Arts Picks: Broadway Beng, SRT’s dinner theatre, Singapore International Photography Festival

Broadway Beng Fukien Special

Local actor Sebastian Tan’s straight-talking, ostentatious character Broadway Beng returns to the stage for his ninth show – this time with a full Hokkien performance.

It comes on the heels of his golden jubilee concert in 2023, which The Straits Times praised as

“a Singapore act well worth your hours”

. He was nominated for Best Actor in Broadway Beng Growing Gold at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards in 2024.

For the first time, the self-professed “king of medleys” will dedicate an entire show to an eclectic mix of Hokkien classic tunes in this Fukien (the Cantonese word for Hokkien) special. Expect a mix of his flamboyant showmanship, comedy and stirring vocals.

Tan will be accompanied by three chio bu (Hokkien for “pretty girls”) Denise Tan, Audrey Luo and Sharon Sum, with live music led by music director Joel Nah.

Where: Capitol Theatre, 17 Stamford Road
MRT: City Hall
When: Oct 23 to 25, 8pm; Oct 26, 3 and 8pm
Admission: From $78
Info: str.sg/q7JZ

Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding

After a successful run in 2023, Singapore Repertory Theatre’s dinner theatre show – directed by home-grown singer-songwriter Dick Lee – is back with a limited run.

Written by Jo Tan, Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding sees a 70-year-old bride – played by Koh Chieng Mun from the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018) – find true love. But her family members are suspicious and try to save her from possible disgrace.

The 120-minute show, which unfolds within a red-and-white marquee on the sixth floor of One Farrer Hotel, comes with a four-course meal which is halal certified. There is also a vegetarian option.

The Straits Times called the show

a triumph

, adding that “one begins to wish that all the weddings in the world are at least half as fun”. After its Singapore restaging, the show will travel to OzAsia Festival in Adelaide.

Where: One Farrer Hotel, 1 Farrer Park Station Road
MRT: Farrer Park
When: Oct 19 to Nov 1; Mondays to Fridays, 7.30pm; Saturdays, 12.30 and 7.30pm; Sundays, 12.30 and 6pm
Admission: $168 and $198
Info: str.sg/d8eb

9th Singapore International Photography Festival

Inspired by the title of Marcel Proust’s novel In Search Of Lost Time, the ninth edition of the Singapore International Photography Festival is exploring the idea of memories through a series of exhibitions, talks, workshops and tours.

Highlights include a solo exhibition by Indonesian artist FX Harsono titled Keeping The Dream, at Earl Lu Gallery at Lasalle College of the Arts. He uses images of children from Chinese-Indonesian identity documents to show how ethnic minorities were marginalised during the Suharto regime.

At Excelsior Shopping Centre, Peninsula Shopping Centre and Peninsula Plaza, audiences can encounter different images from the Myanmar Photo Archive (MPA) embedded in everyday spaces that are frequented by the Burmese community. The MPA is the largest visual archive of Myanmar.

Artist Robert Zhao Renhui,

who represented Singapore at the 2024 Venice Biennale

, is also leading a show which delves into the history of 116 Prinsep Street. The site, left vacant since 1983, “holds what might be the last physical remnants of Singapore’s squatter settlements”.

Photography and visual art enthusiasts can view the full line-up of the festival, which runs from Oct 18 to Nov 24, at its website.

Where: Multiple locations
When: Oct 18 to Nov 24, various timings
Admission: Free and ticketed
Info: sipf.sg