Review of Tap Dogs at Mastercard Theatres: High Energy performance from the guys

It was a welcome return of Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs back in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands MasterCards Theatre.  Taking a dance form in the era of Vaudeville and made it relevant to the modern day audience.

The performance started with a solo from Doug Mills and we were introduced to the rest of the dancers, or their feet I mean.  The first part of the performance was set in a neighbourhood, where a young man was trying to fit in with his friends, with a little help from an older pal.  This quieter duet moment between the two was one of my favourite scenes in this 90 minute performance.      The sequence involving the basketball was well choreographed and with good humour.

The Finger Players' Rant and Rave: Singapore theatre scene rewind and reflected

In Rant and Rave, playwright and director Chong Tze Chien searched through piles of newspaper archives and presented a survey of the Singapore theatre scene over the past few decades.  The script was based on the words of arts personalities such as Robert Yeo, Kuo Pao Kun, Margaret Chan, T Sasitharan, Ong Keng Sen, Alvin Tan and representatives from the media and also the government.  It touched on the challenges faced by our artists through the ages, ranging from the search for a national identity and a local play, the issue of censorship, and of course government funding.

All these roles were played by 2 capable actors Karen Tan and Janice Koh, who switched swiftly from one personality to another with simple use of props or costumes.  In addition to the action on stage, there were comments and quotes from more arts personalities, at times making the audience difficult to focus on either.

Singapore Repertory Theatre's Merchant of Venice: Shylock with a Bollywood Twist

The popular Shakespeare in the Park organised by the Singapore Repertory Theatre is back for another year.  Audience arriving at the Fort Canning Park was greeted with the beautiful Venetian building set designed by Richard Kent.  It was my first time seeing Merchant of Venice live on stage and the production did not disappoint.

Remesh Panicker was convincing as the moneylender Shylock but I was wondering why he portrayed the character with an Indian accent.  We have sympathies for Daniel Jenkins' Merchant of Venice Antonio.  These 2 actors were the star of this production.  The production moved at a good pace and I liked the lighting design and also the clear sound system.

While there was no surprises in this staging,  everything worked as a whole. A usual high standard SRT production.

Le Noir 2014 returns with new acts

Le Noir, a theatrical production featuring astonishing cirque-style acts, is returning with new, daring performances from 7 June 2014 at The MasterCard Theatres at the Marina Bay Sands.  I caught the performance last year and while I am not a big fan of acrobatic arts, this production was impressive and was one of my favourite shows of 2013 (Le Noir 2013)

From the publicity materials, several new acts have been added to LE NOIR 2014including The Wheel of Death  — one of the world's most complex circus stunts that will have audiences on the edge of their seats. The act features two acrobats who perform high-risk feats atop and inside a pair of spinning wheels rotating high above the stage.

The Grand Theatre will be fully transformed to seat audiences around a custom-built circular stage of about 2.5 meters in diameter giving a spectacular 360 degree view of the performance.  Audiences will be ‘enclosed’ within a canopy of curtains designed from LED lights.  The seating in the Grand Theatre will be limited to just over 1,300 seats to create a unique and intimate experience.  Led by Creative Producer Simon Painter and Executive Producer Tim Lawson, the creative team behind LE NOIRhas launched many large-scale productions including Le Grand Cirque Adrenaline, which is the biggest and most ambitious thrill circus ever staged in the Sydney Opera House.

TICKET PRICE:    From $70* (Excludes the booking fee of SGD$3 per ticket)
BOOKINGS: 
THROUGH INTERNET:www.BASEentertainmentasia.com,  www.MarinaBaySands.com