Crystalwords Theatre Highlights 2018

Happy New Year! It's time for the Crystalwords annual Singapore theatre round-up.

2018, much like the year before, has been a strong year for original works and has seen the emergence of many new and rising playwrights. Some of the themes emerging from local theatre productions include an increase in site-specific works, monodramas and plays exploring marginalised voices. Yet, on the whole, it's been a decent but not spectacular year for local theatre. One of the key issues facing the scene is quantity versus quality; to what extent has the sheer volume of plays (some 160-odd local theatre productions) been tempered by an appropriate quality that makes them deserving of a place in the local canon?

I've continued my relationship with regional arts website Arts Equator (now two years old and very much a fixture in the arts critical scene) through a series of theatre reviews and podcasts. Of course, I still try to review performances I have caught as far as possible on this site.

A couple of preliminaries:

(a) This list is written in a purely personal capacity and reflects all the theatre productions I have watched in Singapore for the year, whether by local companies or touring foreign companies. It does not purport to be definitive by any stretch. Revivals by the same theatre company are generally not considered unless I did not watch the original production.

(b) I rate all my productions out of five, basing my score on acting, directing, script, production values and the overall experience. My average production score for 2018 is 3.38/5, which is slightly lower than last year's 3.43 but higher than 2016's 3.33. Most productions have been in the good to very good category but far fewer have been truly exceptional.

(c) I've done my theatre round-up in Academy Awards style like previous years without any specific commentary on my choice - please click on the links to read my full reviews for each production.

(d) The fun does not end here! Do check out this incisive panel discussion organised by Centre 42 and Arts Equator where I was part of a group of reviewers discussing themes in Singapore theatre in 2018 as well as this light-hearted wrap up video by writers of Arts Equator where we get quizzed on our theatre experiences for the year.

*****

BEST ACTOR
Ghafir Akbar, Guards at the Taj (Singapore Repertory Theatre)

BEST ACTRESS
Goh Guat Kian, Underclass (The Necessary Stage)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mohd Fared Jainal, Potong (Teater Ekamatra)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Julie Wee, Julius Caesar (Singapore Repertory Theatre)

BEST ORIGINAL SCRIPT
Alfian Sa'at, Tiger of Malaya, (Teater Ekamatra)

BEST SET DESIGN
Eucien Chia, The Father (Pangdemonium)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Lim Woan Wen, Framed, by Adolf (The Finger Players)

BEST SOUND DESIGN
Ctrl Fre@k, Peter and the Starcatcher (Pangdemonium)

BEST MULTIMEDIA DESIGN
Brian Gothong Tan, Guards at the Taj (Singapore Repertory Theatre)

BEST ENSEMBLE
Peter and the Starcatcher (Pangdemonium)

BEST DIRECTOR
Glen Goei, Supervision (W!LD RICE)

BEST PRODUCTION
Supervision (W!LD RICE)