Tag: Theatre

Award-Winning Musical ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ Returns To S’pore In Apr 2019 – Tickets Start At $75

2019 is shaping up to be a good year for theatre lovers in Singapore.

Not only will Matilda the Musical make its Asian debut in Singapore next February, but it’s recently been announced that The Phantom Of The Opera will be making a return to our shores next year as well.

Broadway’s longest running show was last staged in Singapore five years ago in 2013, and is now set to play at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands from the 24th of April to the 12th of May.

If you aren’t familiar with what The Phantom Of The Opera is all about, here’s what wikipedia has to say:

“…its central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opera House.”

Eh, words don’t really do justice to this epic tale of love and tragedy, so here’s a video of how the production looked like when it last came to Singapore:

Ah, better.

Tickets are available for pre-sale right now at sistic.com, with prices ranging from $75 to $780 for a VIP box for four (for that price, the phantom better fall in love with us).

There’s also a 15% discount going on today, so it’s probably a good idea to get them sooner than later.

The Phantom Of The Opera
Venue: Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands
Dates: 24 April 2019 – 12 May 2019
Showtimes: Tue – Fri: 8pm I Sat: 2pm & 8pm I Sun: 1pm & 6pm
Prices: Tue – Thurs: $75 – $700 I Fri – Sun: $75 – $780

Also Read Calling all Roald Dahl Fans: Matilda The Musical Is Coming To Singapore In Feb 2019

(Video Credit: SuperAdrianMe TV Youtube
Header Image Source: Phantom Of The Opera)

Calling All Roald Dahl Fans: Matilda The Musical Is Coming To Singapore In Feb 2019

If you remember begging your parents to buy you the entire Roald Dahl series when you were younger, then you’re in for a real treat.

Matilda The Musical – a stage adaptation of the novel Matilda is coming to Singapore. Not to mention, for the first time ever in Asia.

Matilda Comes To Singapore

If you’ve never read the book or watched the movie, here’s a breakdown of the plot.

The musical follows Matilda, a precocious 5-year-old girl who loves reading and learning but is suppressed by her TV-obsessed parents who pay her little attention and bullied by her formidable school headmistress Miss Trunchbull for being too smart.

As she grows up, she begins to resist the challenges and obstacles presented to her, learning that sometimes you have to be a “little bit naughty” in order to get through life – a tale that’ll resonate with audiences young and old alike.

Be prepared to delight in the witty musical numbers featuring beloved hits such as ‘Naughty’ and ‘When I Grow Up’, it’s no surprise that the musical has bagged a trunkful of awards, including five Tony Awards and seven Olivier Awards.

Accompanying the music is a collection of vivid stage sets that are decked out in a kaleidoscope of colours – a captivating treat for the eyes.

Featuring a lovable child cast and a riotous adult one, Matilda the Musical promises an unforgettable story of childhood, love and hope presented in stunning theatrical form that is sure to leave a lasting impression on audience members of all ages.

Don’t miss your chance to catch it when it debuts at the Sands Theatre in Singapore, 21 February 2019.

Tickets are now on sale at marinabaysands.com and all SISTIC channels.

Matilda The Musical
Venue: Sands Theatre @ Marina Bay Sands
Dates: 21 February 2019 – 3 March 2019
Showtimes: Tue – Fri: 7.30pm | Sat: 2pm & 7.30pm | Sun: 1pm & 6pm
Prices: Tue – Thur: $68 – $178 | Fri – Sun: $68 – $198 (excluding $4 ticketing fee)

Also Read #LoveWins This October With 6 LGBT-Centric Films At Golden Village’s Love & Pride Film Festival

(Header Image Source: Matilda The Musical Facebook)

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time Is Coming To A Stage Near You In March 2018

Did you know The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time was written into a play?

Yes it has. In fact, the production, which is based on the bestseller by Mark Haddon, has won five Tony Awards and seven Olivier Awards – and it will show in Singapore for the first time from 29 March – 8 April 2018.

If you’ve forgotten the story – we know, it’s been a while since we ourselves read the book – here’s a quick recap:

Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone has an extraordinary mind. While great at math, he’s not nearly as great when it comes to interpreting daily life. One day, he falls under suspicion of killing his neighbour’s dog and his quest to uncover the real culprit takes him on a journey that upturns his world.

Jointly presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre and Esplanade – Theatres By The Bay, the acclaimed production by London’s National Theatre will see the story that once tugged at our heartstrings brought to life on stage.

Here’s a trailer to give you a teaser as to what to expect:

Tickets to The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time are available now on Hapz on a name your own price basis, so quote your own price and purchase your tickets here.

National Theatre’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Venue: Esplanade Theatre
Date: 29 Mar – 8 Apr 2018
Price: Name your price*
Website

*Discounted prices available only on Hapz.

Also read Forget Truffle Fries, These 7 Luncheon Meat Dishes Will Make You SPAM All Your Money

Andsoforth’s Unique Dining Experience Serves Up Dinner With A Side Of Theatre

Bored of cafes and hawker food?

Here’s one for those who love the mystery of surprise!

Andsoforth, who previously brought us The Experiment, The Hideaway and The Heist, are up to more eccentric fun! The Imaginarium of David is their latest creation where they take dining literally out-of-this-world into realms that we could previously only dream about.

The Imaginarium of David takes inspiration in from the Biblical story of David and Goliath. If you’re not familiar with the story; a young David duels and bests a giant, Goliath, despite being at a huge disadvantage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzsXGdzi0PM

Andsoforth reinterprets David and Goliath in a modern setting – or more specifically, a disco setting. Disco David brings you into his psychedelic world to meet his eccentric friends: a Shaolin Lifeguard, the Swan Ballerinas, The Cunning Cabaret, and B-boy Goliath. Make friends with the mystical characters in a secret disco!

Be sure to go with an empty stomach as the night will culminate in a four-course meal served in the most conspicuous way possible. Psst, we also heard that there will be a sneaky cocktail as well!

Get ready to be immersed in a virtual world like no other. The venue will not be disclosed until the day of the performance itself, so keep a tight leash on your phone so as to not miss out on the details.

Here’s what went down at their last themed show, Dinner in Wonderland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wam9Iq6eSvM

Once it’s over, you will never get a chance to experience it again! Tickets cost $98 for Friday shows, and $108 for Saturday shows. Head to the Andsoforth website for more details!

Also read We Tried Glamping For The First Time And It Was As Awesome As It Looks

(Header Image Source: Andsoforth Facebook)

CROSSINGS – A Play Dark And Bold Enough For A Different Kind Of Valentine’s Day

Happy and in love, Danielle and Chris are just about to tie the knot. But within their picture-perfect relationship lie a train-wreck of betrayal and abuse.

As the champagne gets warm and the cake waits to be cut, the couple is forced to deal with the choices they made in the past, the emotional entanglements of the present and the uncertainty of the future.

Boy, if this isn’t the perfect play to catch this Valentine’s Day.

Bold, dark and funny, Crossings will be the first public performance staged by the new young & W!LD cohort this year.

Consisting of two plays The Mother, The Son and the Holy Ghost and Arbitrio, Crossings follows characters who have arrived at critical crossroads in their lives. They will be making choices that will impact their lives forever.

A brainchild by the eight members of young & W!LD, the final scripts of both plays in Crossings were put together by programme director Rodney Oliveriro. A theatre performer, he has been involved in more than fifty productions.

“Just like these troubled characters, we all have to live with the decisions we make and their consequences,” explains Oliveriro.

In anticipation of Crossings, we had a quick chat with the casts of both plays, to find out more about the inventive and thought-provoking plays.

We spoke to Jasmine Blundell, Sharmaine Goh and Krish Natarajan.

CAST INTRODUCTION

Jasmine Blundell as Vix in The Mother, The Son and the Holy Ghost

An actor, musician, teacher and instant noodle-eater, Jasmine graduated from East 15 Acting School, specialising in World Performance – an eclectic blend of conventional and unconventional theatre traditions.

Sharmaine Goh as Danielle in Arbitrio

Currently pursuing her course in Arts and Theatre Management in Republic Polytechnic, Sharmaine is a raging cat lady who likes to, in her spare time, color and of course, pet cats.

Krish Natarajan as Chris in Arbitrio

Presently in LASALLE, Krish has always been into everything art and theatre. From Drama Club in his primary school to enrolling in SOTA when he was 12 years old, Krish practically is the theatre bug.

1. Hey guys, let’s take this from the top – what got you into theatre?

Jasmine: I can’t say I was bitten by the theatre bug. Rather, I was devoured by it. It started from a morbid theatre piece back in junior college. Our group had created a rather solemn, hyper-realistic piece about a suicide pact.  The emotional and physical toil really broke through during that performance and the feeling was indescribable. The unexpected pursuit of theatre began shortly after as I decided to take it more seriously.

Sharmaine: I’ve always loved performing! As a child I would always sing, dance and act in front of my family (and I still do). But I think it’s the connections that an actor makes with an audience that keeps my passion alive. I just love how theatre has its own unique way of challenging, comforting and entertaining people.

Krish: I’ve always been into theatre. My father was a source of influence, he brought me to shows. But I think I knew it was what I wanted to do after playing Hamlet in SOTA. I did a terrible job and I made a promise to myself to one day do Hamlet well and kill it.

2. Could you tell us more about the premise of your respective plays and character?

Jasmine: The Mother, The Son and the Holy Ghost is a… realistically surrreal one. The situations and problems presented are surreal, but the way we’ve presented it is in a rather ‘realistic’ way. It’s about a trio of characters who all have their own agendas. It’s also a tribute to people who try their best to ‘fix’ situations but end up making it worse. The play is an oxymoron – real, fast but slow. Vix is self-absorbed, rude, trigger-happy, slightly deluded and vocal in many ways.

Sharmaine: Arbitrio revolves around the choices that we make in life, especially when we reach a crossroad. Danielle has to choose between a lover and her husband. We see how much or little influence external factors have on her decision making process. Danielle is quite a ‘cookie cutter’ type of woman. There is an innocence to her and the situations in the play she ends up in will push her out of her comfort zone.

Krish: Chris is a traditional, good-hearted man. He is a bit of a tech nerd although he doesn’t exactly love his job. And Chris has a bit of a temper and can be rather impulsive.

3. What are the main challenges in bringing your characters to life?

Jasmine: Vix is quite young in the play – something I struggle to experiment with because I am an old soul.  Perhaps the most common thing we have is that we’re both fast-talking, naive girls who want to believe in the good in people. She fights for social justice (or rather her own brand of social justice). Unlike her, I’m naturally not good at confrontations. So tapping into almost what seems like an alter-ego is exciting but scary.

Sharmaine: One of my biggest challenges is to get rid of my personal habits when acting, as well as to be more sensitive and attentive to my co-actors when rehearsing.

4. Sharmaine and Krish, we understand you’ve previously worked with each other in When S#!t Hits The Fam. Who do you think has a tougher time portraying the character?

Sharmaine: It’s always a challenge portraying a character. I can’t compare and say whose is tougher but we definitely have our own sets of challenges.

Krish: I think that’s a very difficult question because both our characters have their respective challenges. They both go through things that Sharmaine and I have not exactly experienced personally, so it’s certainly challenging to truthfully portray their plights. And of course the characters aren’t quite different from who we are as people! But if I had to answer the question I would say me cause Sharm is great.

5. What sort of audience is going to love the play and what do you think is going to surprise them the most?

Jasmine: Let’s see. Audiences who love a good laugh, maybe a little cry from time to time, the old, the milennials – basically anyone who loves a good, side-splitting, emotion-worthy, unlikely-friendship story. There’s something in it for everyone, and I’m very sure you’ll leave feeling just a tinge-bit more sorrowful.

Sharmaine: We experimented a lot with this piece, so there definitely will be a lot of unexpected scenarios in this play. I can’t say much or it would’t be a surprise anymore, but there will be many.

Can’t wait to catch Crossings now that you’ve heard from the cast themselves? Or if you’re struggling for ideas for this Valentine’s Day, this may be the ticket to your solution. Pun intended.

CROSSINGS
Devised by the young & W!LD Company, written by Rodney Oliveiro
Venue: Centre 42, Black Box, 42 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187951
Show Dates: 15 – 19 February 2017, 8pm on all days, 3pm on Saturday & Sunday
Ticket Price: $30; $25 for students, NSFs and senior citizens
Get your tickets All images are courtesy of W!ld Rice unless otherwise stated.

Also, read 12 Valentine’s Day Date Experiences That Don’t Involve Dinners And Movies

Monkey Goes West Is Back This Year With More Laughs & Catchy Tunes!

With the year of the Monkey coming to an end, here’s how you can send it off with a bang – by checking out the award-winning Monkey Goes West.

Set to take stage at Drama Centre Theatre from 18 November to 17 December 2016, Monkey Goes West is cheeky retelling of our beloved Chinese fantasy classic – Journey To The West.

Unlike the original story that ended in India, this one will take you on an epic Singaporean thrill ride from Haw Par Villa to Jurong West.

Adventure of a Lifetime

Monkey Goes West tells the tale of an orphan named Ah Tang who ran away from home after a argument with his family.

He then finds himself transported to a strange land and he befriends a trio of fellow travellers: Wukong the cheeky Monkey King; Pigsy, a brave but always-hungry warrior; and Sandy, a stubborn but loyal river ogre.

Together, the fearless four embark on an adventure of a lifetime, one filled with trials and dangers.

Can they tame the rowdy fire-breathing Red Boy? Will they be able to defeat the monstrous King Bull and his man-eating wife, Princess Iron Fan?

And more importantly, will Ah Tang ever find a place that he can call home?

Award Winning Production & Team

Monkey Goes West was completely sold out on its first run in 2014, playing to more than 15,000 theatre goers.

It then went on to dominate the 2015 Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards with a whopping 7 nominations, more than any other production that year.

They eventually bagged the awards for Production of the Year, Readers’ Choice Award for Production of the Year, and Best Costume Design (Tube Gallery by Phisit & Saxit).

This time round, the play will be directed by Broadway Beng Sebastian Tan, written by Alfian Sa’at, with music composed by Elaine Chan.

Both Sebastian and Elaine were nominated for the Best Director and Best Sound Design or Original Score category of the 2015 awards respectively.

On top of that, the cast of the play includes some of Singapore’s most experienced veteran actors and rising stars – Sugie Phua (nominated for Best Actor) and Siti Khalijah (nominated for Best Supporting Actress) will be sharing the stage with familiar faces like Chua Enlai, Darius Tan, Joshua Lim, and many more talented actors and actresses.

Packed with catchy tunes, hilarious gags, cool wushu moves and magic, you can count on Monkey Goes West to brighten up your day and keep you laughing, so you can end your year with a blast.

Monkey Goes West
Date: 18 November – 17 December 2016
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre, 100 Victoria St, #05-01 National Library Building, 188064
Time: 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Ticket Price: Restricted View ($50 – $60), Standard ($45-$80)
Seating Plan: Website: