ArtsEquator

The Studios: Haribo Kimchi
2025-08-01 20:00 - 21:10 (Asia/Shanghai) | Esplanade Theatre Studio, 1 Esplanade Dr, Singapore, 038981, Singapore
★★★★
“Haribo Kimchi is both a refined as well as a raw performance about life in a country that isn’t yours.”
– De Standaard
“A performance that inimitably blends Korean cooking with personal stories and reflections on comfort food, identity and migration.”
– pzazz
The surprising flavour of seaweed soup, the sharp sound of a knife slicing cucumber, the hiss and sizzle of mushrooms on a scorching fire.
In Haribo Kimchi, we find ourselves in a pojangmacha, one of the typical late-night snack bars found on the streets of South Korea. There, we meet three characters—a snail, a gummy bear, and an eel—who take us on a culinary journey, exploring food as shelter for those dislocated from their culture. In a series of intimate, absurdist anecdotes, they recount the evolution of kimchi culture, the bitter pain of unadulterated racism, the shame of trying to blend in, and the deep umami taste of home.
This work comes from South Korean theatremaker and composer Jaha Koo, whose practice oscillates between multimedia and performance, encompassing his own music, video, text, and robotic objects. He rose to international prominence with his Hamartia Trilogy (2015 – 2021), a series of critically-acclaimed works which delved into the far-reaching imperialism in East Asia. The first two works of this trilogy, Lolling & Rolling and Cuckoo, were presented to packed houses at Singapore International Festival of Arts 2023, receiving rave reviews from audiences and critics alike.
Employing a hybrid style that combines music, cutting-edge video, and robotic performers, the artist reflects on cultural assimilation with all its conflicts and paradoxes. In an exceptional performance that plays with all the senses, he serves up personal stories marinated in sweet-and-sour melancholy.
More food for thought—how do you express your artistic values through theatre? Check out Jaha Koo’s masterclass on Valid Languages for the Intersection, perfect for performance-makers, arts students and practitioners.
Concept, Text, Direction, Music, Sound & Video Jaha Koo
Performance Gona, Haribo, Eel, Jaha Koo & Two Guests
Dramaturgy Dries Douibi
Scenography, Research Collaboration & Media Operation Eunkyung Jeong
Artistic Advice Pol Heyvaert
Technical Coordination Korneel Coessens
Technique Bart Huybrechts, Babette Poncelet & Jasse Vergauwe
Production Coordination Wim Clapdorp
English Proofreading Jason Wrubell
Snail Animation Vincent Lynen
Production CAMPO
Co-production Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Rideau De Bruxelles, Theater Utrecht, SPRING Festival (Utrecht), Festival d’Automne À Paris, Théâtre De La Bastille (Paris), Tangente St. Pölten – Festival Für Gegenwartskultur, &Espoo Theatre (Espoo), International Summer Festival Kampnagel (Hamburg), Sophiensaele (Berlin), Meet You Festival (Valladolid), Bunker (Ljubljana), National Theatre And Concert Hall Taipei, The Divine Comedy International Theater Festival / Teatr Łaźnia Nowa (Kraków) & Perpodium
With the Support of The Taxshelter Of The Belgian Federal Government Via Cronos Invest & The Flemish Government
The prototype of the eel was developed as part of Innovation:Lab’s funnel in co-production with Theater Utrecht and creative technologists Adriaan Wormgoor & Willem Vooijs.

The Studios: FOOD
2025-08-06 20:00 - 21:30 | Singtel Waterfront Theatre at The Esplanade, 8 Raffles Ave., Singapore 039802, Singapore, Singapore, 039802, Singapore
“But it is safe to say, at this dinner party, even though you won’t be eating much, Sobelle will give you plenty to chew on.” – Playbill
“For all its playfulness, this brilliant show has the power to make you look with fresh eyes at a daily act that you probably take for granted — a surefire sign of its worth as a work of genuinely thought-provoking art.” – Theatermania
Do we need what we eat? Do we eat what we need? What does it really cost? Chew on these questions in this theatrical gastronomy experience unlike any other.
At the centre of the performance space lies a comically large banquet table, encircled by audience members. The host of the evening, Geoff Sobelle, conducts this multi-sensory experience with deft hands, animated expressions and impressive physicality. Activating the senses through a myriad of sounds, scents, sights and textures, this acclaimed theatremaker stitches together a conversation about personal memories, consumption and the evolution of food production over generations. You are invited to be a guest at the dinner party—whether around the table or from the surrounding seats.
Concocted and performed by American actor, producer and innovator Geoff Sobelle, FOOD features his signature flavour of theatricality, combining rigorous design, onstage magic and subtle humour to create a participatory experience. Connecting the universal to the personal and distilling the absurd from the seemingly mundane, FOOD invites the audience to explore their place within this exploration of food and consumption.
FOOD is the third part of a performance trilogy that explores the abnormal corners of ordinary topics. Each installment—The Object Lesson (2013), HOME (2017), and FOOD (2022)—encourages the audience to ponder their personal connections with objects, spaces, and food. Following its acclaimed selection as an invited work for the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival, FOOD sold out performances in 2023 and went on to tour in countries like Australia, Korea and now, Singapore.
It will be a dinner party to remember: gather round and feast on questions and contemplations surrounding society’s relationship with food and sustenance.

The Studios: Escape to Batam
2025-08-21 20:00 - 21:30 | Singtel Waterfront Theatre at The Esplanade, 8 Raffles Ave., Singapore 039802, Singapore, Singapore, 039802, Singapore
Two of Singapore theatre’s most formidable multi-hyphenates craft a lyrical spectacle of the past and present, speaking to all who have known the harsh bitterness and gentle longing of awaiting a new normal.
What do stories of war tell us about human resilience and how we care for those closest to us? How does telling these stories help us to comfort and to heal?
Created by Claire Wong and Huzir Sulaiman, Escape to Batam is a delicate tapestry of the past and the present, weaving the remarkable lived experiences of Ming, who spent his boyhood on the rural island of Batam to escape the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, with his daughter’s personal stories of family, loss and grief felt in the years since her father’s passing. Drawing parallels from their different life journeys, daughter Claire finds herself discovering what it means to live with the pain of loving those who have left us, and how to carry on for those who are still with us.
Director-Playwright Claire leads a phenomenal ensemble cast of Adib Kosnan, Chaney Chia, Genevieve Tan, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, and Neo Swee Lin. Poignant and humorous by turns, Escape to Batam draws deeply on Claire and Huzir’s mastery of the written word and the theatrical medium to create a powerful new play that transcends generations.

Phinny & Wally: Echoes of Home《豚豚与鲸鲸：家的回声》
2025-08-22 - 2025-08-31 | Drama Centre Black Box, Singapore, Select a Country:
Dive back into an underwater adventure with Phinny and Wally!
When Phinny, a gentle dolphin, and Wally, an enthusiastic whale, meet Arlo, a young bowhead whale lost in the vast Arctic Sea, they set out to help in the search for Arlo’s family. Together, they brave shifting ice, passing ships, and uncharted waters—facing danger with heart and hope.
Along the way, they learn about courage, friendship, and discover that home is more than just a place. It’s the sounds, the safety, and the love we carry with us.
Phinny & Wally: Echoes of Home is a heartwarming tale that inspires young hearts to care for the ocean—a place full of life, love, and stories worth protecting.
一起跟随豚豚和鲸鲸，再次潜入神秘的海底世界吧！
在一次北冰洋探险中，温柔的小海豚“豚豚”和热情的小白鲸“鲸鲸”遇见了迷路的小弓头鲸 “阿乐”，并决定陪伴阿乐一同寻找回家的方向。途中，它们穿越浮冰，避开船只，勇敢面对未知的海域与危机。
随着旅程展开，豚豚、鲸鲸和阿乐学到了勇敢与友情的重要性，并渐渐明白：家不只是一处住所，而是那些熟悉的声音、温暖的守护，以及彼此之间的爱。
《豚豚与鲸鲸：家的回声》是一段温馨动人的旅程，带领孩子们感受友谊的力量，并唤起他们对海洋的珍惜与守护。让我们一起聆听大海的回响，守护这片充满生命与故事的蓝色家园。

A Date With Friends: Mel & Joe Ferdinands’ 55th Anniversary Party
2025-08-23 19:30 - 21:00 | Esplanade Concert Hall, Esplanade Concert Hall, 1 Esplanade Dr., Singapore, 038981, Singapore, Singapore, 038981, Singapore
Mel & Joe, beloved pillars of Singapore’s music scene, have captivated hearts since their television debut in 1971.
Celebrating 55 years of their musical journey, this anniversary party will take you on an unforgettable journey through their remarkable career, divided into three nostalgic chapter: their Talentime days and early beginnings, the vibrant ’80s and ’90s with Gypsy and the journey from 2000 to today.
Each chapter will be brought to life with visuals and photos that transport you through time.
A heartfelt segment will also celebrate their incredible milestone with messages of love and admiration.
With a full band and backup singers, their timeless passion for music shines brighter than ever.

The Studios: Pickle Party
2025-09-11 20:00 - 21:15 | Esplanade Annexe Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive, 038981, Singapore
“I enjoyed the ways it connects to the systems and limitations we all have to contend with as people who live in Singapore. I liked watching the ‘behind the scenes’ aspect, the VJing was very fun and the live camera work too. The kitsch-ness worked well with a cyberpunk visual aesthetic!”
— Shaw En, Audience (Closed-door presentation, 2023)
“It challenged the typical usage and code of conduct of a typical theatrical space… and created a wonderful sense of community or intimacy. The text was also really powerful, and the fear of being overly dependent on others really hit home. I hadn’t previously thought about this in relation to food sustainability and pickling before.”
— Elle, Audience (Closed-door presentation, 2023)
“My grandfather was a durian farmer, back when they lived in a kampung. But in those 10 years, most Singaporeans were forced to relocate to public housing. Even after he moved, my grandfather was still trying to grow everything he could from a sixth floor concrete corridor. Everything he knew about growing durians was made obsolete so that knowledge was never passed down.”
A show disguised as a pickling workshop, Pickle Party is a multidisciplinary, multi-species performance. Set against the backdrop of Singapore’s rapid development from farmland to modern city, it dives into how humans, microbes and food security are connected—where does our food come from? What will we be eating next?
Led by directors Ang Xiao Ting (Extinction Feast, ECOncert) and Kuo Jian Hong (All The World’s A Sea, Four Horse Road), Pickle Party features award-winning livestream technology (XIMI), live VJ-ing, live performance and community pickling. The production will be staged within a Singapore version of Tanja Beer’s critically-acclaimed The Living Stage, which combines stage design, permaculture and community engagement to create a recyclable, biodegradable and edible performance space.
Experience Pickle Party your way! For each performance, participants can choose to be Picklers (get hands-on with pickling on stage, limited slots) or be part of the General Audience (watch the performance from a different perspective). Kindly select your preferred audience experience at the point of ticket purchase.
Discover the power of edible hope.

One @ the Ballet - Cinderella
2025-11-15 13:00 - 14:00 | Bugis+ Mall, 201 Victoria St, Level 7, Singapore 188067, Bugis+ Mall, 201 Victoria St, Level 7, Singapore 188067, Singapore, 188067, Singapore
In the last session of the year, we will focus on our production of Cinderella. This new production was first brought to our stage it featured a unique combination of Singaporean talents with costume designs, stage settings and lighting design. What goes into staging a full-length ballet with costumes, story telling through choreography of this ballet will be the highlight of this One @ the Ballet.
