22ND SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL

Top 10 festival highlights

Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
PICO IYER: BEYOND BORDERS, BEYOND WORDS. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
THE ‘D’ MONOLOGUES. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
FESTIVAL PROLOGUE BY MARLON JAMES. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
PERANG SPONTAN: A DIKIR BARAT X RAP BATTLE. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
FESTIVAL DEBATE: THIS HOUSE BELIEVES THAT MEN ARE RUINING FEMINISM. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
AN HOUR WITH MIN-JIN LEE. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
EPIC SPOKEN WORD NIGHT. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
FESTIVAL EPILOGUE BY HARESH SHARMA. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Almari by Irfan Kasban and Andre d'Rozario (top of stairs) in A Bigger Party Than Expected at The Arts House.
ROXANE GAY: UNDERSTANDING THROUGHPOP CULTURE. PHOTO: SINGAPORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

Partygoers wandered from room to room, discovering things from a "silent disco" to a Portuguese-Malaccan folk song, a dialogue about a cupboard on the staircase or poet Cyril Wong singing a plaintive elegy while playing the piano.

Despite the crowd and some confusion over who was to go where when, there were gems such as Main Tulis Group's nine-minute play Tarian Kakak by Ahmad Musta'ain, a poignant exchange between two sisters about love and memory.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 12, 2019, with the headline Top 10 festival highlights. Subscribe