From dream to dystopia: The cultural critic in the age of pandemic
By Katrina Stuart Santiago (1,000 words, 6-minute read) February 2020 seems like years ago, and it feels like escapism to even go back to that time. To some extent, it’s almost like a dream, where for over a week, one…
Ong Keng Sen: Pushing the conversation
Theatre stalwart Ong Keng Sen returns to helm Singapore theatre company TheatreWorks, after being away for a decade to complete his PhD in Performance Studies at Tisch School of the Arts in New York. He was also director of the…
Theatre goes online: Call me a purist, I don’t care
By Fasyali Fadzly (2,100 words, 7-minute read) No one would have guessed that the COVID-19 situation would become this bad. The Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia was first ordered on March 18. To date, it has been extended twice,…
Reflections on Art, Angin, Sickness and The Soul of Malaysia
By Jo Kukathas (5,500 words, 15-minute read) The news that Germany rolled out a 50 billion bail-out for the arts during the Coronavirus pandemic made headlines worldwide the week it was announced. The aid package was for individuals as well…
Scene and Heard: Pat Gui, Stage Manager
(1,400 words, 5-minute read) I’m Pat Gui and I’ve been in the art industry for 29 years. I feel very old. On my business card, it says that I’m a director, because I’m the company director of my own company….
Letter from Esplanade: A reflection on the arts, lessons from SARS, and COVID-19
By Yvonne Tham (1,700 words, 7-minute read) In the performing arts, timing is everything. In music, rhythm is a dance among units of time. While dance is the body in time and space. And we all know in theatre, timing…
COVID-19 and the arts: There is a light
By Nabilah Said (1,720 words, 7-minute read) To sum it up in a nutshell, what we need is a place with soul. – From Tan Tarn How’s The Lady of Soul and Her Ultimate ‘S’ Machine My back has been…