Culture

Need your dose of culture while lounging about at home? Luckily for us, there are various online initiatives by local theatre companies to keep us entertained like online watch parties, virtual theatrical experiences, and even Instagram book readings. While most live streaming and online initiatives are available to anyone for free, do consider supporting your favourite theatre companies if you enjoyed them. You can do this by donating or buying merchandise.Broadway and West End fans can also stream musicals from all around the world, thanks to initiatives such as Andrew Llyod Webber's The Shows Must Go On and BroadwayHD's online productions. RECOMMENDED: Festivals, performances and art go online with support from the new Digitalisation Fund

A deafening silence hangs through the air of Singapore’s theatres. The stages where the city’s most talented creatives once walked have been stripped bare. The seats from which the audience would spring up in thunderous applause have gathered a layer of dust. While restaurants, cinemas, museums and even hotels have reopened to the public – theatres remain shut. And no one knows when they’ll be allowed to reopen. Looking beyond our border offers no clear answer either. In New York, the Broadway League has announced that it’ll remain closed for the rest of the year. And over in London, West End is slated to reopen in October, albeit only for selected shows.   Photograph: The Second Breakfast Company / Facebook   In Singapore, theatre practitioners are stumbling in the dark: “Considering the government’s approach to the reopening of our economy in three phases, theatres [could only] get to open in the last stretch: Phase 3,” says Adeeb Fazah, Artistic Director of The Second Breakfast Company. “In our heads, this means we will only get to return to theatres probably at the end of the year. Even then, we’re worried about the sentiment on the ground, and about doing the responsible thing for everyone on the team as well as our audiences. Just because the measures are lifted, do we then rush back into the theatre? What is the most responsible thing to do?”  Charlotte Nors, Managing Director of Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), offers a different perspective: “Sadly, I don’t see

A world away from the glitzy, big-budget Broadway productions you see at Marina Bay Sands, the city’s fringe theatre scene is hidden away in unassuming black boxes and intimate spaces in galleries – just the way its loyal audience likes it. After all, there is something alluring about walking into a mysterious space, not knowing exactly what to expect. Last November, we stepped into the set of The Hawker, an immersive theatrical production by The Second Breakfast Company. Staged at the Aliwal Arts Centre’s studio which transformed into a hawker centre setting, complete with colourful mismatched tiled floors, red and white plastic chairs around round tables, and a roti prata cart. “We tested this format out and had a first staging last year at the Asian Youth Theatre Festival. We didn’t expect such good turnout and warm reception. People were really intrigued by it,” says the not-for-profit theatre company’s artistic director Adeeb Fazah. A name synonymous with the local fringe theatre scene, Adeeb got his start at Yellow Chair Productions. That’s where he met Mohamad Shaifulbahri, who he eventually co-founded Adeeb and Shai with. Established last year, the collective aim to bring international fringe productions to Singapore, debuting with a remake of Sam Steiner’s Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons. Shai has a similarly impressive repertoire. His latest work with Bhumi Collective (called Mak-Mak Menari) will be staged at the 16th edition of the M1 Fringe Festival, whi

In case you haven't heard, the latest restrictions that were announced last Tuesday, March 24, mandates that all bars, cinemas, and other entertainment outlets are to be closed until April 30 – in a bid to tackle the escalating COVID-19 situation in Singapore. Since then, the remaining shows which were still soldiering on were put to a halt. Never mind that we've been seeing cancellations from touring groups and artists such as Hamburg Ballett John Neumeier and ballet superstar Sergei Polunin since February. Now, our local theatre companies are facing the heat too.  From The Theatre Practice's Four Horse Road, which had to close just two days after its opening night, to Wild Rice's Grandmother Tongue, An Inspector Calls, and HOTEL, plays and performances of all scales are affected. "We kept our shows going for as long as we could, knowing how theatre can inspire and bring a community together in troubling times," says Wild Rice's Founding Artistic Director Ivan Heng in a press statement. "However, the health and well-being of our patrons, artists and all who work with Wild Rice must take precedence."  New dates will be announced for Grandmother Tongue, which was originally scheduled to run from April 2 to 19, while An Inspector Calls (initially slated to run from May 7) and HOTEL (from June 11) will be postponed until 2021. Why does it matter?  It's not a secret that our thriving but small theatre industry has been lacking funding lately, but this might just be the final stra