternly against moving the seats. Neat rows of seats welcome the…