THE ESPLANADE
KALAA UTSAVAM - INDIAN FESTIVAL OF ARTS
The 19th edition of the Esplanade's Indian festival of arts goes virtual, including the digital premiere of Apsaras Arts' dance work Amara - Dancing Stories Of Banteay Srei.
Set in the 10th-century Cambodian temple Banteay Srei ("Citadel of Women" in Khmer), the performance brings to life the wall relief carvings of figures and scenes from the Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana in dance.
Another dance work, Pallavi Through Abstractions, concludes Chowk Productions' Pallavi trilogy, exploring the relationship of the classical dance form odissi to space, time and stillness.
Ravindran Drama Group's annual Tamil 10-minute play festival Pathey Nimidam, founded in 2013, makes its festival debut with nine narratives - from a tense taxi ride to a queer police officer seeking answers from God in a locker room. The directors collaborated with local film-maker K. Rajagopal to film the plays.
Digital offerings aside, there will also be two live fusion concerts by TaalMenz and RaghaJazz.
WHERE: Online at Sistic Live and Esplanade Offstage; concerts at Esplanade Annexe Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive WHEN: Today to Nov 29; concerts tomorrow (RaghaJazz) and Nov 28 (TaalMenz), 6 and 8pm ADMISSION: Ticketed programmes at $15 via Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to www.sistic.com.sg); other programmes free INFO: Pathey Nimidam is performed in Tamil with English subtitles. For more information, go to www.esplanade.com/kalaautsavam
DIGITAL THEATRE
STILL SAILING
Two troubled strangers meet on a cruise adrift in a pandemic.
Joshua, a compulsive gambler who has come on board to win big at the casino's slot machines, winds up quarantined in his cabin for 14 days and finds himself drawn to Cindy, the mysterious young woman next door.
This play, written and directed by Andy Pang under Toy Factory's director-mentorship programme, stars Marc Valentine and Tan Rui Shan. It is Toy Factory's first digital theatre presentation.
WHERE: Toy Factory OnDemand (vimeo.com/ondemand/stillsailing) WHEN: Monday, noon to Dec 6, 11.59pm ADMISSION: US$9 (S$12) for a 48-hour rental
PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW
THE TREES OF PARIS
The trees of Paris are transformed in the photography of Singaporean artist Melisa Teo, who deliberately slows down the shutter speed of her camera to create blurred images in which trees seem to vibrate with light.
"Melisa's photographs reveal what the eye doesn't even suspect," writes best-selling French travel writer Sylvain Tesson in a foreword to Teo's book Les Arbres De Paris (The Trees Of Paris). "Trees radiate. They are crowned with radiation. They are enveloped by waves. One might call it diaphanous gossamer at times, or a pulsating veil; Melisa prefers 'a vortex of energy'."
Teo's photos are collected in an exhibition at the Alliance Francaise as part of the Voilah! France Singapore Festival, where the book is also on sale. She will be giving guided tours to groups of four on Saturdays.
WHERE: Alliance Française de Singapour, 1 Sarkies Road MRT: Newton WHEN: Till Dec 19, Tuesdays to Fridays, 1 to 7.30pm; Saturdays, 9am to 5.30pm. Tours from 1.30 to 5.45pm on Saturdays ADMISSION: Free, register for tours at bit.ly/3lAoChj INFO: alliancefrancaise.org.sg
