The Singapore Arts Festival is just around the corner, and local arts lovers can look forward to their yearly fix of the best in performance arts. With a wide-ranging lineup of performances set to stimulate your senses, here are our picks. By Baey Shi Chen
The Singapore Arts Festival has grown in strength and scale over the years, with more internationally acclaimed performances making their way to our shores. This year, the program features a mixture of established works and new commissions, some of which will be performed for the first time in Asia. With a broad range of works ranging from premier classics to contemporary avant-garde creations, arts lovers here are in for a treat.
Local Acts
Local artists have become more prominent on the arts fest scene, and this year is no different, with several works specially commissioned for the festival. If you enjoy local theater, catch Liv Full Frontal (Jun 2-3) by local director Nelson Chia, a wistful rumination on life and mortality through the metaphor of sleep. Those who are more historically inclined will enjoy The Crab Flower Club (Jun 3-5) by Toy Factory Productions, an elegant work set in a Qing-period household and inspired by poems from the Chinese classic Dreams of the Red Chamber.
Don’t miss the world premiere of Visible Cities (22-23 May), a joint effort by New York-based Singapore playwright Chay Yew and Italian director Giorgio Barberio Corsetti. Featuring a mixed Italian and Asian cast, this play offers a thoughtful look the interwoven realities of globalization, trade and the immigrant experience.
Talented choreographers Joavien Ng and Daniel “k” (2008 Young Artist Awardee) delve into weighty issues such as otherness and conceptual performance in Forward Moves (Jun 6-7), a double-bill performance comprising Body Swap by Ng and in Q and A by “k”. We are also looking forward to Invisible Room (Jun 5-7). In this, one of Singapore’s best indie bands, The Observatory, will collaborate with theater director Kok Heng Leun and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen to explore music in a confined space that challenges your notions of freedom and entrapment. Definitely a must for fans of experimental music.
Avant-Garde
For those looking for cerebral fare, there is a selection of experimental works available as well. We are intrigued by Dream Work/Dream Home (Jun 8-12), presented by local theater group spell #7 and Bodies in Flight from the UK. A unique two-part walking performance, this work will have you following performer-commuters during the morning and evening rush hours while listening to the hustle and bustle of life through headphones.
Want to be the star of your own production? Indulge the closet actor in you by heading down to Dome Marina Square with a friend and participating in Etiquette (May 16-Jun 13) by Rotozaza. Guided by headphones, perform a half-hour drama with other patrons who are unaware that it is taking place. Talk about spacing out in your own world.
If you’d rather leave the performing to others, check out the Asian premiere of RUHE (May 26-29). Staged by Muziektheater Transparent/Collegium Vocale Gent, it is a haunting mixed media work that reflects on the ever-lurking presence of evil. Based on real interviews with Nazi collaborators, the work is presented as a recital of Schubert songs interrupted by people who wish to talk about their voluntary enlistment in the SS in 1940. Definitely a performance that will leave you with a lot to think about.
Blending cinematography with theater, Sin Sangre (May 26-27) by Compania Teatrocinema is a thriller with a difference. Based on a novel about loss, guilt and revenge by Alessandro Baricco, this story combines political art with theater, dance and film to create a new and exciting aesthetic that is compelling and dramatic.
Crowd Pleasers
The winner of the Benois de la Danse Award for Choreography in 2005, Anna Karenina (May 29-30) will make its Asian debut at the festival. Choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky and spectacularly performed by the world-renowned Finnish National Ballet, Tolstoy’s tour de force of love, betrayal and pathos will be accompanied by Schredin’s stirring score.
Another production guaranteed to wow audiences is Sutra (May 22-23). Acclaimed Flemish/Moroccan choreographer Sidi Lari Cherkaoui takes the notion of cultural exchange to a whole new level through blending the spiritual principles of Buddhist Shaolin monks with contemporary sets. This results in a stunning display of breathtaking athleticism and grace that will undoubtedly impress.
Fans of classical music are also in for a treat. Eminent master violinist Yuri Bashmet will be performing a selection of Russian and European classics with the Grammy award-winning Moscow Soloists and the Moscow State Chamber Choir (Jun 12). For an evening of classical gems and musical virtuosity, this is a performance not be missed.
For those looking for a less conventional approach to classical music, be sure to catch Impempe Yomlingo’s adaptation of Mozart’s well-loved opera The Magic Flute (May 28-30), reinterpreted with a robust South African flavour, complete with a 35-strong choir and musicians on marimbas and drums. The work won the Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival in 2008.
Arts Fest Musts
Local boys Jeremy Monteiro and Tang Quartet (May 29-30) will share the stage for the first time to play a unique set that melds the best of jazz and classical music, offering a mix of original compositions and jazz standards. If you think it can’t get better, think again. They will be joined by multi Grammy award-winning musicians trumpeter Randy Brecker and saxophonist Ernie Watts, while American singer Richard Jackson will also be providing vocals to add to an evening already brimming with great music.
A gripping drama filled with energy and intensity, Electra (Jun 6-7) is set in a mental hospital and combines the power of Greek and Asian theater to explore the themes of madness. Performed by The Suzuki Company of Toga helmed by Suzuki Tadashi, a world-renowned theater director known for his exacting vision and actor training method, expect nothing less than a great show.
Another production that promises to be stellar is Les Sept Planches de la Ruse, or Seven Boards of Tricks (Jun 2-3), by Compagnie 111 Scenes de la Terre. Choreographed by artistic director Aurelien Bory, the work is inspired by the traditional Chinese puzzle game of tangram and involves the fluid manipulation of seven giant boards by Chinese acrobats in a magnificent display of circus, dance and theater.
Dance fans will also love the Cullberg Ballet (5-6 Jun), which will be presenting the double-bill of As If and Aluminium for the first time in Asia. Hailing from Sweden and known for its technical brilliance, the company is a leading company of modern dance and has an impressive repertoire that includes rewrites of classics such Giselle,
Swan Lake and Carmen by artistic director Mat Eks.
With such a stunning lineup of performances, the Singapore Arts Festival promises an encompassing experience for all, whether you’re new to the scene or a seasoned arts junkie.
The Singapore Arts Festival is on May 15–Jun 14 at various venues around town. Early bird tickets offering up to 25 percent discount are on sale at SISTIC, 6348-5555. Log on to www.singaporeartsfest.com for more details.
i-s magazine