WHO'S THERE
This cross-continental, Covid-19-inflected work takes on race relations in an online space, as artists based in Singapore, Malaysia and the United States perform together over Zoom.
From a black American influencer who accuses a Malaysian bureaucrat of condoning blackface, to a Singaporean Indian teacher who sparks an Instagram feud by calling out racial inequality at home in the wake of African-American George Floyd's death, the work questions assumptions about race, class and gender around the world.
It is co-directed by Alvin Tan, founder of Singapore theatre company The Necessary Stage, and New York-based Sim Yan Ying, who was approached by the New Ohio Theatre after she submitted an application for the 2020 Ice Factory Festival.
Tan, 56, says: "(Yan Ying) and I then fell into discussing race issues as these were then catching fire on the global stage, this time in a more intersectional way than before."
The show features local actors such as Ghafir Akbar and Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, as well as US-based Camille Thomas, Neil Redfield and Sean Devare.
Where: Zoom
When: Saturday (Aug 8), 10am and 10pm
Admission: Tickets from New Ohio Theatre website. Pay-what-you-can, $10 donation recommended
TWO SONGS AND A STORY
Music meets monologues in Checkpoint Theatre's online series of five solo performances, based on each artist's experience of living through the circuit breaker period.
Musician Inch Chua reflects on her time volunteering in migrant worker dormitories during the Covid-19 crisis, while Life Theatre Award-winning actress Jo Tan plays Bit Wah, an office lady who gets by doing the bare minimum and finds escape in the form of an anime series.
The series is directed by Checkpoint Theatre joint artistic director Huzir Sulaiman and photographer Joel Lim.
Where: Sistic Live
When: Till Aug 31. Stream is available for 72 hours from the date on the e-ticket.
Admission: $15 (excluding booking fee) from here
Info: Checkpoint Theatre website
CHEONG SOO PIENG: AMBITION FOR ORIGINALITY
This exhibition by artcommune gallery features 11 works by pioneer Nanyang artist Cheong Soo Pieng, from his abstract landscapes of the 1960s to the body of oil and ink work that followed his 1979 return trip to China, where he was born.
Where: artcommune gallery, 76 Bras Basah Road, #01-01 Carlton Hotel
MRT: Bras Basah
When: Till Aug 16, noon to 7pm daily
Admission: Free
Info: artcommune gallery website
GARDEN OF THE EAST X HOME
For National Day this Sunday, Siong Leng Musical Association has done a mash-up of Garden Of The East, composed by late Cultural Medallion recipient Teng Mah Seng, and Dick Lee's beloved National Day theme song Home.
The arrangement features the traditional Chinese nanyin, as well as instruments from other cultures such as the oud and tabla.
Where: View at Siong Leng Musical Association Facebook page
When: Any time
