The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is bringing new meaning to the term 'home entertainment', with performance venues set around the whole island.
Other than the regular Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall and Drama Centre, the festival – running from Aug 6 to Sept 20 – will involve performances at four Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates and 25 homes.
Performers include household names such as comedian Kumar, Zaliha Hamid as well as fresh face Sharul Channa – who will be performing at HDB estates in the show ‘Living Together’.
‘Open Homes’, in collaboration with the People’s Association’s PASsionArts, will involve theatre performances within people’s living rooms.
The performances within the heartlands were a way of "bringing the arts more intimately and closer to audiences of Singapore,” said Festival director Ong Keng Sen.
The theme of this year’s SIFA is POST-Empires, which delves into life after colonialism, communism and globalisation. SIFA 2015 will span over seven weeks – one week longer than 2014 – and involve four main productions stretched over the weeks, instead of a single main opening show.
Each performance will be in line with one of the four festival 'lines' or threads: Transformations, Archives, POST-Empires: What Remains After? And Playing With POST-.
Organisers said production details would be revealed in April. In 2014, the festival saw 22,000 audience members, with 86 per cent of tickets sold. This year, 60 per cent of the line-up will include local works, a deliberate decision in consideration of Singapore’s 50th anniversary celebrations, organisers remarked.
Participants include experimental musician Margaret Leng Tan, theatre companies Cake and W!LD RICE, which will be premiering a new play, Hotel. 'The Incredible Adventures Of The Border-Crossers', a six-hour production by Mr Ong, which debuts in Paris next month as part of the Singapore Festival in France, will also be re-staged.
Another theatre production to look forward to is Nanyang- The Musical, a Mandarin musical that follows the lives of Singapore’s Nanyang artists who impacted an aeon of artists after a revolutionary trip to Bali in the 1950s.
Cultural Medallion recipient and dance front-runner Goh Lay Kuan will debut his first work after 20 years, and will incorporate Chinese, Malay and Indian contemporary dances who have been under the guidance of fellow Medallion recipients.
T’ang Quartet, the renowned local classical ensemble, will be curating three performances, including a joint effort with pianist Melvyn Tan, Demetia- ddirected by Mr Kornel Mondruczo and South African video artist William Kentridge.
A mini dance festival, spanning over 16 days will take place, titled 'Dance Marathon - Open With A Punk Spirit!' The venue is a to-be-confirmed heritage site that will be modified into a “dance house”, showcasing regional Asian dance artists.
The OPEN, SIFA’s pre-festival event, will run from June 17 to July 4, apart from the regular talks, film screenings and exhibitions, Mr Ong said it will involve more performances. He said, “Ideas can be exposed not just through talks, but also through experiencing performances.”
The OPEN will involve two “lines”: the Young and the Restless and Augmented Reality Memory Tour. The highlight of the latter will be an augmented-reality tour of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station via a mobile app.
The Singapore International Festival of Arts will take place from Aug 6 to Sept 20, while The Open will run from June 17 to July 4. Ticket sales begin on 8 April through SISTIC; more details available on the SIFA website.
Photo: SIFA Facebook page
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The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is bringing new meaning to the term 'home entertainment', with performance venues set around the whole island.
Other than the regular Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall and Drama Centre, the festival – running from Aug 6 to Sept 20 – will involve performances at four Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates and 25 homes.
Performers include household names such as comedian Kumar, Zaliha Hamid as well as fresh face Sharul Channa – who will be performing at HDB estates in the show ‘Living Together’.
‘Open Homes’, in collaboration with the People’s Association’s PASsionArts, will involve theatre performances within people’s living rooms.
The performances within the heartlands were a way of "bringing the arts more intimately and closer to audiences of Singapore,” said Festival director Ong Keng Sen.
The theme of this year’s SIFA is POST-Empires, which delves into life after colonialism, communism and globalisation. SIFA 2015 will span over seven weeks – one week longer than 2014 – and involve four main productions stretched over the weeks, instead of a single main opening show.
Each performance will be in line with one of the four festival 'lines' or threads: Transformations, Archives, POST-Empires: What Remains After? And Playing With POST-.
Organisers said production details would be revealed in April. In 2014, the festival saw 22,000 audience members, with 86 per cent of tickets sold. This year, 60 per cent of the line-up will include local works, a deliberate decision in consideration of Singapore’s 50th anniversary celebrations, organisers remarked.
Participants include experimental musician Margaret Leng Tan, theatre companies Cake and W!LD RICE, which will be premiering a new play, Hotel. 'The Incredible Adventures Of The Border-Crossers', a six-hour production by Mr Ong, which debuts in Paris next month as part of the Singapore Festival in France, will also be re-staged.
Another theatre production to look forward to is Nanyang- The Musical, a Mandarin musical that follows the lives of Singapore’s Nanyang artists who impacted an aeon of artists after a revolutionary trip to Bali in the 1950s.
Cultural Medallion recipient and dance front-runner Goh Lay Kuan will debut his first work after 20 years, and will incorporate Chinese, Malay and Indian contemporary dances who have been under the guidance of fellow Medallion recipients.
T’ang Quartet, the renowned local classical ensemble, will be curating three performances, including a joint effort with pianist Melvyn Tan, Demetia- ddirected by Mr Kornel Mondruczo and South African video artist William Kentridge.
A mini dance festival, spanning over 16 days will take place, titled 'Dance Marathon - Open With A Punk Spirit!' The venue is a to-be-confirmed heritage site that will be modified into a “dance house”, showcasing regional Asian dance artists.
The OPEN, SIFA’s pre-festival event, will run from June 17 to July 4, apart from the regular talks, film screenings and exhibitions, Mr Ong said it will involve more performances. He said, “Ideas can be exposed not just through talks, but also through experiencing performances.”
The OPEN will involve two “lines”: the Young and the Restless and Augmented Reality Memory Tour. The highlight of the latter will be an augmented-reality tour of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station via a mobile app.
The Singapore International Festival of Arts will take place from Aug 6 to Sept 20, while The Open will run from June 17 to July 4. Ticket sales begin on 8 April through SISTIC; more details available on the SIFA website.
Photo: SIFA Facebook page
Got a tip? Send it to us at singapore@coconuts.co.
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