Arts & Culture

By Kirsten Han Walking into The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) black box, I’m faced with a flurry of activity even though I was told that it would be the lunch break. The crew are working on the set and the lights, and the actors are trickling in, getting into their costumes and rehearsing lines. Alvin Tan, TNS’ artistic director, and Kok …

Speech of Dr Poh Soo Kai at the launch of his historical memoir, “Living in a Time of Deception” at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium on 13 February 2016 Madam Chairwoman, friends, and comrades, I wish to thank all of you here for coming to attend this book launch of my historical memoir, “Living in a Time of Deception.” When Function …

A short film by Ellie Ngim, starring well-known Singapore actor/actress, Michelle Chia and Collin Chee, tells a story of a loving wife who is blind to the negative actions of her husband but instead treat them as actions of love and care. In turn, the husband was given a second chance at the relationship after hearing how the wife viewed …

Valentine’s day, where couples reaffirm their love for one another through presenting gifts and special romantic dinner settings that are ridiculously priced due to the demand on this special day. Loving boyfriends and husbands might find it hard to fork out that extra bit of cash these days due to the bad economy market that Singapore is experiencing. (2.1% growth in …

“We had so many dreams as children. Where do they go when we grow? Are they swallowed up by the mundane things of everyday life? Or do we lose them, leave them behind us in the dust, for new children to find and take up?” – Quoted from Paris Chia, a budding street photographer By Cass, Offbeat Perspectives What happens if …

By Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss There is a famous English saying which goes “There are no atheists in foxholes.”  The saying meant to argue that when a person is staring at the face of death with no way out, he will believe in God. 10 January 2016 saw the passing of perhaps the greatest artist of our generation – David Bowie. He amazed …

Visionary British rock star, David Bowie passed away peacefully on Monday (11 January 2016) surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer, with fans and supporters all over the world mourning over the loss of the pop icon. For many, they would have been aware of the performance that Bowie had performed in Singapore at the …

Two Bangladeshi migrant workers and an Indonesian domestic worker nabbed the top three prizes at the finals of the Migrant Worker Poetry Competition held at the National Library on Sunday. 38-year-old Zakir Hossain Khokon won the top spot, an honour he had also received in 2014 at the inaugural Migrant Worker Poetry Competition. His poem, entitled “I am sorry”, dealt …

It’s early(ish) December, which means your brain is already gearing up for the holidays – Food! Alcohol! Netflix! – but your body is still having to drag itself up in the morning to go to work. Christmas carols are playing relentlessly in the supermarkets and there are decorations up in the malls, but it still doesn’t quite feel like the …

By Lisa Li Today, I spotted a book on the shelf of new arrivals in the National Library: The founding of Singapore: The Journey of a Small Island to Greatness. The eyebrow-raising title drew my attention. Then I read the fine print: “Edited by Ken Torrin from High Quality Wikipedia Articles”. Yes, you read that right. Upon further checking, it …