6am is a pretty unremarkable time. It’s the time Singaporean students are woken up by alarm clocks or family members, blearily rubbing the sleep from their eyes to prepare for another school day. It’s the time people start making breakfast or getting ready for work. It’s that quiet, dim hour before the sun rises over […]
Voices on Death Row: GroundZ-0’s “0600” at SIFA 2018 Read More »
The artistic intention to merge histories and futures is almost always poised as a double-edged sword. One mounts the impossible task of adhering to an imaginary time that is not re-presentable; the other conjures the multitude of never-ending possibilities that are only constrained by the material world. The perfect marriage lies in how the creators
“Anticipation of One”: Futuristic Rituals of Sight and Sound Read More »
By Jocelyn Chng (813 words, 5-minute read) A Festival Commission for the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2018, Toy Factory’s A Dream Under the Southern Bough – The Beginning is, as the title suggests, the first part of a continuing work. The second and third parts of the complete trilogy are planned for subsequent
“A Dream Under the Southern Bough – The Beginning”: Kun Opera for the Millennial Stage Read More »
By Dan Koh (1,715 words, 15-minute read) At this year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), the two films from Southeast Asia are documentaries, or hybrid-documentaries—just like last year’s three, curiously. Despite the glaring gaps that remain in the funding, distribution, marketing, and audience reception of our internationally overlooked non-fiction, plus their increased local censorship
Mayfly Docus: “Die Tomorrow” and “14 Apples” at SIFA’s “Singular Screens” Read More »
An enchanting French evening of aerial circus performed to live music. …Sodade… is a nostalgic ode to life, a fable of love and loss in the air as told by two musicians playing and singing on a unique circus structure of huge twin wheels, each over two metres in width, between which a 21-metre long
…Sodade… at SIFA 2018 Read More »
Duration: 19 mins A Dream Under The Southern Bough by Toy Factory is a series of three plays commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts, to be staged over three editions of the festival. The first instalment, titled The Beginning, premieres at SIFA 2018 later this month. This three-part modern-day spin on the classic Ming
Podcast 39: Toy Factory’s “A Dream Under the Southern Bough” at SIFA 2018 Read More »
0600 is named for the time that executions are carried out. What makes an artist take on the polarising topic of the death penalty in Singapore? Zelda Tatiana Ng has been a fixture in the Singapore performing arts scene for over 20 years. Her newly founded collective, GroundZ-0, makes its Singapore and SIFA debut with
SIFA 2018: Walking death’s footsteps in Zelda Tatiana Ng’s “0600” Read More »
By Kathy Rowland (400 words, 3 minute read) “I asked her out six times in thirty seconds.” In 2013, a Youtube video by slam poet Neil Hilborn went viral. In the clip, Hilborn delivers an impassioned performance of OCD, a poem that celebrates, then eulogies, a love affair that falls victim to one lover’s obsessive
SIFA 2018: “OCD Love”‘s Dancing in the Face of Love Read More »
By Akanksha Raja The Singapore International Festival of Arts 2018 takes place at different venues across the Civic District, including Victoria Theatre, its sprawling Empress Lawn, and the Esplanade Theatre. Nestled comfortably between these locations is The Arts House, dubbed the Festival House. If SIFA 2018 were a living, breathing person, the Festival House is
SIFA 2018: The Festival House and The Outdoors Read More »
Duration: 33 mins Hot on the heels of our first podcast on Singapore International Festival of Arts 2017, which focused on the festival’s Singaporean commissions, the second part of our podcast recap zooms in on the international productions, which all saw their Asia-Pacific premieres at the festival. In studio, Chan Sze-Wei, Shawn Chua, Felipe Cervera, Naeem
Podcast 28: SIFA 2017 Part 2; International Shows Read More »
Duration: 39 mins Elaine Chiew, Naeem Kapadia, Matt Lyon and Kathy Rowland dissect some of the Singapore-led offerings at the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2017: Becoming Graphic, an original cross-genre commission by Sonny Liew and Edith Podesta, Art Studio by Nine Years Theatre, adapated from the novel by Yeng Pway Ngon, Dragonflies by Pangdemonium, written by resident
Podcast 27: SIFA 2017 Part 1; Singapore Commissions Read More »
By Isaac Lim (496 words, 4 minute read) In the beginning, there was light. Four characters are glimpsed on a bare stage as it gradually and sporadically lights up. They each hold a portable control board that operates the venue’s lights. They are silent. Then their thoughts appear as words projected on two panels, and
“Germinal”: Does consciousness go ‘Poc poc’? Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (500 words, 5-minute read) “Are you interested in the first series of major discoveries, such as the law of elementary mechanics?” a friendly voice asks over an intercom. “The wheel, perhaps?” Halory’s three companions shake their heads and he promptly replies, “No.” In classical physics, we deal with the observable world. In
“Germinal”: Mystery, Science, Theatre Read More »
By Dan Koh (1,263 words, 12-minute read) “I finally felt that being an artist was a meaningful vocation,” Chua Mia Tee says towards the end of a career-spanning interview.[1] Best known for his 1950s oil paintings Epic Poem of Malaya, National Language Class, and Portrait of Lee Boon Ngan (depicting his wife, also an oil
“Art Studio” by Nine Years Theatre: Back to the Page Read More »
By Kathy Rowland (2100 words, 20-minute read) ArtsEquator sat down for an in-depth interview with Noorlinah Mohamed about her role as the Director of the O.P.E.N, the challenges of programming for diverse publics, and her feelings about saying goodbye to the O.P.E.N community. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. ArtsEquator (AE): The
Full Circle: Interview with Noorlinah Mohamed Read More »
SINGAPORE: “I think it’s safe to say that I have a reputation of not doing weird s**t. I do love mainstream work. I don’t think it’s a dirty word. So I’m not shy, embarrassed or apologising for that at all,” said Gaurav Kripalani, with a laugh. The 45-year-old artistic director of Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)
Duration: 30 minutes We discuss The Last Bull: A Life in Flamenco and I Am LGB in Podcast 2, the second part of our SIFA special. ArtsEquator’s weekly podcast on arts and culture features co-hosts Kathy Rowland and Matt Lyon chatting about the latest performances, exhibitions and arts news in Singapore and other parts of Southeast
Podcast 2: SIFA Review Part 2: The Last Bull: A Life in Flamenco; I am LGB. Read More »
Duration: 29 minutes ArtsEquator’s weekly podcast on arts and culture features co-hosts Kathy Rowland and Matt Lyon chatting about the latest performances, exhibitions and arts news in Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia. In Part 1 of our coverage of the Singapore International Arts Festival 2016, we are joined by performance maker and researcher,
Podcast 1: SIFA Review: Five Easy Pieces; Ibsen: Ghosts; Riding on A Cloud Read More »
