The brilliant minds of NUS Arts Festival 2014 is bringing ‘food for thought’ to its full meaning. From 14 – 29 March 2014, student and professional artists (both local and international) and the unique talents behind sound and lighting design will explore the theme ‘CONSUMED’.
“Everything we consume, from our choice of coffee in the morning, the clothes we wear, where we dine for lunch or dinner, to the face wash we use at night, in some way defines who we are. Is it therefore possible to consume without being consumed?”
Witty, candid, and insightful, the NUS students have put together a series of films, music and dance pieces, and dramas to unravel what lies behind the power of consumption. Here are some shows we look forward to:
TO BELONG -CYCLONICDREAM-
By Akiko Kitamura (Japan/Indonesia)
Tue 18 and Wed 19 Mar, 8pm at UCC Theatre
Tickets are $29 and $23
Akiko Kitamura is the critically acclaimed leader of Japanese contemporary dance. Her long interest in the Southeast Asian martial art Penchak Silat propelled her to sought out Indonesian artists to collaborate with, producing this Silat, Aikido, and Jujutsu inspired performance.
To Belong -cyclonicdream- is a journey into time and space, exploring local myths and philosophies about the living and the dead and how they relate to our physical existence. Using video, music and dance, it aims to discover the new generation of the Asian Body: the repository of the traditional and the contemporary worlds.
WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT
By Nassim Soleimanpour, with Mandarin translations by Wu Han Yun
Fri 21 to Sun 23 Mar, 8pm at UCC Dance Studio
Tickets are $20
Additional 3pm performances are available on Sat 22 & Sun 23 Mar, with tickets at $15
“I was born on Azar 19th, 1360 in Tehran. That’s Tehran, December 10th, 1981 in Christian years …” This Aurora Nova production tells a story about Nassim Soleimanpour, a 29-year-old who is forbidden to leave his country. Nassim turns his isolation to his own advantage with a play that requires no director, no set, no rehearsals and a different actor reading the script cold for the first time at each performance.
In Singapore, White Rabbit Red Rabbit will be performed by Oliver Chong, Nora Samosir, Li Xie (Mandarin) and NUS alumni Paula Sim and Shiv Tandan. Please refer to www.nusartsfestival.com for cast schedule.
PLAY OUT: A DOUBLE BILL
By Gerald Chew & Judy Ngo, with Peter Sau as Director/Mentor
Sat 22 at Sun 23 Mar, 8pm at UCC Theatre
Tickets are $23 & $19
Additional 3pm performance is available on Sun 23 Mar
These two heartwarming plays, Candlelight by Joanna Hioe and Wai? by Judy Au, are a reflection of the complexities and hardships of parenting – both written as part of the scriptwriting class under Huzir Sulaiman. Candlelight is a coming of age story for protagonist Jonathan, who struggles to reconstruct the memory of his grandfather through stories.
Wai? presents the narrative of an old couple Qing and Fong, who after learning about the London Bombing, tries in vain to call their son who was working in the UK. This eventually reveals the tenuous relationship between parent and child, questioning what it means to be a mother.
MOVEABLE FEASTS
14 – 29 Mar, 10am – 10pm at the UCC Foyer, Level 2
Free Admission
Here, ‘Moveable Feast’ is seen as a metaphor for things which change over time. This unique interactive exhibition of Singaporean food focuses on the changes taking place behind the creation of food. Well-known hawkers and chefs are unable to pass the legacy of these prized dishes to their next generation, wet markets are slowly being threatened by closure due to high rents and the lack of interest from younger folks, and the list goes on. What will happen to the Singapore food culture?
A MATTER OF SIZE (Hebrew with English subtitles)
By Sharon Maymon & Erez Tadmor from Israel
92 mins | M18 – Some Mature Content
Fri 21 Mar, 7.30pm, at Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium, Education Resource Centre, UTown
Free admission with registration here: www.nusartsfestival.com
This 2009 film narrates the story of four overweight friends who are tired of dieting and the dieting club they belong to. Herzl (Itzik Cohen) has been struggling with both his weight and his overbearing mother. When Herzl loses his job as a cook and starts working as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant, he discovers the world of Sumo where large people such as himself are honoured and appreciated.
Through Kitano, the restaurant owner and former Sumo coach in Japan (who supposedly hiding from the Yakuza in Israel), Herzl falls in love with a sport involving “two fatsos in diapers and girly hairdos”. A Matter of Size is a comedy about a ‘coming out’ of a different kind — overweight people learning to accept themselves.
MAESTRO
By NUS Piano Ensemble
Tue 25 Mar, 8pm at the UCC Theatre
Tickets are $19 & $16
Maestro tells the story of one composer’s journey as he struggles to make a living. As his publisher and patrons lose interest in his works, and an industry rival increasingly becomes a threat to his livelihood, Maestro grows bitter and resentful.
In his darkest, weakest hour, he is tempted by his alter ego, a musical prodigy and maniac, to exchange his sanity for brilliance. NUS Piano Ensemble brings together the art of four-hand and eight-hand piano performance and theatrical storytelling in this Faustian tale.
View the full listing here.
