Sounds like Singapore
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With Bangkok events cancelled due to the current political conflict, fans of stage and screen might want to consider jetting down to Singapore
If 2013 was packed with must-watch concerts, plays and blockbuster movies, 2014 is set to offer even more in the way of entertainment.
Live big-ticket events include Grammy Award-winning singer Bruno Mars’ first concert in Singapore. The 28-year-old Grammy winner plays his first gig here on March 26 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Independent music company Hostess Asia, meanwhile, is beefing up Singapore's annual gig calendar with a new indie music festival on February 22.
Held at Fort Canning Park, Hostess Club Weekender, which is already a popular fixture on the Japanese gig calendar, boasts a stellar line-up of A-list indie bands, with veteran Scottish post-rockers Mogwai and American indie-popsters The National headlining the event.
They will be joined by Icelandic acoustic folk-pop singer-songwriter Asgeir, teen London singer-songwriter King Krule and Brooklyn-based musical duo Buke And Gase.
On the movie side, director Jack Neo returns this weekend with “The Lion Men”, a two-part work about the friendships, rivalries and romances between two competing lion dance troupes.
Neo’s films have mostly been box-office gold, but it was his national service two-parter “Ah Boys To Men” (2012, 2013) that shattered records. The first part earned S$6.2 million (Bt160.2 million), while the second made S$7.9 million, making them the two highest-grossing local films of all time.
Shooting is scheduled to begin this year on “Yellow Flowers”, the story of a Chinese woman on death row for drug trafficking. Estranged from her son who refuses to visit her in prison, she soon develops an unlikely friendship with her would-be executioner.
It’s being directed by Glen Goei with former Wong Kar Wai collaborator Christopher Doyle attached to the film as cinematographer.
Making its return is the Singapore International Film Festival, a yearly event that went away in 2012 and which many thought would never be seen again.
It’s under the stewardship of the experienced Yuni Hadi, 37, who is also a producer on the critically acclaimed film “Ilo Ilo”. Dates and programme are still to be announced.
The rebooted national arts festival, which took a break last year, is also back and will use the refurbished premises of the Victoria Concert Hall and Theatre for its six-week run.
The rebooted national arts festival, which is now run by an independent company, has confirmed luminaries such as composer Michael Nyman, theatre company The Wooster Group and choreographer Jerome Bel, in its line-up of some 12 to 15 international shows. It will run from August 12 to September 21.
Arts veterans Lee Chor Lin and Ong Keng Sen, the duo behind the revamped festival, are looking at the theme of Legacy and The Expanded Classic for next year's event. Acts for the 2015 festival are also now being commissioned, more than half of which will be Singaporean, to dovetail with the nation's 50th-birthday celebrations.
Renowned Taiwanese dramatist Stan Lai brings the landmark Chinese language play, an eight-hour epic “A Dream Like A Dream” to the stage this month as part of the Esplanade’s annual Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts.
In the play, stories unfold within stories and the audience is led on a journey through time, place and cultures, into the life of a 1930s Shanghai prostitute who marries a French diplomat and moves to Paris.
The dramatic stage design will have the main audience seating in the centre of the stage and in the thick of action as scenes unfurl all around them.
It will also boast a visually sumptuous display of costumes designed by Oscar-winning art director Tim Yip of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” fame.
Last but very far from least is the arrival of the biggest design trade show in Paris on Singapore's shores in March.
Industry watchers are anticipating that the arrival of the Maison & Objet Asia will lend French flair to the local design scene as it is considered a prime event at which to spot trends in interior design, home furnishings and lifestyle products.
The show, which is open to those who register or have been invited by the exhibitors or organisers, will be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre from March 10 to 13.
More than 150 exhibitors from around the world will be showing their wares and furniture across 6,500 square-metres of exhibition space. Among the well-known names taking part are Belgian home fragrance producer Baobab Collection and French silverware company Christofle.
Much like the twice-yearly French version, Singapore will also get the show's fringe segments and events such as the Designer of the Year.
The yet-to-be-named designer will be selected from among top Asian candidates who have made a strong impression in their field of design.
