Last week’s momentum continues to trickle in, providing a seemingly glacial pace as we inch our way towards the end of May. Albeit sluggish, the week does come with a couple of post-work gems—test your knowledge of Game of Thrones at a quiz night on Monday, watch a French comedy on Tuesday, catch R&B songstress Kehlani perform in the western part of Singapore on Wednesday, be amazed by Cirque du Soleil’s latest performance masterpiece on Thursday, and finally let your hair down at The Great Escape to the sounds of Misshapes on Friday. Not too shabby.
Monday, May 21
The Great Race – Contemporary Chinese Zodiac by Laurina Paperina
EXHIBITION
Chinese New Year may be long over, but this new exhibition looks at the Chinese zodiac through the eyes of European artists. The internationally renowned Mazel Galerie from Brussels has commissioned The Great Race, a new exhibition that takes source material from the traditional Chinese zodiac. Through Jun 30
QUIZ NIGHT
Think you have the knowledge of Westeros at the back of your hand? Battle it out with with fellow geeks at the Game of Thrones Quiz Night hosted by The Armoury Craft Beer Bar and stand to win a special prize, or feel free to drink cocktails with the flavors of fire and ice. May 21
FILM
Whether you’re on team Big or not, Sex and the City will always be a feel-good classic. Gather your pals at Blu Jaz and catch Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda doing what they do best four years after the series ended. May 21
Tuesday, May 22
Amek Gambar: Peranakans and Photography – Tan Kim Ching and family. Photo credit: Peranakan Museum, gift of Mr and Mrs Lee Kip Lee
EXHIBITION
Peranakan Museum’s latest exhibition, Amek Gambar: Peranakans and Photography, delves into the Southeast Asian history of photography through the pictured lives of the Peranakan community in the region. Through Feb 3, 2019
COMEDY
Catch everyone’s favorite drag queen comedian Kumar as he dishes out his usual antics, politically incorrect rants and Singapore issues-based jokes at Canvas. May 22
FILM
Prolific French actor Jean Dujardin is back, this time as Captain Neuville in Laurent Tirard’s comedy, Le Retour du Heros. After being called away to service for three years and leaving his future bride broken hearted, he returns only to find that that she is now married with kids, because of something her sister did. May 22
EXHIBITION
Singapore-based Taiwanese indie pop art illustrator and designer Billy Ma will be showcasing pieces from his Sexy Sin City series at casual French dining eatery Merci Marcel, as part of the restaurant’s first ever art exhibition. Each piece presents an otherwise provocative history of familiar Singapore neighborhoods juxtaposed against seemingly unassuming and less charming modern structures. Through Jun 15
Wednesday, May 23
Kehlani
CONCERT
Grammy-nominated R&B songstress Kehlani will be making her Singapore debut at Zepp @ Big Box. The critically acclaimed record SweetSexySavage is a brutally honest one where she waxes lyrical about her life, pain, passion, love, triumph and everything in between. May 23
DRINK
Oenophiles and connoisseurs of fine spirits, it’s time to stock up again at 1855 The Bottle Shop’s fifth Wine & Whisky Week—even if you’re still not down to the last drop with your last batch. There will be more than 500 other labels on offer throughout the 12-day event, with over 100 of them available for tasting before you buy. Through May 27
THEATER
The beloved annual Shakespeare in the Park by the Singapore Repertory Theatre was put on hold last year, but it returns this month thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. They’ll be staging Julius Caesar in its well-loved setting of Fort Canning Park. Through May 27
EXHIBITION
Human Version is an introspective exhibition filled with photographic and videographic works designed to explore the nascent relationship between humans and robots. Held at Alliance Francaise de Singapour’s La Galerie, the all-encompassing exhibition will give you a rare insight into research labs often kept away from the public eye. Through Jun 2
Thursday, May 24
Toruk – The First Flight. Photo credit: Matt Beard © 2017 Cirque du Soleil
PERFORMANCE
Catch the latest performance masterpiece by traveling theatrical and performance troupe Cirque du Soleil, Toruk – The First Flight, based on James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic, Avatar. May 24-Jun 3
THEATER
UK-based theater company Secret Theatre Project has arrived in Singapore, bringing their unique style of interactive theater. The experience essentially takes audience members on a high-budget theatrical production that can include anything from deciding a central character’s fate to journeying through a full-blown haunted house. Through Jun 10
EXHIBITION
Kult’s newest exhibition Word will interpret written text in visual forms through artworks. Specifically, the artists involved were invited to interpret traditional scripts such as Arabic, Braille and Urdu. May Through Jun 20
FOOD
Goodwood Park Hotel’s annual durian festival returns with all-time favorites like durian puffs, crepes, strudels, ice cream and more. Through Jul 22
Friday, May 25
Esplanade’s Flipside – Sound Maze by Paul Dresher and Daniel Schmidt
FESTIVAL
It’s been a busy month for the arts, what with the Singapore International Festival of Arts and the return of Shakespeare in the Park. That’s not stopping Esplanade from organizing Flipside, a 10-day festival that spotlights unorthodox performances and art, taking conventional ideas and flipping them to present a refreshing take. Highlights include a subtly-lit musical titled Sensing the Dark, an area to play dozens of invented instruments and sound sculptures, a backstage tour of Esplanade (and the ghost stories that come along with it) and more. May 25-Jun 3
FILM
The Open Air Cinema Club returns to the Hive this month with the screening of 2009 cult film 500 Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. May 25
PARTY
Can’t get enough of Britpop, indie and everything in between from last week’s Poptart at Tuff Club? Head over to The Great Escape as Misshapes takes over everyone’s favorite gritty rooftop carpark for an unabashed night of screaming, jumping, dancing and boozing. May 25
TOUR
It’s one thing to take a walk through hell at Haw Par Villa during the day, and a whole other experience if you go at night. The twilight tour of Haw Par Villa is back—check out the infamous 10 Courts of Hell, King of Ghosts, the upcoming Hell’s Museum and the Aw family memorials. May 25
MARKET
Rejoice or recoil—Bangkok’s legendary Artbox Singapore is back, with a self-proclaimed line-up that’s “three times bigger than last year”. Head down to the Bayfront event space to shop the 400 regional vendors selling everything from food to trinkets to Instagrammable moments. We can’t promise that crowd control will be any better than last year, but 400 booths at the island’s largest creative market does sound enticing. May 25-27, Jun 1-3
THEATER
Pangdemonium’s 2017 sold-out original production Dragonflies returns for an extended run, with Adrian Pang, Tan Kheng Hua, Fanny Kee and Frances Lee reprising their roles, performing alongside new additions Benjamin Chow, Elizabeth Morse and Matt Grey joining the cast. The show is set in 2021, in a xenophobic post-Brexit world. The England-based protagonist Leslie Chen is deported back to Singapore after the death of his wife in the UK. He now has to relearn and reintegrate into the country he left in his youth. Through Jun 3
EXHIBITION
You’d think a traveling exhibition from the London Natural History Museum would be hard to top, but ArtScience Museum’s current shtick traces 40 years of street art, from its controversial beginnings as expressions of counterculture, to its current standing as a major pillar of contemporary art. Art from the Streets features the works of the world’s top street artists, such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey and more. Through Jun 3
MARKET
The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) turns 80 this year. And to celebrate, they’re throwing an eight-week arts festival to showcase the school’s diverse talents. As part of the festival, a series of festival markets will take place each weekend, featuring craft-makers and jewellers, local fashion labels, original artworks and vintage collectibles. You can even be part of the excitement and book a booth here. Through Jun 3
EXHIBITION
Angkor: Exploring Cambodia’s Sacred City. Masterpieces of the Musee national des arts asiatiques-Guimet showcases more than 140 sculptures, watercolors, drawings, and historic memorabilia from the museum in France, for a detailed look into the magnificent history of Angkor. There’s even a festival, Angkor Encore, that’s happening exclusively this weekend (May 25-27). Through Jul 22
EXHIBITION
The eighth edition of Singapore Art Musuem’s annual family-friendly contemporary art exhibition explores the concept of time. Ten artists and art collectives from around the world have taken over SAM at 8Q for Imaginarium: Into the Space of Time, presenting immersive and interactive installations exploring the tales and theories that shape our memories and future. Through Aug 26
