Showing 1 - 10 of 20
Strangers, neighbours, others
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 09/06/2022
» For me, the word "ritual" evokes tradition and cycle. And there's plenty that is traditional and cyclical at this year's Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa). But with a new festival director, Natalie Hennedige, the programme under the theme "Anatomy Of Performance: Ritual" also embraces questions of the future and the digital space.
The Last Supper?
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 16/06/2022
» It's no surprise that as Covid restrictions are easing around the world, people are seeking new experiences to pluck themselves from mundanity, and to see, touch, smell and taste things in ways that awaken them. Why sit inside a theatre when you can walk around an art space or a neighbourhood while stories are spoken into your ears? Why only eat in cafes and restaurants when you can do that and watch a scene of a play unfold? Why dine in a restaurant when you can dine in an old airplane and participate in strange, semi-religious rituals?
Pushing the limits
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 05/08/2021
» The first virtual theatre festival that I participated in was "Isra-Drama: International Exposure Of Israeli Theatre 2020". I had never been to Israel and I still have not been to Israel.
Of madness and joy
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 25/11/2019
» We review two original works -- a Thai-language political satire and an English-language musical -- with LGBTQ central characters.
Like dolls in boxes
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 16/12/2019
» Before we were ushered into the theatre one floor above the waiting area at Hostbkk theatre and dance studio, the actors, clad in period costumes, stared down at us from behind glass windows, still and silent like dolls in boxes.
Not entirely transfixing
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 07/06/2019
» For its second production, Qrious Theatre transplants the 2005 American film Transamerica to Thailand. TranS I-Am is an awkward US-to-Thailand and screen-to-stage adaptation, but it's sweet and offbeat enough to charm.
New singers, oldest band
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 28/03/2019
» The Suntaraporn Foundation has been staging musicals for seven years, and I finally made the time to go see one this past Sunday. Theatre critics in Bangkok are very aware of their annual productions, but we have largely ignored it. Perhaps it has to do with our limited definition of "contemporary theatre", and our tendency to turn our noses up at anything that feels traditional and conservative.
Passionate, but ultimately superficial
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 21/09/2017
» There is no shortage of passion and potential in the new Thai-language musical, 21¾, about the dreams and struggles of urbanites in their early 20s.
No comfort for young women
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 17/08/2018
» One of the biggest issues commanding media attention in the past year has been that of gender violence. And Peel the Limelight has dedicated this year to staging plays that shed light on the topic from different angles, starting with a production of Agnes Of God, about a young nun with a history of abuse. That was followed by I Am My Own Wife, a one-person play about the life of a transgender woman during World War II and the Communist regime in East Berlin.
Beaming a light on human absurdity
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 10/08/2017
» The latest adaptation effort by playwright-director Parnrut Kritchanchai revolves around the Moon, or rather, around five lonesome souls one Full-Moon night. It is also Parnrut's continued exploration of the melodrama genre in all its manifestations.