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 »
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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. In Peter and the Starcatcher, Pangdemonium presents an enchanting narrative with twists of self-reflexivity, fully
“Peter and the Starcatcher”: An Invitation to Suspend Disbelief Read More »
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 the Starcatcher by Pangdemonium asks questions that still resonate now, opening up to an extended
Growing up Everywhere and Nowhere in “Peter and the Starcatcher” Read More »
