Reviews of current and coming shows and events in Penang.
The Teng Ensemble, August 18th & 19th 2017
The Chinese character 鼟 (teng) is an untranslatable word for a sound similar to that of a drum. The Teng Ensemble's music is similarly difficult to characterise, intended to be contemporary, innovative, visionary, urban, and a blend of East and West, old and new, much...
Hakanai, August 18th and 19th 2017
In Japanese, the word "Hakanai" means ‘impermanent, fragile, evanescent, transitory, and fleeting’, somewhere between dream and reality. Digital art directors Claire Bardainne and Adrien Mondot have undertaken to illustrate this ancient Japanese concept in their...
Fractured, Beauty Inspired by Conflict, Until September 3rd 2017
In its third year contributing to the George Town Festival, Penang gallery base2 is exploring the fragility of beauty inspired by conflict in the region. Fractured presents a mix of paintings and sculptures to exhibit the conflicting fragments of lives, people,...
Asean Classics, Free Film Screenings on Thursdays, August 2017
The George Town Festival is set to screen classic Asean films weekly during the month of August. As the name suggests, all the films are rooted in South-East Asia and display the relatively unheard of yet very versatile directing talent in Asean film. Ma Rosa,...
Macam-Macam Asean, 29th-30th July 2017
In its first week, the George Town Festival starts with a bang. Part of the line-up includes Macam-Macam Asean, an arts and crafts market packed with entertainment. What better way to celebrate South-East Asia’s amalgam of culture and heritage than with a locally...
Penang Hill: A Journey Through Time, Book Launch and Talk, August 6th 2017
Penang Hill – A Journey Through Time began life as Penang-based author Mike Gibby's exploration of the history of the hiking trails of the hills, expanded to include the history of the hill bungalows, and ultimately grew into an all-embracing and far-reaching...
A Simple Space, August 11th and 12th 2017
A Simple Space from the award-winning Adelaide-based acrobatics troupe Gravity and Other Myths premiered at the 2013 Adelaide Fringe, and has since been performed all over the world to critical and popular acclaim. We are truly fortunate to have them visit us...
George Town Festival Opening Show, Svara Asean, July 28th and 29th
The George Town Festival opens on July 28th 2017 with a tribute to the music of Southeast Asia. Six different groups and performers from Malaysia and elsewhere around the region will perform fifteen minute sets. The different styles, approaches and...
Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo, July 7th-9th 2017
The savagely funny and visionary play by Rajiv Joseph premiered in 2009, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2010, and opened on Broadway in 2011, with the late Robin Williams starring as the Bengal Tiger. Now we have the chance to see it in Penang, directed by and...