Has Singapore become the arts/entertainment capital of Asia? You would think so based on the number and quality international musicals coming to town.
"Phantom of the Opera"
is pulling in the crowds and finishes 8 June.
"Aladdin", the musical
arrives for a season at Marina Bay Sands from 21 July. But you'll have to wait until
December for "Cats
". But there's a host of other arts events - foreign and local - to entertain all tastes, every day of the week.
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The Global Travel News Magazine with TREADability:
T
ravel
R
esponsibly for the
E
nvironment,
A
rt &
D
reams
Issue Number Two - 5 June 2019
Incorporating The Avenue for Creative Arts
"Tread softy because you tread on my dreams" (W.B.Yeats 1899)
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Singapore Goes Back & Beyond Raffles 1819 Arrival
h
Singapore's Bicentennial in 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in Singapore – a key milestone in the rich and storied history of Asia's most populous island state. But Singapore's story did not start then. It actually began in 1299. For over 700 years, Singapore has been open to a diverse flow of people and ideas, and connected to wider geopolitical currents, all of which shaped its evolution. The centrepiece event of the Singapore Bicentennial is a multimedia sensory experience showing from 1 June to 15 September at the historic Fort Canning, which brings visitors back in time to witness key moments in Singapore’s transformation from as far back as 1299.
Go here for much more.
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Take the Tour & Read the Book
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Take one of Jane's Bicentennial Tours: "Forbidden Hill" Literary Walk & Meet The Author Tour. 8 June 2019. The first of a series of historical fiction books about Singapore's early days,
"Forbidden Hill"
is an imagined but faithful account of Singapore’s transition from sleepy fishing village to major trading center in the years between 1812 and 1836. Go with Jane and author John Greenwood to explore the places, personalities and stories contained within this wonderful work of historical fiction. John is also giving two talks in Singapore: At the Black Box, Fort Canning on Thursday 6 June at 7pm and at the Central Library from 4pm to 6pm on Saturday 8 June.
More on Jane's Tours here.
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Virtual reality gaming centres are all the rage right now,
so why not give one a go for yourself? At Virtual Room in Chinatown, you go on an adventure to navigate strange worlds and solve puzzles with your teammates, like the ancient Egyptian tomb featured above, Owner and director of the Singapore VR event experience is New Zealander Rebecca Assice. Time travellers and those who want an out of this world experience - or perhaps a trip to nowhere - can book in here. We experienced the place when Rebecca recently hosted an event for alumni of the University of Auckland.
There's much more to see and do.
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June Attractions: Singapore in London
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Singapore comes to Finsbury Avenue Square - along with Old Chang Kee curry puffs - in London's financial district from 13 to 15 June to commemorate Singapore's bicentennial. The three-day festival in the pedestrianised square has the theme:
"Singapore: Where Explorers Meet",
featuring a tropical garden experience by Humid House; food by Peranakan restaurant Candlenut; botanical cocktails created by Native in Amoy Street in collaboration with London bar Lyaness; as well as the iconic Singapore Sling cocktail by Raffles Hotel. Pictured is "‘Rush Hour’ by American sculptor George Segal in Finsbury Avenue Square. Photo credit: Amir Schlezinger.
Read more in TimeOut London.
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Singapore Book Fair:
Kopi Table Comics
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Launched at the Singapore Book fair on 31 May - the Fair continues until 9 June at Capitol Theatre - "Kopi Thiam" is a comic book with a difference. The co-creators of ‘Kopi Thiam’ - James Suresh and Adam Lee - gave a presentation about the evolution of the comic characters and the book. Lee demonstrated how he draws the characters and scenes.
Other books, all distributed by AsiaPac Books, by James Suresh
will also be on sale at the Fair. They include: “On a Street in Singapore’, ‘When I was in Uniform’ and ‘Singapore in the 60’s’.
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A Writers' Bar to write home about!
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Good news for travellers and those who like to tell tales! Raffles Hotel is finally getting back into business - re-opening in August after a long closure for extensive renovations - and we hear that the famous "Writers Bar" will be making a welcome return. More than just a bar-stool or two in the lobby! Maybe it's got something to do with the appointment of
Australia's top bartender Paul Hammond
to take charge of the hotel's beverage programme, along with his partner Priscilla Leong returning home to Singapore.
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Cheltenham
Literary
Festival
If you missed the annual Hay on Wye event (which ended 2 June), you've got time to plan your travel to another popular event in the UK, the
Cheltenham Literature Festival,
which has been drawing huge crowds of book lovers since 1949. You can also see more of the fabulous Cotswolds while you're in the area. The festival runs for 10 days from 4 to 13 October 2019.
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There's Behrouz Boochani, Damon Gameau, Benjamin Law, Min Jin Lee, Alison Lester, Sisonke Msimang, Bruce Pascoe, Leigh Sales, Tara June Winch and Markus Zusak. A
taste of what’s in store at Byron Writers Festival from 2 to 4 August. Three days with story creators, idea makers and risk takers in one of the world’s most beautiful coastal locations. Leigh Sales, one of Australia’s most respected journalists, who has interviewed every living Australian prime minister, is featuring at the festival. Her most recent book is
Any Ordinary Day.
There's more.
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If you made it to the Hay Literary Festival, it's likely you would have attended the launch of Simon Armitage's new eclectic book of poems, which collects commissions and collaborations of the last few years, with subjects ranging from sculpture and travel to the environment and drama. Having met Simon twice at Singapore Writers Festivals (in 2017 and 2018), we're thrilled to have this opportunity to toast the new Poet Laureate. We hear he has plans for his role - beyond writing more poetry - and hopes to use his new profile to establish some sort of project or award for writing about climate change. He also has a dream to set up a National Centre for Poetry.
More on the new Poet Laureate here.
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Storytellers meet
cutting-edge science
Hay Festival and the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) have unveiled
Trans.MISSION II
, a new global project pairing leading environmental researchers with award-winning writers to reach new audiences. At a time of unprecedented public interest in how human actions affect the environment, Trans.MISSION II will pair NERC researchers from Peru, Colombia and the UK with artists and storytellers in each country to create new stories about ongoing research projects.
Read all about it.
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A Wall of Books with Coffee!
Huggs at the URA Centre, right opposite the Maxwell Food Court, Singapore, is the place for coffee and books. A joint venture with Epigram Books, Edmund Wee is making sure the wall of book shelves are well-stocked with Singapore published books, not only those from his productive publishing house. Every week, at leat one author, poet or artist will be at the bookshop during opening hours.
Read all about it.
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Sad & Sudden Passing of the Pulitzer Prize winning author
Remembering Tony Horwitz, Intrepid Traveller & Chronicler of the South
"I was looking forward to seeing Tony Horwitz again last Tuesday, when the author was on the Politics and Prose bookstore docket to speak about his magisterial new work, 'Spying on the South'
." So wrote Jamie Stiehm in The Nation (New York) on 31 May 2019.
"Washington was Horwitz’s hometown, so Tuesday was marked on many calendars. He grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a posh enclave on the District line. In a storied life cut short, Horwitz died of cardiac arrest on Monday, Memorial Day. He collapsed on a walk near his brother’s house here. He was 60, seven books to his name."
Read more.
Tony is survived by his wife Geraldine Brooks, also a Pulitzer Prize winning historical novelist, and two sons, Nathaniel and Bizu. Susan Wyndham, former Literary Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, who knew
Geraldine and Tony, tweeted thus.
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A Place in Time: Liverpool
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Liverpool is famous for more than its European champions football team. It has history. It has art. It has music. It has the Beetles, immortalised here in the heart of Liverpool. And we know members of the very important family business - the Rushworths - which has a strong association with Liverpool’s long and rich music tradition, in particular with the Merseybeat scene of the early 1960s and the Beatles. Paul McCartney’s first guitar was said to have been bought from Rushworths and in 1962 James Rushworth presented John Lennon and George Harrison with their Gibson J-160E guitars specially imported from Chicago. So there's much more to Liverpool than meets the eyes and ears.
From a visit to the
Beatles Story
or the renowned Cavern Club to a trip down Penny Lane, there’s no better place than Liverpool to immerse yourself in Beatlemania. The bronze sculpture (pictured) by Andy Edwards, depicts the FabFour walking along the Mersey. It stands on the Pier Head, in front of the Royal Liver Building.
Go to Visit Britain for more.
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Music to Your Ears: Phantom and Aladdin
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Experience "Phantom of the Opera" at Marina Bay Sands - it's still showing until 8 June - where you can appreciate the exceptional talent of cast and musicians. The spectacular "Masquerade" song sequence (pictured above), plus all the music and the action is of course great credit to the original creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Think for a moment of all the people behind the scenes, responsible for the production. There's Director Rainer Field, Musical Director David Andrews and Choreographer Jee Hyun Noh. We talked with Randy Buck, who's ultimately responsible for this and many other touring shows. Read Ken Hickson's take on
The man who takes musical theatre to the world.
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We've had a taste of "Aladdin" and we can't wait for more. Much more. More of the lovely and talented Shubshri Kandiah, who hails from Brisbane/Perth Australia and plays Princess Jasmine. Then there's Gareth Jacobs - a theatre-world veteran, who plays the flamboyant Genie. Plus the accomplished singer, actor, dancer Graeme Isaako, as Aladdin. Pictured above: Jasmine and Aladdin. What a line-up. What a show! It starts its Singapore season on 21 July. From the producer of The Lion King, the beloved story of Aladdin comes to life in this spectacular new musical from Disney. Breathtaking sets, mind-blowing special effects, over 300 lavish costumes and a fabulous cast.
Book now.
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NEWS: There's No Business Like Show Business
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Shakespeare Screen Time:
Over the years, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) has presented and produced some of the most outstanding Shakespeare productions here in Singapore - from Its Shakespeare in the Park series, to Sam Mendes’ The Bridge Project. Now SRT offers a brand new way of experiencing theatre: for three nights only, catch a screening of Shakespeare’s biggest hits as produced and performed by the internationally renowned Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). On 12,13 and 14 June, each performance is followed by a complimentary sharing by a Shakespeare theatre veteran. There's Hamlet, Merchant of Venice and Othello.
Check it out.
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On a Little Street in Singapore:
Eight years ago at the Esplanade, The Manhattan Transfer effortlessly swept Mosaic audiences off their feet. On 12 September - one night only! - they return to make us swoon all over again. With sold-out tours and worldwide record sales in the millions, The Manhattan Transfer brings their unique and extraordinary vocal magic to fans old and new. The Manhattan Transfer remains a cornerstone for great pop and jazz hits, a legacy that the group has cemented since their first recording in 1972. Janis Siegel, Alan Paul and Cheryl Bentyne have been joined by Trist Curless as an official member of the group—all of them maintaining the integrity and artistry left by late founding member Tim Hauser.
Read all about it and book here.
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From Miss Saigon to Sweeney Todd:
Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street makes its Singapore premiere, by courtesy of Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) at Marina Bay Sands from 28 November to 8 December. Don't miss Tony Award winner Lea Salonga as Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. Lea is best known for originating the role of Kim in Miss Saigon, which won her the Tony and Olivier Award, as well as the singing voices of Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan. She was last seen on SRT's stage in God of Carnage (2012).
There's more.
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Chloë Manasseh’s “Fruitfulness of Forgetting” at Eden Hall,
residence of the British High Commissioner, where the grandfather of the artist was born in 1916. Chloë was previously commissioned to create artworks for Facebook offices in Singapore. Her colourful paintings were visible at Eden Hall until 21 May. Those not sold are now available at
Art Porters Gallery.
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Tuning in to a Crystal Symphony Cruise
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The Art of Travel is personified right here - not only with this image of the cruise ship and its name, but with what goes on onboard and during ports of call. Art is everywhere. From the Broadway musical performances to furthering your knowledge through enrichment workshops with thought leaders, world-class experts and lecturers. Learn a new skill, attend a wine tasting, take dance lessons, or simply read a book. We had the pleasure of visiting the Crystal Symphony while it was in Singapore during a Southeast Asian cruise.
Check out when the Symphony is playing next.
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The Art of Sustainability
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Responsible Retailers & Ethical Business
European consumers and governments are pressuring businesses to operate in a sustainable manner. Student-led protests and debates over investing 25% of the European Union’s budget to fight climate change are shining a brighter light on ethical business practices. Players in the retailing industry have been making efforts to be more sustainable over the past 20 years. Grocery retailers - as well as hotel/restaurant businesses - are focused on eliminating food waste and rethinking packaging, while fashion retailers are using recyclable or locally sourced materials. In Western Europe - and Asia Pacific - the retailing industry will need to do more, and quickly,
Read the rest of the Forbes story here.
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Scoop brings a new self-service food concept store to Singapore, allowing consumers to buy only what they need. Healthy and good for the planet. Scoop it yourself and bring your own packaging. No plastic bags here! Check it out at Tanglin Mall.
Read all about Scoop Wholefoods from Australia.
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The Art of Travel - The Global Travel News Magazine with TREADability
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T
ravel
R
esponsibly for the
E
nvironment,
A
rt &
D
reams
Managing Editor: Ken Hickson
The Art of Travel, now incorporating The Avenue for Creative Arts,
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