Sifa 2025 Week One: What audiences say

SINGAPORE – The Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) 2025 kicked off on May 16 and runs till June 1.

With the theme of More Than Ever, the tentpole performing arts festival organised by Arts House Limited has lined up varied shows, from crowd-pleasing comedy headlined by ever-popular actor Hossan Leong and family-friendly fare at Little Sifa to Drama Box’s participatory theatre piece Hello Is This Working? and the more intimate Japanese Occupation-era tale A Thousand Stitches.

The Straits Times speaks to some attendees to get their impressions of the shows, including the opening act, The Sea And The Neighbourhood,

at Bedok Town Square.

The Sea And The Neighbourhood, Bedok Town Square, May 16, 7.30pm

Deborah Gan, 44, teacher: “What I really enjoyed was the collaboration between the different artists. Between the musicians of different backgrounds, there were jazz singers, classical singers and traditional folk instrumentalists, coupled with an orchestra. This performance was very special as we seldom see so many people collaborating within one performance.”

Jacqueline Sassoon, 47, translator: “I enjoyed the different aspects of the show coming together with the intermittent smells of chicken satay and Hokkien mee wafting over from the hawker centre. It was very refreshing to watch.”

Tan Hui Xin, 22, student: “I’ve watched performances before, but this is the first time I saw something as grand as this in the heartland. I would think that something like this would be in the Esplanade or a more grand venue. Seeing this performance right here, where we live, is heartening.”

Animal Farm, The Finger Players, May 16, 4pm

Chloe Lamasan, 15, student: “The sounds caught me by surprise. They were perfect. It felt like actual animals, despite being made by the human actors.”

Told By My Mother, Victoria Theatre, May 17, 4pm

Siying Lee, 25, tourist: “I cried a lot during the show. I didn’t understand 100 per cent of it, and I also didn’t do background research. But I think just being open-minded for the show allowed it to communicate with me in a really abstract way. I related to the performance. It is told from a mother’s perspective about the unfairness happening, and it is really to what is happening in reality.”

Jessica Lim, 17, student: “I really liked the intense eye contact the dancers had with one another and with the audience, and also the fact that all the sounds were made live. It felt very powerful. I will recommend this show to others, and I feel like the main point was to spread awareness about the mother looking for her missing son.”

Voon Keyang, 38, architect: “I enjoyed the simplicity of the show, that everything is through very close relationships. It started off with silence, then suddenly, the music comes up, where that one particular performer started to tell the whole story. From there, it laid the whole pace. Although I have never been to Lebanon, I think it is very touching. I can feel the sadness and some point of relief when they dance and sing.”

Irfan Kasban, 37, performing arts professional: “I liked how the show is economical yet very effective and impactful. It was a very simple story, yet it didn’t need bells and whistles to be effective in garnering a response from me.”

Umbilical, Sota Studio Theatre, May 17, 8pm

Phan Yi En, 15, student: “The whole experience was very immersive because, at certain points, performers would walk into the crowd. I didn’t expect that. When they came to stand at the same level as us, we were better able to judge what they were doing, and the intentions behind that.”

Francesca Lim Meng Feng, 15, student: “The first Sifa performance I attended was Animal Farm, and this is my second. In Umbilical, the sound effects were very mesmerising as they mirrored the changes that were seen throughout the performance, and what the performers were doing onstage.”

Ryan Lee, 28, designer: “I really liked the set design and thought it contributed greatly to the atmosphere onstage. Rizman Putra, Zul Mahmod and thesupersystem are living legends, and that’s why I came to watch this performance. It was very interesting to try and unpack the piece and what was going on, and it was something deeply cynical for sure.”