In the episode of the ArtsEquator theatre podcast, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium, which ran from 25 Feb to 14 Mar 2021. Stream Podcast 93: ArtsEquator · Podcast 92: Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium Also available on Spotify. Podcast Transcript Naeem Kapadia (NK): Hello everyone, and […]
Podcast 93: Girls & Boys by Pangdemonium Read More »
Critics Alice Saville (UK), Amitha Amranand (TH), Matthew Lyon (SG) and Taisuke Shimanuki (JP) discuss OIWA: The Ghost of Yotsuya by The Finger Players, presented at Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA). The performance took place from 28-30 May 2021 at Victoria Theatre, and from 5-20 June via video on demand. Critics Live! is
Podcast 92: Critics Live: OIWA by The Finger Players at SIFA 2021 Read More »
By Jocelyn Chng (1,180 words, 4-minute read) Existence is the third instalment in the Southern Bough series commissioned by Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA). As its title implies, this third piece closes the full work with a more philosophical tone than in the previous two. The first instalment, The Beginning (2018), introduced the first
End of an epic journey: A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Existence Read More »
Singapore critics Clarissa Oon, Lee Shu Yu, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia discuss The Year of No Return by The Necessary Stage, presented at Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA). The performance took place from 21-22 May 2021 at Victoria Theatre, and from 5-20 June via video on demand. Critics Live! is a critics-led
Podcast 90: Critics Live: The Year of No Return by The Necessary Stage at SIFA 2021 Read More »
Note: This review contains some spoilers. Why do we do the things we do? In the beginning, we are dreamers. We remain true to ourselves and our purpose, until some forces along the journey manoeuvre us, changing our trajectory. Our society and its present system pushes us to fit into certain templates. We react in
Model Citizens: Pursuit of happiness, prosperity and progress Read More »
Filled to the brim at 25% capacity, Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Robertson Quay theatre was cold. The starched whiteness of Petrina Dawn Tan’s set — comprising piles of books that would function effectively as furniture, storage space, and the psychological landscapes of the play’s two characters — added to this austere atmosphere. I didn’t know what
The Sound Inside: Duet of life and loss Read More »
By Azura Farid and Nabilah Said The pandemic led theatre collective HATCH to dream up Keturunan Ruminah (Ruminah’s Family), a play that takes place entirely on WhatsApp. Rightly, HATCH identified the potential of the WhatsApp group chat to be a site of potent family drama, this one centred on ghostly possession, complete with videos of
Keturunan Ruminah: WhatsApp play on family inheritance Read More »
In the latest of our Cakap-Cakap series, ArtsEquator chats with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan who star in Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)’s new play, The Sound Inside, written by by award-winning playwright Adam Rapp. The Sound Inside turns the spotlight on an unusual connection forged between a pair of literary-minded people – a professor and
Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan Read More »
By Aditi Shivaramakrishnan Adapting its title from Lessons for Women <<女诫>>, a text by the first known female Chinese historian, Ban Zhao, Alternative Lessons for Women is a double-bill of two solo works: Hymen Instinct created and performed by Sonia Kwek and What? That’s It? created and performed by Tan Weiying. Hymen Instinct subverts the
Alternative Lessons for Women: Sonia Kwek and Tan Weiying on sex, desire and the erotic Read More »
Brown Is Haram: Reconstructing The Brown Narrative is a performance-lecture exploring different aspects of the experience of being brown in Singapore, exploring issues such as social mobility and masculinity. This show is based on the work and ongoing collaborative project of writer and activist Kristian-Marc James Paul and writer-researcher Mysara Aljaru, and is directed by
Brown Is Haram: Kristian-Marc James Paul and Mysara Aljaru reclaim their space Read More »
Every first Wednesday of the month, ArtsEquator releases our editor’s picks of shows/events/programmes that our readers can look out for in that month. This list in published in no particular order. 1. Little Mournings Physical show: 4-7 March, various timings / Delayed livestream: 11-17 March [SINGAPORE/In-venue & Online] Little Mournings is a puppetry show
ArtsEquator’s Hot List: March 2021 Read More »
By Patricia Tobin (665 words, 4-minute read) The story of Oedipus is undoubtedly known to all. From the classic Sophocles’ play to Freudian theory, this Ancient Greek myth has bled into our cultural consensus over a few millennia. Yet, Nine Years Theatre’s (NYT) take on Oedipus feels fresh and timely. Held at KC Arts Centre,
A predestined fate: Nine Years Theatre’s Oedipus Read More »
ArtsEquator chats with producer and production stage manager, Charlinda Pereira and actress, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai about their upcoming work subTITLED 1.0 by Bridging The Gap (BTG). The play tells the intertwining stories of three women, an activist, an arts intern and a criminal lawyer, and their involvement in a drug trafficking case. BTG, an initiative
The statistics below are based on data gathered by Ke Weiliang and Centre 42, as part of Year in Review, an annual discussion and round-up of the performing arts in Singapore taking place on 19 December, jointly presented by Centre 42 and ArtsEquator. These statistics* were gathered as part of the process of putting
Year In Review: Singapore Theatre 2020 in statistics Read More »
In our end-of-year roundup, Nabilah Said, Naeem Kapadia and Matt Lyon take stock of the year in Singapore theatre, alongside guests Lee Shu Yu from Centre 42 and Max Yam from Arts Republic. This podcast is published as part of Year In Review, an annual discussion and round-up of the performing arts in Singapore organised
Podcast 85: Singapore Theatre, Year in Review Read More »
ArtsEquator and Centre 42 jointly co-present the fourth edition of Year in Review, an annual discussion and round-up of the performing arts in Singapore. With the theme “Tracing SG Theatre Together”, this event will attempt to tackle the mess that is 2020 and examine our community’s resilience to adapting to uncertainty. For the first time,
Year In Review: Tracing SG Theatre Together Read More »
In this last episode of What’s in a Scene, Noor Effendy Ibrahim and Dalifah Shahril break down a scene from Cerita Cinta (2018). First staged in 1995, Cerita Cinta marked playwright and director Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s return to Malay theatre since Bilik Ahmad Berdaki (2009). Presenting an unabashed view of the threads that bind a
(Episode 3) What’s in a Scene – Cerita Cinta by akulah BIMBO SAKTI Read More »
‘We are all but moving shadows and all our busy rushing ends up in nothing’ In this episode, Natalie Hennedige and Siti Khalijah Zainal unpack a scene from Cake‘s Nothing and talk about the process and the inspiration behind the creation of the play, from the characters to multimedia design and more. Nothing was staged
(Episode 2) What’s in a Scene – Nothing by Cake Read More »
In this episode, Liu Xiaoyi and Oliver Chong unpack a scene from The Finger Players 十指帮 ‘s 《大狗民》Citizen Dog and talk about the set design, costume design and more. Inspired by Liaozhai, Citizen Dog is an absurd tale of desires in their nightmarish glory, a surreal dreamscape that reflects real world problems. 《大狗民》Citizen Dog was staged in
(Episode 1) What’s in a Scene – 《大狗民》Citizen Dog by The Finger Players Read More »
As ArtsEquator’s theatre podcast returns since the start of the pandemic, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia appropriately discuss two recent Singapore productions created for digital platform Zoom – Murder at Mandai Camp by Sight Lines Entertainment and Fat Kids Are Harder to Kidnap on Zoom by How Drama. Murder at Mandai Camp ran from
Podcast 80: Murder at Mandai Camp And Fat Kids Read More »
By Nabilah Said and Corrie Tan (5,950 words, 20-minute read) Spoiler Alert: This text contains spoilers for The Coronologues: Silver Linings by The Singapore Repertory Theatre and Long Distance Affair by Juggerknot Theatre Company and PopUP Theatrics. To view this text in its entirety, please read on a desktop. Introduction (Nabilah) It felt like
Coronalogues, pandemic spectatorship (and the critic) Read More »
By Nabilah Said (3,200 words, 10-minute read) “Boosted by online efforts, support for Singapore theatre through the roof.” That would be a dream headline, wouldn’t it? Bit lengthy, sure – but it would tell us that the theatrical technological shift happening right at this very moment would be worth it. With COVID-19 shuttering live arts
Is this thing on? Singapore theatre in the midst of a pandemic Read More »
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 Singapore International Festival of Arts from 2013 to 2017. The company has been rebranded as
Ong Keng Sen: Pushing the conversation Read More »
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, most recently to May 12. This pandemic has greatly impacted everyone, including me, someone who
Theatre goes online: Call me a purist, I don’t care Read More »
By ArtsEquator From 26 March 2020, 2359 hrs, all theatres in Singapore will go dark in response to COVID-19 measures. We pay tribute to the shows that have been cancelled or postponed in Singapore, through photos – looking at the work that has gone on for the past few months (for some, years), from photo
World Theatre Day: Tribute to Singapore shows affected by COVID-19 Read More »
In this latest podcast episode, Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss the recent production of Fika and Fishy by Patch and Punnet, the collective’s first production for the year about the friendship between a dog and a fish. Trigger/Content warning: Allusions to domestic/sexual abuse Nabilah Said (NS): Hello everyone, welcome to the
Podcast 77: Fika and Fishy by Patch and Punnet Read More »
Duration: 30 min Nabilah Said speaks to Izzul Irfan and Mahirah Abdul Latiff of The Runaway Company about structures, succession and misconceptions about their work. The Runaway Company has an upcoming show, The Story of Tonight, which runs from 6-8 March 2020 at Stamford Arts Centre Black Box. Stream Podcast 75: Download Podcast 75 here. (right-click
Podcast 76: The Runaway Company Read More »
Duration: 25 min Nabilah Said speaks to Krish Natarajan and Astley Xie of Patch and Punnet about their upcoming production, Fika & Fishy, which is billed as a kids’ show made for adults. Warning: This podcast contains language that is not suitable for kids. Fika & Fishy runs from February 14 to March 1 at
Podcast 75: Patch and Punnet Read More »
By Nabilah Said and Kathy Rowland The fate of a certain house is a matter of contention amongst a group of people in Singapore. In this case, the house – a bright blue, pre-war bungalow located on 42 Waterloo Street – will stay put, but its main occupants will experience a shift. Since July 2014,
A house is not a home: Centre 42 and Arts Resource Hub Read More »
Duration: 30 min Matt Lyon, Naeem Kapadia and Nabilah Said discuss three productions at this year’s edition of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival – Contemplating Kopitiam & Kampong Wa’ Hassan by NAFA and Oliver Chong; A Tiny Country by Attempts; and Secretive Thing 215 by Lemon & Koko. M1 Singapore Fringe Festival ran from 8-19
Podcast 74: M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020 Read More »
