The annual Singapore International Festival of Arts returns from 16 May to 1 June, 2025
Expect a diverse selection of international arts performances in Singapore at this year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts! There’s also the largest number of commissioned local works in the festival’s 48-year history. In addition, the arts goes into the heartlands in a big way this year, with the first-ever SIFA Pavilion in Bedok. And you can also enjoy an early bird ticket discount until 14 April. Let’s dive into all that’s lined up from 16 May to 1 June!
International arts performances in Singapore for SIFA 2025
The international productions at SIFA offer diverse perspectives for local and international audiences. Here are a few that caught our attention.
HOME
This large-scale performance in Singapore invites audiences to ask, “If home is not a place, what is home?”
The story is told through dance, illusion, live music and also audience interaction. A house appears on stage – a house where traces of residents from the past, present and future remain; then, a party brings together everyone who has ever lived there, transcending time and space.
Besides bringing awareness to current housing dilemmas globally, HOME also highlights themes of gentrification and the migration of a community. It seeks to use the house on stage as a lens through which audiences might see the impact of the transitory nature of dwelling and the illusion of home, among other themes.
Watch HOME at Victoria Theatre:
- Thursday, 22 May and Friday, 23 May at 8pm
- Saturday, 24 May at 2pm and 8pm
- Sunday, 25 May at 2pm
LEAR
This contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear for SIFA is written by Ramesh Meyyappan. The Singaporean, who has been based in Scotland since 2006, also performs as the titular King. Using an eclectic mix of visual and physical theatre styles, themes of escalating madness, power loss, betrayal and trust experienced by the patriarch are explored.
Ramesh’s unique storytelling style stems from his exploration of visual storytelling as a deaf artist. This makes his work entirely accessible to various audiences while raising awareness of deaf performers and directors.
LEAR unfolds at SOTA Studio Theatre:
- Friday, 23 May at 4pm and 8pm
- Saturday, 24 May at 4pm and 8pm
- Sunday, 25 May at 4pm
Vampyr
Vampyr is a mockumentary that examines the relationship between animals that inhabit human territories, and how humans relate to non-human cultures when considering humankind’s energy projections for the future.
Half-dead, half-alive, half-animal, half-human, half-earth, exhausted night-shift workers sometimes exist as disoriented bats. Through a display of energy and exhaustion, work and rest, Vampyr shines a spotlight on green neo-colonialism as a mirror of historical patterns of colonialism with environmental issues.
This is the third part of an exploration of the non-human by Chilean playwright and theatre director, Manuel Infante.
Watch this at the Drama Centre Theatre:
- Friday, 23 May at 8pm
- Saturday, 24 May at 8pm – includes a post-show talk with the artists
- Sunday, 25 May at 2.30pm
Local theatre pieces at SIFA
The Singapore International Festival of Arts shines the spotlight on arts performances in Singapore with a record number of 15 commissioned local works and for the first time, a SIFA Pavilion. Here are some highlights.
Hossan-AH! In The High Arts
The year 2019 was the last time Hossan was on a stage, with Hossan-ah! 50, his own production marking his 50th birthday. Now, he returns to the stage with this new SIFA-commissioned work directed by celebrated Singaporean theatre maker and film director Glen Goei.
Audiences will go on a journey of Singapore’s arts scene from the 1980s to today, through Hossan’s eyes. While acting, singing and doing stand-up, he relates personal anecdotes and reimagined stories about the highlights and also low points that have shaped our country’s unique artistic identity. It’s a celebration of every artist and arts lover who has contributed to Singapore’s arts scene.
Head to the Victoria Theatre for this SIFA programme:
- Friday, 30 May at 8pm
- Saturday, 31 May at 8pm
- Sunday, 1 Jun at 3pm
COLONY – A True Colors Project
This dance performance in Singapore explores the challenges and possibilities of inclusivity within society. It brings together 13 diverse bodies from Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Dance, music, movement and film fuse together as the team of creatives collide, collaborate and create on stage. Audiences are invited into an intense and deeply personal journey as the creatives offer an intimate glimpse into the struggles, triumphs and breakthroughs that shape their dance performance.
Catch this at the Drama Centre Theatre:
- Friday, 30 May and Saturday, 31 May at 8pm
- Sunday, 1 June at 3pm
SIFA Pavilion
Singapore’s Bedok Town Square will be transformed into a transient arts space for public engagement with free multi-disciplinary performances from 10am to 9pm daily. A maritime theme drives the narratives at the SIFA Pavilion, since Bedok was a coastal town before the founding of modern Singapore.
The stage is set by Beneath Tide, Running Water, a colossal installation that’s inspired by coral reefs. Bedok’s maritime history is reimagined in Speculative F(r)ictions, through a projection of archival fragments, speculative CGI, text and glitch art.
The town’s rich historical roots are also explored in ‘Ode to the Sea’, a music journey that features in The Sea and The Neighbourhood, a performance in Singapore involving over 70 musicians and dancers.
Keen to get fully immersed in SIFA 2025? Full audience participation is encouraged for Sing Song Social Club, a community choir that welcomes singers of all levels. You can engage at your own level as you sing along and make music with other participants.
Enjoy these free programmes at Bedok Town Square:
- Friday, 16 May to Sunday 1 June at various times; check the SIFA website for details
You can see the full Singapore International Festival of Arts 2025 schedule and also find out more about these performances in Singapore from 16 May to 1 June, 2025 here.
Tickets start from $38 with concessions available for seniors from 55 years onwards and also local and overseas students. Early bird ticket prices at a 20% discount are available until 14 April.
Looking for more culture in Singapore? Visit our Things to Do section for inspiration and also check out what to do this weekend in Singapore for upcoming events .
