Little SIFA Returns with Magical Sailboats, Music & Puppetry at Empress Lawn

Hi Huneybees,

The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2025 is in full swing and the magic isn't just for grown-ups. Families, get ready to explore Little SIFA, the festival’s dedicated kids' programme, back for its second year at Empress Lawn, right beside the Victoria Theatre and Asian Civilisations Museum.

This year’s edition invites children (and the young at heart) to play, imagine, and discover through music, theatre, and immersive art, all free to attend!

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Step Into History: The House Between the Winds
(Interactive Soundscape & Drama Performance by Yang Jie)

Your Little SIFA adventure starts with a showstopper: a magnificent 6-metre-tall sailboat parked right on the lawn. This isn’t just for show, it’s part of Singaporean artist Yang Jie’s interactive installation that responds with lights and sound as you explore it.

The sailboat is more than a structure, it’s a symbol of Singapore’s transformation from a bustling trading port to a modern-day home. Kids (and adults!) can step into this magical world and experience a story that unfolds through sound, movement, and light.

Bonus fun: On weekends, stay for the theatrical journey of a seafarer seeking a mythical tree that is a visual, dialogue-free performance perfect for little ones who love storytelling without words.

Installation: Daily, 19 May – 1 June 2025, 10am – 9pm
Performances: Fridays to Sundays, 23–25 May & 30 May–1 June 2025, 5pm – 9pm

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Photo Credits: Singapore International Festival of Arts

Groove to The Purple Symphony

Don’t miss The Purple Symphony, Singapore’s largest inclusive orchestra, made up of musicians of all abilities playing both Western and Asian instruments. At Little SIFA, they’ll perform fun, familiar tunes that are perfect for little ears and curious minds. Expect toe-tapping rhythms, heartwarming energy, and music that bridges all walks of life.

Performance Times:
23–25 May 2025, 7pm – 7.30pm

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Photo Credits: The Finger Players

Meet the Animals: Animal Farm (Kid-Friendly Puppet Edition)
(By The Finger Players)

The classic George Orwell tale gets a child-friendly twist! This 30-minute version of Animal Farm features life-sized puppets and storytelling that introduces young audiences to the story in a gentle, imaginative way.

The best part? Kids can interact with the puppets after the show. A great way to spark curiosity about theatre and puppetry.

Show Dates:
30 May – 1 June 2025, 7pm – 7.30pm

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Bring the Whole Family Down to Empress Lawn

All of Little SIFA’s programmes take place at Empress Lawn, a beautiful, open-air space perfect for a relaxed artsy outing with kids. Whether you're wandering through the sailboat installation, enjoying a twilight puppet show, or grooving to inclusive music, it’s a fun and meaningful way to introduce little ones to the arts. Other than the performances mentioned above, there's also side workshops for all to join in and DIY your own crafts.

Admission is free for all activities, so pack a picnic mat, gather your mini-explorers, and make a magical evening of it!

Full programme and details: sifa.sg/sifa-2025/little-sifa.

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Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2025 Returns: More Than Ever, We Know Who We Are

Hi Huneybees,

Get ready for one of the most exciting editions of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) yet. From May 16 to June 1, 2025, SIFA returns with a bold vision, bringing its largest-ever showcase of homegrown talent to stages across the city—and even into the heartlands.

“In a world afflicted with the rhetoric of divide, More Than Ever, we need to resist limiting binaries and relate to each other in nuance. In doing so, we uphold the station of the Arts as a vital space in society that explores differences in opinions, accepts otherness and maintains the past, present, and future as entities that perpetually influence and shape each other, engendering new narratives on a supple timeline that moves forwards, cyclically or in any imaginable configuration.” --- Festival Director Natalie Hennedige

A Milestone Year for Singapore, A Milestone Festival

In celebration of Singapore’s 60th year of independence, this year’s theme, More Than Ever, We Know Who We Are, reflects a deep dive into national identity, history, and imagination. With **15 commissioned works—the highest in the festival’s history—**and a powerful line-up of both local and international artists, SIFA 2025 promises to be its most ambitious edition yet.

Under the artistic direction of Natalie Hennedige, audiences can expect her signature post-modern aesthetic: a fusion of theatre, visual art, dance, and music that challenges, inspires, and resonates.

Left: SIFA Pavilion. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)
Right: The Sea and the Neighbourhood. (Image courtesy of Brian Gothong Tan)

Taking the Arts to the Heartlands

In a groundbreaking move, SIFA is bringing the arts directly into the neighbourhoods. For the first time in its 48-year history, the festival introduces the SIFA Pavilion at Bedok Town Square. This vibrant, coral-inspired stage by artist Wang Ruobing will host The Sea And The Neighbourhood, the festival’s opening performance, featuring collaborators like composer Philip Tan, choreographer Christina Chan, and video artist Brian Gothong Tan. On weekdays, the space transforms into a kinetic art installation; on weekends, it becomes a multidisciplinary hub for live performances.

Left: Animal Farm. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)
Right:LEAR. (Image courtesy of Niall Walker)

Reimagining the Classics

This year, timeless works get fresh interpretations by Singapore artists. Expect George Orwell’s Animal Farm reimagined through puppetry by The Finger Players, and a unique King Lear performed from the perspective of a deaf artist by Ramesh Meyyappan, a Glasgow-based Singaporean performer.

Left: Umbilical. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)
Right:A Thousand Stitches. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)

Deep Stories, Bold Expression

SIFA 2025 doesn’t shy away from the heavy-hitters. Two standout works-in-progress from SIFA 2024 return in full form:

• Umbilical uses movement, projections, and AI to explore the trauma of Singapore’s 1965 separation from Malaysia. Created by Zal Mahmod, thesupersystem, and Rizman Putra, this immersive piece is both personal and political.

• A Thousand Stitches, by a multidisciplinary team including Alan Oei, Kaylene Tan, Xuan Ong, and Mihaya Shirata, tells the haunting story of a student restoring a vandalised portrait of a Japanese woman—an artistic reflection on wartime Singapore.

The House Between the Winds. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)

Arts for All Ages

Families can once again enjoy Little SIFA at Empress Lawn, complete with interactive installations (keep an eye out for a giant sailboat!) and kid-friendly performances that invite curiosity and play.

Left: Hossan-AH! In The High Arts. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)
Right: stray gods. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)

Celebrating Singapore’s Creative Spirit

Singapore’s arts scene gets a nostalgic and humorous nod with Hossan-Ah! In The High Arts, a stand-up-style journey through the local arts scene since the 1980s by Hossan Leong. Meanwhile, artist weish delves into ancient texts and Hakka funeral songs in stray gods, a powerful musical performance blending history and myth.

Prism 48. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited)

The Festival also features PRISM 48, a conversation series curated by writer, editor, and producer Hong Xinyi. Titled to reflect the multifaceted perspectives shaping Singapore’s evolving cultural identity anchored on shared arts and culture, PRISM 48 explores our understanding of ourselves and our region, and the nation’s place within global artistic circuits. A range of thinkers and cultural advocates, who work both locally and regionally, will be in dialogue about topics such as What Difference Can Singapore Storytelling Make, exploring and reframing cultural narratives through the performing arts and beyond.

Left: HOME. (Image courtesy of Hillarie Jason) / Told By My Mother. (Image courtesy of Pierre Gondard)
Right: COLONY – A True Colors Project. (Image courtesy of Arts House Limited) / Vampyr. (Image courtesy of Franco Barrios)

Global Voices, Shared Stages

While spotlighting local talent, SIFA continues to grow its international reach. Audiences can look forward to:

• Home by American artist Geoff Sobelle – a theatrical meditation on memory, space, and the passage of time.

• Told By My Mother by Lebanese choreographer Ali Chahrour – a deeply moving performance about love and loss.

• Vampyr by Chilean playwright Manuela Infante – a darkly comedic mockumentary that tackles environmental themes.

• Colony, directed by Remesh Panicker, brings together differently abled dancers from Southeast Asia and Japan in a powerful, inclusive performance.

More Than Ever: Why It Matters

SIFA 2025 is more than just a festival—it's a reflection of Singapore’s cultural courage and its creative pulse. It’s about bringing communities together, challenging the norm, and pushing artistic boundaries in ways that are deeply personal and profoundly collective.

As Hennedige puts it, “We need to look at our arts landscape and all these things happening in relation to one another. If it’s not the space where you still try to push, then I’m not sure where else to.”

Plan Your Festival Adventure

Early bird tickets go on sale from March 11 to April 14, 2025, with a 20% discount for those who book in advance. The full programme and updates can be found at sifa.sg.

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