Arts Picks: Ding Yi’s The River Remembers, Hotel by Wild Rice, gamelan music at Kampong Gelam
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(From left) Director Goh Boon Teck, composer Law Wai Lun, choreographer Cai Shiji and conductor Dedric Wong De Li are collaborating on The River Remembers.
PHOTO: DING YI MUSIC COMPANY
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The River Remembers
This ambitious multidisciplinary production by Ding Yi Music Company brings together well-known names in Singapore’s performing arts scene in an SG60 celebration.
This is a fuller restaging of 2019’s River Of Life, a chamber symphony composed by Cultural Medallion recipient Law Wai Lun and inspired by journalist Han Shan Yuan’s 2006 book, Endless Stories Of Singapore River.
The work will have a new arrangement and there will be choreography by Dance Ensemble Singapore’s creative director Cai Shiji. Toy Factory’s Goh Boon Teck directs the show and actress Sharon Au will narrate the stories in the role of Mother River.
Where: Drama Centre Theatre, 03-01 National Library, 100 Victoria Street www.sistic.com.sg str.sg/mSXj
MRT: Bugis
When: Aug 16, 3.30 and 7.30pm
Admission: $38 to $68 from Sistic (go to
Info:
Hotel
Hotel by Wild Rice explores the notions of empire, nationhood, migration and identity.
PHOTO: WILD RICE
Public service announcement for those new to Wild Rice’s classic production Hotel. This show is spread over two evenings if you are watching on weekdays and comprises both a matinee and an evening show when you watch on the weekend.
This five-hour marathon, however, is well worth your investment of time. The fact that this has been restaged twice since its premiere at the 2015 Singapore Arts Festival – this is the third rerun – is proof positive of its evergreen appeal.
The script by Alfian Sa’at and Marcia Vanderstraaten is built on a clever conceit: a hotel room that sees various stories unfolding over 100 years.
The audience revisits the room every 10 years, beginning with its opening during the colonial period.
An ensemble of 13 actors will bring to life a cavalcade of 66 characters speaking nine languages.
More than mere numbers and blockbuster staging, Hotel captures the Singapore story in all its multicultural, multilingual glory.
Each vignette functions as a standalone story, ranging in genre from serious drama to comic relief, yet they also fit into a larger whole that reflects Singapore’s varied historical tapestry.
If you want to celebrate SG60, there is no better experience than this epic production.
Where: Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, Wild Rice @ Funan, Level 4, 107 North Bridge Road str.sg/DquJ
MRT: City Hall
When: Aug 14 to Sept 21, 7.30pm (Tuesdays to Fridays), 2.30 and 7.30pm (Saturdays and Sundays)
Admission: $60 to $160
Info:
Beats On Baghdad Street: SG60 With Djoko Mangkrengg Performing Arts
Djoko Mangkrengg Performing Arts will perform National Day songs in Baghdad Street.
PHOTO: MALAY HERITAGE CENTRE
Join home-grown gamelan ensemble Djoko Mangkrengg Performing Arts for a celebratory sing-along session at Kampong Gelam on Aug 9. It will be playing all the familiar National Day favourites such as Count On Me Singapore and We Are Singapore.
Adding to the vibes will be the live telecast of the National Day Parade.
You can also try your hand at playing gamelan instruments.
This outdoor performance is the latest of the Beats On Baghdad Street programme organised by the Malay Heritage Centre. The series celebrates Malay arts and culture by showcasing various performing groups.
Where: Baghdad Street str.sg/bmu5
MRT: Nicoll Highway
When: Aug 9, 5 to 9.45pm
Admission: Free
Info:
