Olivia Ho Arts Correspondent recommends

Arts Picks: Who's there?

Who's There? features (clockwise from top left) Ghafir Akbar, Camille Thomas, Sean Devare, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Neil Redfield and Sim Yan Ying. PHOTO: THE TRANSIT ENSEMBLE
Who's There? features (clockwise from top left) Ghafir Akbar, Camille Thomas, Sean Devare, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Neil Redfield and Sim Yan Ying. Artists (from far left) Lim Ming Yi, Yap Yoke Ling and Lyn Lee Cai Xia performing in Siong Leng Musica
TWO SONGS AND A STORY PHOTO:CHECKPOINT THEATRE
Who's There? features (clockwise from top left) Ghafir Akbar, Camille Thomas, Sean Devare, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Neil Redfield and Sim Yan Ying. Artists (from far left) Lim Ming Yi, Yap Yoke Ling and Lyn Lee Cai Xia performing in Siong Leng Musica
CHEONG SOO PIENG: AMBITION FOR ORIGINALITY PHOTO: ARTCOMMUNE GALLERY
Who's There? features (clockwise from top left) Ghafir Akbar, Camille Thomas, Sean Devare, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, Neil Redfield and Sim Yan Ying. Artists (from far left) Lim Ming Yi, Yap Yoke Ling and Lyn Lee Cai Xia performing in Siong Leng Musica
Artists (from far left) Lim Ming Yi, Yap Yoke Ling and Lyn Lee Cai Xia performing in Siong Leng Musical Association's video Garden Of The East x Home. PHOTO: SIONG LENG MUSICAL ASSOCIATION

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 New Ohio Theatre after she submitted an application for its 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: Tomorrow, 10am and 10pm ADMISSION: Tickets from newohiotheatre.org/whos-there.htm. Pay-what-you-can, $10 donation recommended

TWO SONGS AND A STORY

Music meets monologue 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's 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 sistic.com.sg/events/sltsas0820 INFO: checkpoint-theatre.org

CHEONG SOO PIENG: AMBITION FOR ORIGINALITY

This exhibition by artcommune gallery features 11 works by pioneer Nanyang artist Cheong Soo Pieng, from his abstract pieces 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, 01-01 Carlton Hotel, 76 Bras Basah Road MRT: Bras Basah WHEN: Till Aug 16, noon to 7pm daily ADMISSION: Free INFO: artcommune.com.sg

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 facebook.com/SiongLengMusicalAssociation WHEN: Any time

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 07, 2020, with the headline Arts Picks: Who's there?. Subscribe