Hypnotised! – My review of The Incredible Adventures of Border Crossers

The Incredible Adventures Of Border Crossers (SIFA 2015)

"The Incredible Adventures of Border Crossers tells the stories of “Singaporers”, who are defined by the director Ong Keng Sen as individuals who live in Singapore but are not citizens. Most of the performers are not professional actors and they originate from the USA, Asia and Europe. This 6-hour stylized performance installation brings us through the life passage of “Panorama”, “Feast”, “Travel”, Education”, “Work”, “Everyday Life”, “Wedding”, “Anthem”, “Theatre”, “Funeral” and “Spirituality” as experienced by the 20 real-life border crossers. Multimedia images designed by Brian Gothong Tan effectively demarcate the different segments, with repetitive patterns recurring between segments to allow space for reflection. 

(...)

Designed by Kaffe Matthews, the recurring and repetitive rhythm of the sounds which comprise screaming, cheering, laughing, machinery sounds, sounds from nature, as well as the fusion of folk and contemporary beats provide a sense of cyclic existence which hypnotises me. Repeated multimedia images and movements from performers further enhance this hypnotic effect, drawing me into a state of meditation.

Overall, it is a transcendental-like performance which brings the audience beyond the mundane realm into the subconscious and prehistoric realms in search of freedom and purification. The performance induces in me a feeling that I am going through a supra-mundane experience and embark on a journey of reflections and transformation within the hypnotic space."

- Beverly Yuen, Review of "The Incredible Adventures of Border Crossers" for Centre 42


Full review can be found here:  http://centre42.sg/the-incredible-adventures-of-border-crossers-by-ong-keng-sen-kaffe-matthews-chris-lee-of-asylum-brian-gothong-tan-reckless-ericka-and-francis-ng/

    Photo credit: Kevin Lee

The theatre is an encounter- My review of Q: Protagonists at the Edge

Q: Protagonists at the Edge

Directed by Ang Gey Pin
Devised with Intercultural Theatre Institute 2015 graduating cohort
Al-Matin Yatim, Chang Ting Wei, Yazid Jalil

"Three plays – The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree and The Eagle and the Cat by Kuo Pao Kun and Three Families Blessings by Lim Jen Erh — serve as a bridge to connect the responses of performers and audience to these works. The actors reveal that they are told 'to be themselves' and yet playing the characters at the same time. And that is the mantra that ties the three plays together. While the three are playing different characters, their cultural identities and traditions surface through their different languages (Malay, Mandarin, English, Hokkien, Singlish) and individual styles in delivering songs, music and movements."

- Beverly Yuen, Review of Q: Protagonists at the Edge for Centre 42

Full review can be found here: http://centre42.sg/q-protagonists-at-the-edge-by-intercultural-theatre-institute/

Final Ablution- My Review of Hawa

"Through a courageous portrayal of a homosexual relationship between two races, with liberal references to Islam and God, the play questions the meaning of sin, holiness, rules and love. The minimalist lighting which plays with shadows, the white translucent pieces of cloth that form the set on which poetic texts about stages of life are projected, and the sweet scent in the space offer me a simple and aesthetically pleasing haven for reflection, a good contrast to the emotive issues presented in the play. There is an undercurrent of unsaid negotiations between self and Self; self and the play. This is a beautifully sorrowful; poetically explosive; humorously serious piece of work."
- Beverly Yuen, Review of Hawa for Centre 42

Full review can be found here:http://centre42.sg/hawa-by-hatch-theatrics/

Returning to a State of Utopia- My review of Titoudao

"The staging with its shift of characters, the shift from performance to a performance-within-a-performance, and the leaps in time and space, transport the audience to different realities, memories and dreams. With the blurring between reality and dream; life and stage, there is a hint of a distant euphoric land that awaits our discovery. This is aptly denoted by the innocence of child play and kampong days. It also seems to invite the audience to reflect on the past while celebrating the golden jubilee of the country: What have we gained? What have we given up along the way to become what we are today?" 

- Beverly Yuen, Review of Titoudao for Centre 42

Full review can be found here: http://centre42.sg/titoudao-by-toy-factory-2/

A Piece of Memory

Who am I?

Which part of me is me?

As I maneuver through the images of memories,

I am forming my own memories.

The Chinese goddesses and the temples are part of my life,

And yet Mary, Jesus and the cross are part of my identity too.
As I move, I see colors and colorless,

I see memories captured, memories forming,

And memories fading…

I turn,

Take a glance at the gallery.

I see visitors frantically trying to retain their memories

By searching through the many images

For the one they can bring home.

And I too, bring back one

Of me,

Of who I am.

"Fade… is an installation of a thousand iPhone images, representing the intimate, personal memories of photographer Tan Ngiap Heng. The images are hung in space like a cloud, like the memories suspended in our heads. Audience members are encouraged to take away and keep images that they like for themselves. This process of the installation disappearing is a meditation on how we lose our memories as we age."

- M1 Singapore Fringe Festival's write-up on Fade...

Fade... by Tan Ngiap Heng

(M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2015)

14 – 25 January 2015, 10am – 8pm

The Platform, Level 2

National Museum of Singapore

Free Admission