Following the six-month-long virtual to physical SIFA v2.020 last year, the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) returns with its performing arts festival, reimagined for the future. Now larger than ever, SIFA 2021, which will run from May 14-30, will be one of the first international arts festivals to be staged since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Featuring a bumper crop of new commissions and international works, SIFA 2021 will present over 60 shows as well as 300 performances that sees international artists performing alongside hundreds of local talents.

In fact, the arts festival is ready to lead the way in showcasing what international festivals might soon look like with its accessible format of live, hybrid and digital programmes. ‘Cause even once the festival is done and dusted, audiences can still look forward to catching festival commissions as video on demand (VOD) episodes. And with so many events to attend, we’ve rounded up some of the must-watch shows that are as innovative as they come.
 

A Dream Under The Southern Bough: Existence
 

This ambitious adaptation of famed playwright Tang Xianzu’s 16th century Kun opera of the same name is an all-new, SIFA 2021 festival commission and highlight. As local theatre troupe Toy Factory Productions rises to the challenge of marrying a classic Ming Dynasty play with modern sensibilities, A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Existence will follow the story of a once successful government officer who awakens from a twenty-year dream to find that the unfortunate events have spilled over into reality. The final installment of an epic trilogy, the show will also reminisce the wonders and glory of earlier productions including The Beginning and Reverie.
 

en route
 

See Singapore through a fresh pair of eyes when you embark on en route, a walking, listening and immersive tour of our enchanting city streets. A unique, pedestrian-based live art event, this engaging journey conceived by a collective of Melbourne artists seeks to inspire locals with its use of audio and new experiences against the typical streetscape. As a traveller and witness to this multi-sensory voyage, simply encounter the spontaneity of the world as art unfolds around every corner.
 

The Journey
 

Credit: David Wilkinson/Empirical Photography
 

Limited to just 30 participants per show, The Journey is another interactive, virtual event that brings audiences on an adventure through unique storytelling. Watch illusionist and mentalist Scott Silven, performing live in a seaside village in Scotland, showcase his jaw-dropping powers as he weaves the past, present and future into a singular narrative, then unlock the mysteries of your own mind and soul. Crafted specially for the digital stage, this performance that transcends time and space is not to be missed.
 

The Rhythm of Us
 

An exciting, first-ever collaboration between the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) and Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), The Rhythm of Us is the long-awaited performance by two of Singapore’s pre-eminent arts companies that promises a feel-good evening of dance and music in these uncertain times. Breaking new ground in this cross-disciplinary concert to be held at Esplanade Theatre, expect to witness contemporary music pieces complemented with moving choreography by Christina Chan Janek Schergen, and besides special guest American dance-maker Pam Tanowitz, who created this new work remotely.
 

Singular Screens
 

Curated by the Asian Film Archive (AFA) for SIFA 2021, this year’s Singular Screens celebrates diverse, independent and powerful visions from Singapore as well as around the globe. For starters, festival-goers can catch introspective flicks such as Love Poem (2020) and Light of a Burning Moth (2020) at the Oldham Theatre. There are also experimental movies including Gunda (2020) and Satanango (1994) that are sure to entice film buffs. But if you happen to miss those screening dates, fret not, for selected films will also be available as video on demand (VOD) episodes in time to come.

SIFA 2021 runs from May 14-30 at various venues in Singapore. Most in-venue performances will also have video-on-demand screenings till Jun 12 too. View the entire lineup of programmes here, and purchase tickets to the international arts festival here.