Bakchormeeboy

20/05/2026

[REVIEW] [THEATRE] [★★★★☆ Makan Culture by Jo Tan and Krish Natarajan (SIFA 2026)] Now out on Bakchormeeboy.com. “Warm, weird, self-aware and enormously generous toward its audience, the production captures the peculiar emotional texture of Singaporean life with startling precision, balancing farcical humour with genuine intelligence and emotional honesty. For all its commentary about “premium” art and cultural inferiority, Makan Culture itself ultimately proves that Singaporean theatre does not need to imitate Broadway or the West End to matter. It only needs the courage to sound like itself, at times awkward and contradictory, but always sincere, and to accept that culture-making is a journey, not a destination.”

Photos Courtesy of The Arts House Group

Makan Culture plays from 15th to 30th May 2026 at Festival Market @ Empress Lawn.

20/05/2026

★★★★☆ Theatre Review: Makan Culture by Jo Tan and Krish Natarajan (SIFA 2026)

Earnest, wry and smile-inducing commentary on pride, joy, and criticism in the local arts and culture scene. Singapore has long measured success in terms of efficiency, practicality and polish, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the local arts scene often finds itself trapped in an exhausting cycle of comparison. Why watch a homegrown production when there’s Broadway and West End to assure us of 'quality'?...

Earnest, wry and smile-inducing commentary on pride, joy, and criticism in the local arts and culture scene. Singapore has long measured success in terms of efficiency, practicality and polish, so …

20/05/2026

★★★☆☆ Dance Review: Tempo by Kalle Nio and Fernando Melo (SIFA 2026)

Moments stretch, reverse and repeat through magic, circus and dance in this frustratingly slow meditation on time. Time is supposed to be objective, but more often than not, it is deeply relative; stretching, compressing and slowing according to emotion, attention and memory. Presented as part of the 2026 Singapore International Festival of Arts, Tempo takes that idea and turns it into a performance experiment, where moments linger unnaturally long, bodies appear suspended between movement and stillness, and time itself seems to lose its usual rhythm....

Moments stretch, reverse and repeat through magic, circus and dance in this frustratingly slow meditation on time.  Time is supposed to be objective, but more often than not, it is deeply rela…

20/05/2026

NAC, UOL and PPHG forge three-year partnership to expand arts experiences in their commercial and hospitality spaces

The National Arts Council (NAC) yesterday signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UOL Group Limited (UOL), and its subsidiary Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), collectively referred as the Group, to integrate the arts more deeply into Singapore’s commercial and hospitality spaces. The MOU was signed in conjunction with the International Society of Performing Arts (ISPA) 2026 Singapore Congress, held from 19 to 22 May, which brought together over 400 global performing arts leaders....

The National Arts Council (NAC) yesterday signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UOL Group Limited (UOL), and its subsidiary Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), collectively referr…

20/05/2026

Theatre Review: The Lighthouse by Patch Theatre (SIFA 2026)

Surreal, interactive series of experiential light installations that turn physics into magic, ideal for younger audiences. For those who have never quite learnt about reflection and refraction in science class, interactions with light can feel like pure magic. That sense of innocent mystery is exactly what Patch Theatre harnesses in The Lighthouse, an experiential promenade work that guides audiences through a series of interconnected rooms and installations, each inviting them to play, experiment, and explore....

Surreal, interactive series of experiential light installations that turn physics into magic, ideal for younger audiences. For those who have never quite learnt about reflection and refraction in s…

20/05/2026

[INTERVIEW] [THEATRE] [Becoming W***y Wonka: An Interview with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Daniel Plimpton] Now out on Bakchormeeboy.com. “I feel very blessed and humbled. I love performing and I love travel. I cannot believe that I get to do them both and come explore the most glorious places. Each place we go gets to open up all new possibilities of wonder. I sing about a lot of different things in my head during “pure imagination,” but often I’m thinking about sites and places I’ve seen, maybe even that day. This is an experience that is unique to any performing I’ve done before. I can’t wait for opening night!” Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory plays from 19th May 2026 at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands.

20/05/2026

[ARTS] Singapore Takes Centre Stage as Global Performing Arts Leaders Gather for ISPA 2026 Congress] Read now on Bakchormeeboy.com. “Against a backdrop of increasing global division and social fragmentation, many speakers returned to the role the arts can play in rebuilding connection and trust. “The world feels more divided than it has been in a long time. Conversations are harder. Trust is thinner,” Ms Goh observed. “This is where the arts do something quietly wonderful. They give us a way to sit with people we don’t always agree with, to feel something together, to see the person, not the position.” “Art doesn’t just reflect the world; it widens it,” Ms Goh said. “I hope these days open up new perspectives for you.””

Photo Credit: National Arts Council

ISPA 2026 Singapore Congress runs from 19th to 22nd May 2026.

19/05/2026

Singapore Takes Centre Stage as Global Performing Arts Leaders Gather for ISPA 2026 Congress

From left to right: Ms Lynette Pang, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, National Arts Council (NAC); Ms Yvonne Tham, Chief Executive Officer, The Esplanade Co Ltd; Ms Goh Swee Chen, Chairman, National…

19/05/2026

Becoming W***y Wonka: An Interview with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Daniel Plimpton

Roald Dahl's beloved tale of golden tickets and chocolate rivers is finally making its Southeast Asian debut, as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical opens at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, for a strictly limited season from 19th May 2026. Presented by Base Entertainment Asia in association with Broadway International Group and Broadway Asia, the production brings W***y Wonka's fantastical chocolate factory to life with eye-popping visuals, larger-than-life puppetry and illusions, and iconic songs from the classic 1971 film, including "Pure Imagination" and "I've Got a Golden Ticket" — alongside original music by Grammy® and Tony Award® winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman....

Roald Dahl’s beloved tale of golden tickets and chocolate rivers is finally making its Southeast Asian debut, as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical opens at Sands Theatre, Marina B…

18/05/2026

[PREVIEW] [THEATRE] [Scaredy Kat Presents by Gateway Arts] Now out on Bakchormeeboy.com. “Scaredy Kat Presents offers a gentle but powerful reminder that fear doesn’t disqualify us from living fully. If anything, it can be the starting point for creativity, connection, and growth. Like Kathryn’s stop-motion films, progress happens frame by frame—imperfect, tentative, but meaningful. And sometimes, all it takes is one small step, or one unexpected friendship, to begin. Set to run from 21 to 31 May at the Gateway Theatre Black Box, the production invites audiences of all ages to see anxiety not as something to hide, but as something that can be understood, shared, and even transformed.”

Scaredy Kat Presents plays from 21st to 31st May 2026 at the Gateway Theatre Black Box.

18/05/2026

[INTERVIEW] [THEATRE] [SIFA 2026: Strangely Familiar《熟悉的陌生》 – An interview with choreographer Kuik Swee Boon on coexistence and projection] Read now on Bakchormeeboy.com. “That sentiment feels especially resonant in a work that grapples with futures shaped by both technological acceleration and cultural fragmentation. While Strangely Familiar engages with digital forms and speculative possibilities, its concerns remain deeply human: how we relate to one another, how we navigate difference, and how we make space for what we do not yet understand. For Swee Boon, these questions are ongoing rather than resolved. “I don’t know what lies ahead,” he admits. “I just follow my heart, and this philosophy of coexistence.”” Photos Courtesy of The Arts House Group

Strangely Familiar 《熟悉的陌生》plays from 22nd to 24th May 2026 at Victoria Theatre.