Month: November 2018

“Guards at the Taj” is shockingly good, like a Shakespearean Tragedy.

Shockingly good like a Shakespearean Tragedy.

“Guards at the Taj” is theatre at its most dramatic. Blood-chilling. Disturbing. Thought-provoking. Makes you look at – and think about – the beautiful Taj Mahal in a new light. Not picture  postcard perfect, but with a dreadful past.

The Straits Times described it as an “arresting, brutally funny production”. https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/theatre-review-guards-at-the-taj-is-an-arresting-brutally-funny-production

The Chicago Tribute described it as an “audacious black comedy”. https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-guards-taj-steppenwolf-review-0613-story.html

To me, it was certainly dark and foreboding. But more like a Shakespearean tragedy than comedy.

Yes, there were some lines that drew laughs from the audience on the night I saw it. And you must give full credit to the Singapore Repertory Theatre for brilliant production and staging – lighting, music, the lot.

Watching the two incredibly talented actors –  Ghafir Akbar and Jay Saighal – tell the story/myth of the Taj Mahal “that nothing so beautiful shall ever be built again”, I couldn’t help thinking that playwright Rajiv Joseph has certainly gone to Shakespearean lengths to dramatically deal with deadly themes.

And as it focuses on two guys at the margins, I could not help but agree with the Chicago Tribute critic Chris Jones, who said “Guards at the Taj” was in the tradition of Vladimir and Estragon of “Waiting for Godot,” or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in “Hamlet.”

As I watched two skilled actors on stage non-stop for ninety minutes, I also got to thinking of Tom Stoppard’s play “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”.

But back to the plot and play of the hour. Directed by Jo Kukathas, “Guards at the Taj” is a prime example of the bravado, passion and professionalism of the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT).  SRT takes risks. SRT gives Singapore the best in theatre from around the world. SRT should adopt the mantra “Think Global, ACT local”.

“Guards at the Taj” runs until Saturday 1 December. Shockingly good! There’s more here:

http://www.srt.com.sg/show/guardsatthetaj/

 

 

 

State of the Arts in Singapore

By Ken Hickson, Managing Editor of The Avenue for CreativeArts

What can be done to foster and encourage access to the arts in Singapore?

In looking at the State of the Arts, we can see vast improvements over the last 30-plus years.

There’s a wide variety of arts practiced and performed. Arts education is thriving, with world class institutions like LaSalle College of the Arts doing more than its share to produce and encourage the practice of art in all its forms.

We cannot measure the State of the Arts just by attendance figures. Look at the productions by small theatre companies. Look at the profusion of local art galleries. Look at the art awards and art competitions which abound. See the foreign shows and value the local productions.

Festivals of an international standard are good at bringing in visitors to Singapore as well as catering to a hungry local population.

See what’s in store at the Singapore Writers Festival for example. Read what Ong Sor Fern had to say in Straits Times recently.

No need for any apologies about the arts in Singapore.

The arts are alive and well.

See this Postscript and more in the latest issue of The Avenue for Creative Arts