A DISTURBING German film about an experiment gone wrong affected theatre director Samantha Scott-Blackhall and her boyfriend, Australian actor Claudio Girardi, so much that they have created a play out of it.

The 2001 movie, Das Experiment, was inspired by the Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971, where a group of students in California were hired to play prisoners and guards in a research lab.

THE Esplanade is going heartland this month. Its A Date With Friends series, which pays tribute to senior citizens, is headlined by veteran Hokkien female singer Tsai Chiu-feng from Taiwan.

The series, which takes place between Nov 17 and 23, also includes a ticketed concert by 1960s English pop band Herman's Hermits and free outdoor performances by local artists such as getai favourites BaoBei sisters, who will sing an array of old Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese songs.

FORTY-EIGHT hours in Houston and I still have not seen anyone in a cowboy hat.

I must admit this is a bit disappointing, as it can be when a stereotypes falls flat.