SINGAPORE – Next year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts, which runs from May 16 to June 2, will feature three new works from local artists.

The Mysterious Lai Teck, created by Singaporean media artist Ho Tzu Nyen, will be performed at the Goodman Arts Centre Black Box from May 17 to 19. It explores the life of the titular character, who led the Malayan Communist Party during World War II, but also betrayed the party multiple times during the Occupation of Singapore. Ho blends fact, fiction, puppetry and visual projections in this work.

Another production, Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner by Checkpoint Theatre is set in a refugee camp where humanitarian workers strive to keep functioning amid crisis. The multidisciplinary production explores the reality of the aid industry and is written by Huzir Sulaiman and directed by Claire Wong, the troupe’s joint artistic directors. It runs from May 24 to 26 at the Victoria Theatre.

The third Singapore commission is Toy Factory Productions’ A Dream Under The Southern Bough: Reverie. It is the second part of a trilogy that adapts a 16th century epic Kun opera play, A Dream Under The Southern Bough, by revered Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu. The first instalment was commissioned for last year’s arts festival. A Dream Under The Southern Bough: Reverie runs from May 31 to June 2 at the Drama Centre Theatre.

Tickets for all three Singapore works are on sale at Sistic from Dec 3, as are those for headline show Dionysus, by Suzuki Company of Toga and Purnati Indonesia. This is a cross-cultural adaptation of the Greek classic, The Bacchae, in which the god of wine unleashes havoc on a royal court.

It is directed by Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki – whose body-focused Suzuki method of actor training is internationally famous – and features Japanese, Indonesian and Chinese performers. It runs from May 17 to 18 at the Victoria Theatre.

The Singapore International Festival of Arts is presented by not-for-profit organisation Arts House Limited and supported by the National Arts Council. Its festival director is Gaurav Kripalani, artistic director of the Singapore Repertory Theatre.

Tickets for Singapore International Festival of Arts productions are available from Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to sistic.com.sg). For more information, visit sifa.sg.

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