Front Row

Following the One Million Youth Gathering in 2011 and 2013, the Ministry of Youth and Sports will organize the Festival Belia Putrajaya come 23 May. There will be an eclectic mix of activities for young people. The event's curators, The Cuz and Performance Director, Rosheen Fatima tell us more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Going through time to hear how this percussion instrument and the sound it makes has evolved and how the instrument too has changed. Drumming is a democratic musical activity. Have beat can drum. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a performance, by the Tokyo-based Hanchu-Yuei collective, that fictionalizes differing viewpoints on the value and purpose of life that have emerged in Japan since the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Questions of trust in society are raised. “By ‘trust’ I mean ‘calculability’ or ‘controllability’. Not only capitalism and radioactivit...

Sesatre who plays the Indian bamboo flute (bansuri), has performed for royalties, with international orchestras and Siti Nurhaliza. He tells about this folk instrument that has risen to be included as a musical instrument for classical music. He has a music CD coming out soon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of its mission, Pusaka has been organizing public lectures and exhibition-performances of hte often forgotten traditional ances of Malaysia. This Sunday, PUSAKA will put together a lecture and a performance of the Main Puteri at the Black Box in Publika, Solaris Dutamas. Admission is  freen and Pauline Fan from PUSAKA is here to help us understand and appreciate this healing dance. Se...

Taking the English version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and translating it into Bahasa Malaysia. The original--first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987--is a play written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield--who formed the Reduced Shakespeare Company that parodies the plays of William Shakespeare. It is performed by three actors. See omnystudio...

On its fifth tour to Malaysia, the Singapore Dance Theatre brings examples of fine choreography under the artistic guidance of Janek Schergen. It will be presenting George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Toru Shimazaki’s Absence of Story and the Val Caniparoli’s African-inspired Lambarena and Don Quixote pas de Deux. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wei-Ling Gallery is participating in Art Basel Hong Kong (ABHK) the prominent platform for art in Asia, in May 2014. This will mark the gallery's second showing at Art Basel Hong Kong and this time around, and it will be presenting the contemporary artist, Choy Chun Wei. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cheryl Tan talks about her latest project, SINGAPORE NOIR, an anthology of dark fictions and sordid stories all featuring our long lost and sometimes estranged neighbours to the south. SINGAPORE NOIR is a part of the general NOIR series that have been edited by the likes of Joyce Carol Oates and Dennis Lehane. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another Pan Productions’ annual musical. It takes on Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along followed by The Wizard of Oz and he Producers. With eager anticipation to find out how this will fare and how entertaining, the audience waits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With its wide repertoire of Classical, Pop, OPM, Gospel, International and Local songs, the Filipino group has sung at different events both in their country and abroad. The team toured Europe in 2005 (where it was awarded a Gold Medal by the UNESCO in Athens), 2007 and 2008; and since 2005 undertaken an annual Asian Tour. Coro Cantabile regularly performs at the Madz et al hosted by the Philippin...

Emerging artists Faizal Suhif and Jamil Zakaria stage a joint-exhibition of their oil and charcoal paintings. The exhibition entitled, TEMU, showcases  works from their student days till now. See the evolution of both minds and techniques. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While visiting KL in April, Nigel Richards takes some time out from his schedule of teaching and performing to talk with us about the performer’s road and the performer on the road. He describes this life as one imposed upon him, like a calling. “If you can do something else, do something else.” Being an actor-singer-performer is something he, like some, cannot escape. The hours...

Venice transforms into Singapore and merchants are the white-collared traders on the exchange floor. But issues of race and religion remain rigidly contentious. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Follow the sitar as it journeys from its orthodox and traditional roots to embrace the unorthodox (or heterodox) and the modern. Explore the music of the instrument  shaped by the fingers of time and temperament. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For April's PUSAKA Evening at Publika, the organization presents a performance of Dabus from Tanjung Bidara, Perak. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In collaboration with Women’s Aid Organisation, a group of visual and performing artists have organized Kanvas Sessions as a fundraiser. Through this event, emerging artists are showcased with performances and exhibits which allow the attending public a view into the lives behind the songs and compositions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting the low down from the South African cast not just about performing the musical but also their views on primary and secondary school arts education, formal theatre training at the tertiary level and the importance of continual training to be on top of their game. They also share insights into the Jersey boys--Frankie Valli, Bob Guadio, Nick Massi and Tommy di Vito--their contributions and t...

On their fourth outing, this loosely-linked ensemble of Shakespeare-bent actors, takes on Hamlet but with a difference. Instead of the play being the thing, it offers a performance-lecture to give novices and the seasoned alike into the character of Hamlet. This production 'in equal scale weighing' performance and lecture, which entails some analyses and insights. See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

A group of artists coming together for the first time to organize an exhibition. In the process they learn how creation can pivot from one foot to the other. Originally conceived as an exhibition of drawings it evolved into something more encompassing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new theatre company is born. Theatrethreesixty. Throughout April, it is presenting a month-long series of performances. These will feature six stories about appropriating the past for the sake of surviving today, in hope for a brighter tomorrow. Echoes of the artisitic director's own journey in the creative arts? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why awards for the local performing arts scene are important, not just recognition for starving artists but also encouragement and impetus to engender development and growth of the industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five Arts Centre celebrates their 30th anniversary with a series of look-back performances, including a reprisal of their two minute solo shows called '2 Minute Solos: Art Meets Politics'. Lim Soon Heng speaks to Mark Teh of Five Arts Centre to find out more about this unique brand of environmental theatre. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The third curated installation by a group that has created a platform for emerging designers, craftsmen and other creatives. Themed "Intimate Design Showcase & Market", this one-day event seeks not only to connect the creators and designers together but to engage the public. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First-time director, Seshadri Kalimuthu, brings to our local stage a work by Japanese playwright, Koji Hasegawa. It presents the conversation between a teacher and a Yakuza. The Yakuza’s son has been missing from school and the teacher, Shin Ishioka – played by Japanese actor and educator–Doppo Narita, has been contacting the Yakuza and father of Hiroshi, Yuichi Nosaka. See omnys...