Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம்
Merdeka is the newest Wild Rice play by feted playwright and poet Alfian Sa’at, Merdeka. Malay for independence, Merdeka is a hodgepodge of stories drawn from locals across the past 150 years of Singapore’s history, such as the little-known Rani of Jhansi regiment, a group of Indian women fighters in South-east Asia during World War II. The play is meant to question Singapore’s complex relationship with colonialism – the common perception is that the Singapore is often seen as a poster child for successful colonialism and even till today, continues to glorify certain aspects of it – see this year being marked to “commemorate” the 200th year of British arrival in Singapore. This is certainly one play not to miss out on – get your tickets here.
Oct 10 – Oct 27, 7.30pm (Tuesdays to Fridays); 2.30pm and 7.30pm (Saturdays); 2.30pm (Sundays)
The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @ Wild Rice, Level 4 Funan , 107 North Bridge Road
Ice Cream Sundays x Shi Fu Miz: Haw Par Thrilla 2
Party organisers Ice Cream Sundays are back with a second gig at Haw Par Villa, this time in collaboration with Shi Fu Miz, the team behind the eponymous Hong Kong music and art festival, which can only mean one thing: it’s probably going to be an even crazier affair that the first edition. Which by the way, was 100% sold out – so get your tickets now, because early bird tickets are already all snapped up.
Oct 12, 3pm – 10.30pm
Haw Par Villa, 262 Pasir Panjang Road
Love & Pride Film Festival
The annual Love and Pride Film Festival is back for an 11th edition, offering six LGBT-centric works, most of which will be premiering in Singapore for the first time. Curated by the Singapore Film Society, the films represent viewpoints from a diverse mix of nationalities and issues that continue to plague LGBT communities regardless of borders, such as sexual and gender identities. Get your tickets here.
Oct 10 – Oct 20, various times
GV Grand, Great World City & GV Suntec City
Climate: S.O.S – Season of Sustainability
Climate change projections are a constantly evolving science due to the many hard-to-track factors to take into account – deforestation, fossil fuels and now apparently, a fast-thawing permafrost. What’s that you ask? Permafrost refers to grounds that have been completely frozen for years (meaning it stays constantly frozen and doesn’t melt with changing seasons), and with the thawing of this permafrost, typically located in far north regions, the evidence of ancient life are being released into the atmosphere, including deadly bacteria and viruses that have been dormant for thousands of years.
Science is also just beginning to learn that permafrost contains a lot more carbon that previously thought, which means that a fast-warming permafrost is a major contributor to greenhouse gases. In other words, what happens in the Arctic affects us all – Singapore very much included. Season of Sustainability – Climate S.O.S is the ArtScience Museum’s latest exhibition (free, by the way), and it offers film screenings, hands-on workshops, a new digital art commission and a multimedia showcase that focus on changes happening in the polar regions and what you can do on your part as a consumer. Check out the full line-up here.
On now till Nov 3, 10am – 7pm
Level 4, ArtScience Musuem
Design Film Festival
The theme for the 8th Design Film Festival revolves around the blurring of boundaries between man and machine and to that end, they’re offering a total of 10 films that touch on fashion, art, AI (Artificial Intelligence), music and contemporary communication.
Interesting pieces to look out for include Westwood, an homage to the iconic British designer, who along with Stella McCartney, has long been one of fashion’s most prominent eco-advocates. Autonomy is the first comprehensive documentary on what might soon be a reality – automated cars and vehicles. War of Art (pictured here) follows a group of contemporary Western artists who attempt to collaborate with artists from the world’s most restrictive regime – North Korea. Get your tickets here.
Oct 12 – Oct 27, various times
Capitol Theatre, 17 Stamford Road
