ST/LL by Shiro Takatani, Dumb Type (Japan)

(Japan)

1h 15m, no intermission

Shiro Takatani, Dumb Type

Photo by Yoshikazu Inoue

ST/LL

24 & 25 May Fri & Sat, 8pm Esplanade Theatre

MESSAGE FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR When I was appointed as the new Festival Director for Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) last year, one of the central tenets of the curation process we put in place was to present work by game-changing artists.

From the outset of my three-year tenure, it was important to me that SIFA challenges audiences intellectually, emotionally and artistically, allowing them to experience works they would not normally have a chance to see in Singapore.

Last year, I found myself huddled amid the sand dunes and pine forests of Terschelling Island off the north coast of The Netherlands, to watch Bedtime Stories, a brilliant one-man show which we are bringing to SIFA this year.

It reminds us that powerful stories can be told with the simplest of tools - in this case, the actor’s voice. Or through elaborate work such as the cross-cultural, multi-faceted Dionysus

by Tadashi Suzuki. Game-changing artists and work exist everywhere – it is our mission to find them and bring them to you.

This season, SIFA 2019 is proud to present provocative and challenging works by artists from Singapore and abroad. Our local Festival commissions explore contemporary issues and daringly bring to the spotlight lesser-known facets of Asian history and culture. Toy Factory will realise its innovative re-interpretation of a beloved Ming play. Checkpoint Theatre delves into the realities of the humanitarian aid industry, while Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen investigates some of Southeast Asia’s most shadowy historical figures.

On the international front, SIFA is delighted to welcome to our shores works by worldrenowned theatre directors Tadashi Suzuki and Simon McBurney, legendary musicians Ryuichi Sakamoto and Bill Frisell, and groundbreaking choreographers Gisèle Vienne and Sasha Waltz.

SIFA 2019 audiences can also expect to see a greater range of multidisciplinary work that defies easy classification, from pushing boundaries between theatre and dance in ST/LL by Japanese artist Shiro Takatani, to the use of virtual reality and binaural sound in Frogman by UK company curious directive.

SIFA will also present Silo Theatre’s Peter and the Wolf for families, as well as free outdoor performances in non-traditional venues for audiences of all ages.

Festival House will be back this year, as the epicentre of SIFA 2019. Here, audiences and artistes can extend their engagement with the Festival beyond the performance, as well as engage with each other, through a range of talks, workshops and master-classes to delve deeper into the themes and perspectives of each show.

SIFA 2019 would not have been possible without the support of CEO Sarah Martin; our three extraordinary producers – Junmin, Rydwan and Sara; and the phenomenal team at Arts House Limited. I would like to thank each of them for their dedication and passion.

Finally, I would like to warmly welcome you, our audience, to SIFA 2019. We look forward to taking you on this exciting journey with us.

Gaurav Kripalani Festival Director

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO What does the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) mean to you? A doorway to the world’s performances out there? An escape from the routine of everyday life?

An opportunity to indulge your curiosity? Or something more?

It would not be unusual for each of you to take away something different from the Festival.

When I look back at my years attending the Festival, what stands out in my memory are thrilling moments of discovering a work or artist that slowly built my own love for festival making.

In everything we do, SIFA brings audiences and artists on a personal journey, creating a shared experience across different touch-points with a wider community of art lovers, international and local artists.

Every edition of the Festival is also unique and contributes to the development of Singapore’s cultural landscape. 2018 was an encouraging year, with SIFA seeing heartening growth in the number of new – and especially – younger audiences. I believe this is a testament to the success of Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani’s balanced curatorial approach, emphasising diverse works with multiple levels of accessibility.

In 2019, the 42nd Singapore International Festival of Arts will continue to enrich the spectrum of audience experiences with a diversity of artistic genres and innovative platforms. Over 17 days, SIFA will showcase a spectrum of world-class performances by game-changing artists, alongside a range of distinctive multi-disciplinary works.

As one of the cultural peaks of Singapore’s arts calendar, the Festival will allow audiences to engage with a fascinating range of contemporary issues and create avenues for critical dialogue. The Arts House will once again transform into our Festival House, a unique gathering point to share ideas and viewpoints and to engage with the artists on a more intimate level.

Working behind the scenes at SIFA are many passionate individuals who have been critical to the Festival’s success over the years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played their part in shaping SIFA, and to Gaurav for leading the Festival to new artistic heights.

I hope you leave this year with a fresh perspective of what the Festival means to you, and with wonderful memories of your own personal discoveries.

Sarah Martin CEO, Arts House Limited

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE ST/LL is taken from the word “still”. The slash signifies a sense of being “in between” – for example, being between one moment and the next – and expresses the fluctuations between being tranquil or stationary to being busy or in motion. The slash also alludes to the idea: to what extent can we recognise a very short amount of time?

Space and time are subjects always present to us. Is there a world where we can perceive “space” and “time” in a different way, for example, a world with more than five dimensions? From both a scientific and poetic standpoint, and through a process of trial and error, many ideas were shared between members who participated in this project, and with Ryuichi Sakamoto, who shared a deep affinity with the concept of ST/LL and who created the work’s beautiful music composition.

The science we believe in today may be very different in the future, hundreds of years from now. In this sense, science can also be seen as a myth... ST/LL is a discussion about “time” and “space” beyond our perception. Please enjoy freely and as you wish.

Shiro Takatani

CAST & CREATIVE TEAM Artistic direction: Shiro Takatani With: Mayu Tsuruta, Misako Yabuuchi, Yuko Hirai, Olivier Balzarini Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Marihiko Hara, Takuya Minami Lighting design: Yukiko Yoshimoto Media authoring & computer programming: Ken Furudate Text: Alfred Birnbaum Stage manager: Nobuaki Oshika Technical director: So Ozaki Sound technician: Satoshi Hama Computer programming: Ryo Shiraki Lighting assistant: Kazuya Yoshida Company manager: Yoko Takatani / Dumb Type Office Ltd.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

60 cradles - rehotne sinta (voice: Yoko Kawakami) ©The Foundation for Ainu Culture Production: Dumb Type Office Co-production: Le Volcan – Scène Nationale du Havre, France / Biwako Hall - Center for the Performing Arts Shiga, Japan / Fondazione Campania dei Festival –Napoli Teatro Festival Italia Production, tours: Epidemic (Richard Castelli, assisted by Chara Skiadelli, Florence Berthaud, Claire Dugot)

Programme Partner:

ABOUT ST/LL In this stunning performance-installation, Japanese artist Shiro Takatani’s meditation on silence unfolds in an exquisite multimedia staging, along with music by world-renowned composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto.

An endless veil of water overwhelms the stage. Cutlery, books and glasses, suspended in the air, free fall in slow motion. Voluminous swaths of black are cast against luminous human figures awaiting dinner. Thus, the arresting scenes of Shiro Takatani’s performanceinstallation ST/LL unfold with deliberate and mysterious precision.

A founding member of artist collective Dumb Type, Takatani has been hailed for his inventive use of the media arts for the contemporary stage. With ST/LL, he transports audiences to a hypnotic stage – an exquisite mix of multimedia mirages, edgy lighting and sonic textures – where time and perception are stretched to their very limits.

Performed to rapt audiences in Europe, Tokyo and Taiwan, the sensory pleasures of ST/LL are further savoured with an ambient score by world-renowned composer Ryuichi Sakamoto – Takatani’s long-time collaborator – and fellow composers Marihiko Hara and Takuya Minami.

Supple, surprising, and filled with symbolism, ST/LL’s shape-shifting scenes and playful visual subversion will remain etched in your mind, long after the curtains fall.

Still: between moments More fleeting than narrative, more infinite than future or past, Time defies all dimension-bound notions of micromeasure…

The dance of electrons within all things remains insensately other, Real shadows cast on imagined time…

Imagined shadows cast on real space…

Can art or science ever truly express this hourglass world?

These grains of sand that crumble at the slightest change?

Photo by Yoshikazu Inoue

Photo by Yoshikazu Inoue

60 CRADLES [English translation]

what’s this crying wanna hear a story since you’re crying i’ll tell the story like this through the clouds up in the sky through the stars up in the sky far beyond through the real sky in a great big land of flowing waters head upstream on this side forests of silver oak fields of silver marshweed lots of silver rocks all around on that side forests of golden oak fields of golden marshweed lots of golden rocks all around everywhere all bright and shiny head further on back upstream a golden house stands big and tall

painted on this side a stormy sky painted on that side a sunny sky in that house the goddess of life hangs sixty cradles to the right and sixty cradles to the left she turns this way to the right these sixty cradles all start swaying she turns that way to the left those sixty cradles all start swaying just like that now all the babies crying at once shower their voices down on this world bringing the world what we call sleep you were crying to hear that story the tale I tell so I sing for you

(Original title: “rehotne sinta” A lullaby of Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan) ©The Foundation for Ainu Culture

BIOGRAPHIES SHIRO TAKATANI Artistic Director Founding member of the artist collective “Dumb Type” since 1984.

Takatani has produced numerous performances and installation pieces using a variety of media, and continues to show work in theatres and museums around the world.

Aside from Dumb Type, Takatani began a parallel solo career in 1998. In his solo activities he created his own performance La Chambre Claire (premiered at Theater der Welt, Germany in 2008), and CHROMA (premiered at Biwako Hall Center for the Performing Arts Shiga in 2012).

His first retrospective solo exhibition, Camera Lucida, was held at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in 2013. His latest performance, ST/LL (premiered at Le Volcan, France in 2015) with music by Ryuichi Sakamoto was presented at the National Theater & Concert Hall Taipei in 2017 and New National Theatre Tokyo in 2018.

The solo exhibition, Dumb Type: Actions + Reflections, was held at Centre Pompidou-Metz in 2018, and will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in 2019.

MAYU TSURUTA Performer Mayu Tsuruta was born in 1970 in Kanagawa, Japan. She made her acting debut with TV series Abunai Shonen II (TX) in 1988. Acclaimed for her intellectual and sophisticated acting style, she is active in television, film, stage and in commercials. Her major film appearances include Kike Wadatsumi no Koe, Owl’s Castle, Half a Confession, The Unbroken, The Ravine Of Goodbye and DESTINY: The Tale of Kamakura. In 1996, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Japanese Academy Awards for her role in the film Kike Wadatsumi no Koe. Her stage debut was Shinjo afururu keihakusa 2001 directed by Yukio Ninagawa. She was also a goodwill ambassador at the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

YUKO HIRAI Dancer & Choreographer Yuko Hirai studied at the Japan Woman’s College of Physical Education in Tokyo and at the Centre de Développement Chorégraphique de Toulouse/Midi-Pyrénées in France. Since she debuted professionally as a contemporary dancer, she has performed for many choreographers and projects in Japan and Europe. She joined Japanese multimedia performance company Dumb Type as a creative member and has toured in many festivals and theaters. Hirai also creates her own choreographic works, some of which are based on Japanese traditional culture. She was awarded the Fukutake Cultural Prize in 2016 for her artistic achievements in the Setouchi Region.

MISAKO YABUUCHI Performer Misako Yabuuchi was born in 1964 in Japan. She studied painting and graduated from the Kyoto City University of Arts. She has participated in Dumb Type since 1984 as one of its founders. Besides Dumb Type, she has also been working on her own solo art activities, including painting, animation, knitting and poetry and also on collaboration works with various artists.

OLIVIER BALZARINI Performer & Choreographer Olivier Balzarini graduated with a Master of Philosophy and Arts from the University of PanthÊon-Sorbonne in Paris. For ten years, he studied the art of pantomime and technical Russian acting. He has performed with artists Gisèle Vienne and Etienne Bideau-Rey from D.A.C.M.. He was also the artistic assistant and a performer for Pierre Droulers at Charleroi Danse in Brussels. Balzarini has developed his own artistic works in collaboration with Centre Pompidou, the International Center of Arts, and also Le Fresnoy, National Studio of Contemporary Arts. He joined Dumb Type in 2008 as a performer for three pieces, La chambre claire, CHROMA and ST/LL.

Photo by Yoshikazu Inoue

TICKET HOLDER PRIVILEGES

FLASH YOUR SIFA 2019 TICKET

TO ENJOY SPECIAL DEALS AT OUR PARTNER OUTLETS Empress

Kuro Izakaya

1 Empress Place, #01-03, Asian Cilivilisation Museum, S179555

3 Temasek Boulevard, #01-604/605, Suntec City Tower 3, S038983

10% off dine-in ala carte food and drinks purchased at EMPRESS.

Enjoy 15% off total food bill.

Esplanade Mall

OTC Café

Esplanade – Theatre on the Bay, 8 Raffles Avenue, S039802 Beware of Pity, ST/LL, Körper and Ryuichi Sakamoto ticket holders are entitled up to 15% savings on dining and shopping at Esplanade Mall on the day of performance. Visit www. esplanade.com for details.

House Pour @ Festival House

The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane, S179429 Chill out and soak in the festival buzz at House Pour. Enjoy a glass of signature Housepour cocktail or a serving of ancho chicken tacos at only $4.20nett and all other items at 15% off.

In addition, complimentary premium ice cream in assorted flavours will be given out daily.

(Limited to the first 30 guests each day)

JW Marriott Singapore South Beach 30 Beach Road, S189763

Enjoy 25% off at Beach Road Kitchen and 15% at Akira Back.

100 Victoria Street, #03-01 National Library Building S188064 15% off food and beverages.

Privé ACM

1 Empress Place, #01-02 S179555 10% off dine-in ala carte food and drinks purchased at Privé ACM.

Paulaner Bräuhaus

9 Raffles Boulevard, #01-01, Millania Walk, S039596 SIFA 2019 ticket holders enjoy 20% off total bill when you dine in at Paulaner Bräuhaus.

The NCO Club

32 Beach Road, S189764 Enjoy 15% off dine-in ala carte food and beverage (Cool Cats, Madame Fan, Stags Room & Fish Pool)

Kith Café

Bras Basah: 51 Bras Basah Rd, #01-03A Manulife Centre, S189554 Marina Square: 6 Raffles Blvd, #02-49 S039594 Enjoy 10% off dine-in ala carte items purchased at KITH CAFÉ (Bras Basah, Marina Square).

Capital Zouk

3C River Valley Road The Cannery, #02-02, S179022 Enjoy free entry into Capital Zouk before midnight.

For more Festival deals, visit sifa.sg.

Unless otherwise stated, all promotions are valid till 2 June, Sunday. Not applicable with other promotions, discounts, vouchers and offers by credit or privilege cards. Ticket stubs presented must be in its original condition and e-tickets must be shown via electronic devices clearly. Management reserves the right to amend any promotional terms and conditions without prior notice. Merchants’ terms and conditions apply.

ABOUT SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS As Singapore’s annual pinnacle arts festival, the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) presents captivating and diverse works across theatre, music, dance, film and visual arts. First launched as the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1977, the festival has gone through several evolutions and inspired generations of arts lovers and practitioners.

Today, the highly-anticipated festival is a high-point on Singapore’s arts and cultural calendar.

Under the helm of Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani from 2018–2020, SIFA continues its festival mission to champion the creation and presentation of Singaporean and international works.

ARTS HOUSE LIMITED BOARD Chairperson Christine Ong Members Chong Yuan Chien Deborah Ho Eduardo Ramos-Gómez Kelvin Ang Kenneth Kwok Lynette Pang Madeleine Lee Maniza Jumabhoy Mok Wei Wei Ong Chao Choon Ong Choon Fah Sarah Martin (Ex-Officio)

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS MANAGEMENT

Chief Executive Officer Sarah Martin Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani Chief Financial Officer Ng Soon Lee Head, Production Cindy Yeong Head, Marketing Jasmine Gan Assistant Head, Event Services Management Emma Izzabella Tagoe

PROGRAMMING Producers Sara Joan Fang Rydwan Anwar Ye Junmin Senior Manager Lisa Lip Manager Shridar Mani Assistant Manager Alicia Chong Festival Assistant Chong Xinyi

PRODUCTION

Production Manager Chan Silei Yo Shao Ann Production Co-ordinators Celestine Wong Melissa Chin Technical Co-ordinators Huang Xiangbin Ian Tan

Assistant Technical Co-ordinator Muhammed Muzzamier Bin Abu Bakar Production Assistants Chong Wee Nee Alexis Ho

MARKETING & TICKETING Senior Managers Elizabeth Wong Winnie Chan Managers Allison Lai Fiona Chua Senior Designers Hakim bin Rahim Md Firdaus bin Wari Executives Juliana Tan Shariffah Natasha Dinah Eriqah Azman Intern Chew Ying Ying

COMMUNICATIONS Manager Khairi Johann Jasmin Intern Jamie Buitelaar

PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Manager Norita Senin Executive Tan Yanru

EVENT SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Managers, Artist Logistics Carine Lee Syafiq Zulkepli Managers, Front-of-House Nura Osman Germaine Leow Manager, Back-of-House Hospitality Esther Goh Manager, Event Services Johnson Kee Manager, Special Projects and Operations Zalikha Mis’ari Executive, Front-of-House Kitty Kwan

FINANCE

Managers Vivian Gan Executives Aileen Ong Izyan Nooraini Bte Ramlee

HUMAN RESOURCE Manager Noraliza Ramli Senior Executive Elaine Neo

ADMINISTRATION

Centre Manager Lucas Chiew Executive Nor Limah Binte Ja’ffa

DON’T MISS

THESE OTHER PRODUCTIONS IN THE FESTIVAL SINGULAR SCREENS

Curated by Asian Film Archive 18 May - 2 Jun Screening Room, Festival House & Oldham Theatre

KÖRPER

by Sasha Waltz & Hans Peter Kuhn (Germany) 31 May & 1 Jun, Fri & Sat Esplanade Theatre

BILL FRISELL TRIO

featuring Rudy Royston & Thomas Morgan (USA) 29 May, Wed Victoria Theatre

Photo by Bernd Uhlig

Photo by Monica Frisell

CROWD

IMPULSE

by Gisèle Vienne (France)

Varsha (Singapore)

1 & 2 Jun, Sat & Sun Victoria Theatre

1 & 2 Jun, Sat & Sun Play Den, Festival House

Photo by Barbara Braun/MuTphoto

DISPLACED PERSONS’ WELCOME DINNER

A DREAM UNDER THE SOUTHERN BOUGH: REVERIE

24 - 26 May, Fri - Sun Victoria Theatre

31 May - 2 Jun, Fri - Sun Drama Centre Theatre

Photo by Joel Lim @ Calibre Pictures

Performed in Mandarin with English and Chinese surtitles.

南柯一梦 之 如梦

by Checkpoint Theatre (Singapore)

by Toy Factory Productions Ltd (Singapore)

FREE PROGRAMMES AND MORE FESTIVAL CLOSING CONCERT

DE RELAXERETTE

Arjan Kruidhof and Explore-the-North (The Netherlands)

with Singapore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joshua Tan

12 – 20 May & 22 May – 2 Jun, Daily, Various timings The Plaza, National Library Building

2 Jun, Sun, 6pm The Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage

FOR FULL FESTIVAL LINE-UP, VISIT SIFA.SG Organised By

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