Arts Picks: DnA Fest, Hannes Schmid, NLB Read30

Straits Times

10-07-2025

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Dido & The Belindas by T:>Works was first shown as a work-in-progress during Singapore International Festival of Arts 2024.
T:>Works' DnA Fest
Singapore theatre vanguard T:>Works is marking its 40th anniversary with 11-day DnA Fest.
The acronym is short for English composer Henry Purcell's Dido And Aeneas, but the classic 17th-century opera of spurned love has been wrenched in radical directions. Artistic director Ong Keng Sen reframes the lament to tackle mortality, inclusivity and, more rambunctiously, drag and underground ballroom culture.
There are three parts to his maximalist vision, with tickets available separately.
First is a film The House Of Janus, which premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2024. Ong directed it in his Italian hillside home in Bettona with an international crew.
His homestead with his nonagenarian partner, Adriaan van der Staay, becomes the setting for a reckoning with old age and separation, immersing viewers in the clashing aesthetics of cinema verite and operatic fantasy. Dido And Aeneas was the first opera the partners listened to together in the house 16 years ago, and remains a summer tradition.
Second is an extension of T:>Works' work-in-progress presentation at the Singapore International Festival of Arts in 2024, an unabashedly theatrical twist on the original Dido And Aeneas story.
Dido's rejection becomes a defiant statement from a place of social marginalisation. Drag queen Becca D'Bus is Dido, queen of Carthage. Her handmaid, Belinda, proliferates to become the Belindas, a whole 'tribe of the abandoned'. Ong reserves some surprises here in its composition.
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This is a fully fledged production, with live singing by lyric tenor Thomas Michael Allen and party atmosphere supplied by DJ Toru Yamanaka.
Late-night parties that centre the glamour of trans and queer culture with runway competitions and high energy voguing – dancers striking poses inspired by those of models in fashion magazines – is the final piece of the trilogy.
Ong says DnA Fest is about building solidarities. 'Nightlife and voguing are very separate from the theatre scene, but we need to have more alliances, to open up the space to talk about being at the margins without necessarily becoming agenda-full. There must be more in our lives apart from the mainstream.'
Still from The House Of Janus.
PHOTO: T:>WORKS
Where: 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road
MRT: Fort Canning
When: July 16 to 26, various timings
Admission: $12 for film, $40 for show, $25 (advance) and $30 at the door for night parties. Entry to all at $58 with DnA Pass
Info:
tworksasia.org
Hannes Schmid: A Life In Pictures
For Gods Only series by Hannes Schmid on show at Appetite.
PHOTO: MICHELLE MEI
In 2001, Swiss photographer Hannes Schmid chanced upon a Taoist opera theatre in an open field in Punggol, where the actors insisted on playing to 100 empty chairs.
Initially shooed away, he spent the next four years earning the troupe's trust until he was adjudged to have won the favour of the gods.
His subsequent photo series, For Gods Only, offers a glimpse of the backstage and propitiation rituals of the since-disbanded troupe. These are overlaid with his Singaporean father-in-law's calligraphic Chinese characters, and are on display at restaurant, record lounge and art gallery Appetite in Amoy Street.
The Swiss artist has led a storied life of immersing himself in his subjects. At a media preview, he regales listeners with stories about piercing his tongue for Thaipusam – 'I was bleeding like a pig' – and being held captive by cannibals in the mountains of now South Papua, Indonesia, when he went in search of American Michael Rockefeller, who vanished in Dutch New Guinea in 1961.
Schmid's photos from another series, Blackstage, in which he photographed members of legendary bands AC/DC and The Rolling Stones, and another bringing together fashion and wildlife – think woman standing atop a herd of elephants – are also on show.
Today, he spends much of his time fund-raising for the Cambodian commune he founded called Smiling Gecko, comprising farm, culture and music school, and spa, which has been labelled 'social art' for the way it uplifts local communities. Proceeds from the charity auction on Aug 2 will go to this project.
Photo from Hannes Schmid's series combining fashion and wildlife.
PHOTO: MICHELLE MEI
Where: Appetite, 72A Amoy Street
MRT: Maxwell/Telok Ayer
When: Till Aug 10, from 6pm or by appointment, Tuesdays to Fridays; noon to midnight, Saturdays
Admission: Free
Info:
str.sg/jLpy
NLB Read30
Visuals paired with book quotes are part of NLB's sensorial experiences for Read30.
PHOTO: NLB
To mark the National Library's 30th anniversary as a statutory board, it is hosting NLB Read30, a marquee edition of its biennial Read! Fest.
Multi-sensory experiences have been created to ensure words leap off the page. Smell the world of C Pam Zhang's Land Of Milk And Honey or run your fingers over an installation inspired by Rachel Heng's The Great Reclamation at the National Library Building.
The weekend will also usher in a charming market for literary accessories, including customised book sleeves and artisanal wares. Singaporean personalities like playwright Myle Yan Tay and celebrity chef Violet Oon have handpicked books for browsing and buying in eight pop-ups in central locations, from Ion Orchard to The Cathay.
It is a good occasion to purchase that book you have been eyeing, with 10 per cent discounts on selected titles on the webstores of Closetful Of Books, Wormhole and Basheer Graphic Books.
There is also a heavyweight panel at the National Library building on July 26 bringing together four current and former Singapore Writers Festival directors, titled The SWF Directors' Cut: Sing Lit, How Are You? This is free with registration at
str.sg/G27V