BLOOD BINDS

ADVISORY
Bond-Age & Just Late - Contains some strong language

Sperm & Lunar Interviews - Contains some mature content. Suitable for those aged 16 years and above

Is blood really thicker than water? What are the ties that bind? Funny, moving and close to the heart of every parent and child, Blood Binds challenges and explodes easy assumptions about parenthood through the lenses of age, desire and myth. Blood Binds is presented by Magdalena (Singapore) and The Substation in two doublebills: Just Late & Bond-Age, directed by Adrian Tan, 21-22 Aug 8pm and 23 Aug 3pm; Sperm & The Lunar Interviews, directed by Shelly Quick, 23 Aug 8pm, 24 Aug 3pm and 8pm. Post-show feedback session on Aug 22.

SPERM by Tan Suet Lee

Margaret, 43, single and successful, wants a baby. Taking matters into her own hands she places an advert. Rose, her mother, can't understand why she can't do it the old fashioned way or why she would need a syringe. Fabian, strong and good-looking, responds. Can he give Margaret what she wants?

THE LUNAR INTERVIEWS by Verena Tay

Through seven monologues, The Lunar Interviews interweaves real life vignettes and moon goddess myths - Chang Er, Diana, Hina - exploring the themes of creation, nurturing, writing, men-women relationships, solitude, loneliness, exile and the Moon. Provocative and captivating, The Lunar Interviews humanises the mythic and brings the mythic into everyday reality.

BOND-AGE by Ng Swee San

Feisty and fiercely independent, May is forced by circumstances to depend on mousey Agnes to rescue her. Their little escapade forces them to confront their feelings of guilt and resentment towards their families, and to come to terms with aging and their evolving roles as mothers.

JUST LATE by Dora Tan

More than just a comedy about how an old blind man ends up celebrating his 70th birthday with robbers, Just Late is about the realities of aging. It’s about regret, tenuous family connections and the loss of control in one’s life.

For more information, visit www.singaporetheatrefestival.com

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COMMUTER CONCERT - TRUMPET TREASURE

David Lyndon Smith (NAFA Department of Music Faculty) and Friends.

Music by Bernstein, Nyman, Gershwin, Rachmaninov, Arutunian, Ibert and more.

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RESERVOIR

"Deep in the heart of MacRitchie Reservoir lie the ruins of the Syonan Jinja, a Shinto shrine built during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. Envisioned first as a spiritual and recreational centre for the future empire, then built by Australian POWs and Japanese craftsmen, today it exists only as stone relics and fragments, swallowed up by the thick tropical rainforest.

As young artists, we have embarked on a journey of discovery to reclaim this forgotten monument. Its very existence is intriguing– a beautiful artefact of civilisation from an age of blood and destruction. Its architects made outlandish promises: that the site would be the greatest in the world after the Meiji Shrine, that the area might be a future host for the Olympic Games.

Perhaps most provoking is the love-hate relationship between Singapore and the shrine. Historians and tourism promoters want it preserved, even rebuilt to commemorate our national heritage. Ordinary citizens, however, have violently objected to any celebration of former Japanese ule– even as they happily consume Japanese commercial and cultural products.

Led by director Choy Ka Fai, we are an ensemble of creative people from Singapore and Japan with roots in poetry, dance, drama, architecture, sports and multimedia. We have made pilgrimages to the jungle, probed the site scientifically, studied archival documents, drawings and oral histories, and processed our own collective memories to recreate and re-imagine the shrine as a sacred site.

Our performance, a tapestry of images, sound and movement, will be a drama of recollection, an attempt to capture the Syonan Jinja's sleeping spirit.

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BAYBEATS 2008

Get ready to rock as one of Singapore's biggest and Esplanade's own alternative music festivals comes around again this August!

It'll be another long weekend of great music and uninhibited fun by independent bands at our outdoor waterfront venues and a couple of indoor spaces, and the best thing about it is that most of it is FREE!

The lineup of Singaporean, regional and international acts will include both established and fresh new bands delivering a live and wild mashup of punk, indie-pop, electro, emo, post-rock, and lots of attitude.

So mark your diaries, come park your a**es here this August weekend.

Check out Baybeats at www.baybeats.com.sg for more information

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A MUSIC JOURNEY WITH RJ ROSALES
Late Nite @ Esplanade

His smooth, soulful voice has graced musicals, hit singles, television shows, and concerts. His style has been described as a unique cross between Michael Bublé and Josh Groban. He is RJ Rosales − singer, actor and all-round entertainer.

In this concert, RJ will take you on a musical journey that ranges from ballads such as Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly with Me and Josh Groban’s The Prayer to Broadway hits from musicals such as West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon.

Best known in Singapore for his portrayal as Chang in Chang and Eng the Musical, he has also appeared in major musical productions such as Forbidden City and Cabaret. A truly versatile perfomer, his other achievements include TV shows both as an actor and host.

RJ returns to the place he calls ‘Home’ (Singapore) after 14 months in Australia and a stellar run in Cameron Macintosh’s Miss Saigon, having played leadroles as both ‘Thuy’ and ‘The Engineer’ for which he received critical acclaim.

Enjoy this intimate night with the debonair artist as he holds nothing back, sharing his most intimate feelings about the places, experiences, and most importantly the people that have touched his life.

Early-Bird Special* *Limited to first 50 patron for the 7.30pm show Purchase your tickets by 15 Aug to enjoy a complimentary post-show non-alcoholic drink at Aria Bistro, #01-09 Esplanade Mall.

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PUCCINI'S TURANDOT

A Singapore Lyric Opera production

Featuring
Jessica Chen (Taiwan) and Young-ae Kim (South Korea) as Turandot
Lee Jae Wook (South Korea) and Wei Long Tao (China) as Calaf
Nancy Yuen (Singapore) and Rachelle Gerodias (Philippines) as Liu

Directed by Lo King-man [Hong Kong]
With Tsung Yeh: Conductor [USA/Singapore]
The Philharmonic Orchestra
Singapore Lyric Opera Children’s Choir
Singapore Lyric Opera Chorus
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Choir

Composed by Giacomo Puccini, left unfinished at his death and eventually completed by Franco Alfano, the story of Turandot was adapted from Carlo Gozzi's play of the same name based on an ancient Persian folk tale.

The merciless Chinese princess Turandot has made a solemn vow to never marry. Princes come from afar to seek her hand in marriage, but she demands that they answer three riddles before they can claim her as a bride; if they cannot answer them, they will be beheaded. So far, all have failed and perished, until an exiled prince appears and takes up this challenge, leading to a battle of wits that stirs up a maelstrom of passion, transformation and self-sacrifice.

Set design by Tan Ju Meng, Lighting design by Lim Yu Beng and Costume design by Mandy Tam.

Casting for 29 Aug, 1 Sep and 3 Sep performances
Jessica Chen, Turandot
Lee Jae Wook, Calaf
Nancy Yuen, Liu

Casting for 30 Aug and 2 Sep performances
Kim Young-ae, Turandot
Wei Tao Long, Calaf
Rachelle Gerodias, Liu

As @ 29 May 2008

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MAPPING INVISIBLE CITIES

From October 2007 to March 2008 the renowned German photographer Peter Bialobrzeski travelled through South East Asia. He was invited by the Goethe-Institut to teach and work in Manila, Jakarta, Hanoi, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

During this time he conducted workshops and had an intensive cooperation and exchange with photographers from these countries. The outcome of their work is a colourful kaleidoscope of those six mega cities – which is as diverse as the cities themselves. The best pieces of work produced during these 6 workshops were selected to make up the exhibition “Mapping Invisible Cities”, which will now travel around the region.

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LOMO + ELECTRICO COLLABORATION: LOMO SUPPORTS LOCAL!

Party with Electrico in true-Lomo style as we celebrate the launch of their new album, We Satellites with fanciful visual treats. Come see pictures by the eight lucky Lomographers who got a chance to hang out with, and take pictures of Electrico during the gigs for the band's album launch tour. Featured alongside on the Electrico Lomowall are pictures that the band shot in their own time, using the Lomo LC-A+ and Fisheye No 2.

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SYMPHONY OF ART

Fiidaa Art is proud to present Symphony of Art, a solo show by Thota Vaikuntam. His palette has returned full of colour and beauty. A must-see exhibition for those who wish to see music in form and colour, by none other than their favourite Thota Vaikuntam from Hyderabad, India.

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BAD HABITS

Intertwining stories of abuse, adultery, and anorexia center around a family and with obsessed mother living in Mexico City. Matilde is a nun convinced that faith moves mountains. Secretly she begins a mystic fasting to end what she considers to be the second great flood. Elena is a thin and fashion-conscious woman ashamed of her daughter’s chubbiness. She’s willing to do the impossible to make her daughter Linda thin so Linda will look like a little princess on the day she receives her first communion. At the same time Elena’s husband Gustavo – a professor of architecture - cannot cope any more with his wife's bones sticking into him during more intimate moments. For relief, he turns his attention to a buxom female student with a hearty appetite.

is the Proud Partner of The Picturehouse

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