Art for All
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 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.
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.
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.
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