SIFA 2015: Kumar’s picks

SINGAPORE — Comedian Kumar has a simple rule when it comes to choosing the shows he watches: “I need to understand it. I need to relate to it,” he said.

It’s the reason why he’s not quite a fan of films such as Inception. “I still don’t get it. What do you mean ‘A dream in a dream in a dream’? The beginning and end must make sense. You don’t leave me hanging — like in a relationship,” he joked.

He applies a simliar ideology when it comes to the everyday things; such as breakfast. “I always go for the same old, like chicken rice or chee cheong fun or chwee kueh — it might not be as good as (what you get at) Tiong Bahru market but you’ll never go wrong, lah.”

Still, that doesn’t mean he’s completely playing it safe when it comes to selecting what shows to watch at this year’s Singapore International Festival Of Arts (of which he’s a part of, with his mass-friendly heartlands performances). When we showed him the programme booklet, Kumar was game enough to point out some shows that piqued his interest. Who knows, you might find them interesting, too.

T’ANG QUARTET SHOWS. The classical string quartet is presenting three concerts at the festival: Guts & Steel, where they, in collaboration with pianist Melvyn Tan, literally go “old school” and use old period instruments; Black Angels, which features a work by avant-garde composer George Crumb; and Celestial Remnants, where the group works with young musicians. Why does the group get a thumbs-up from Kumar? “They’re going to do something different this time, not the normal violins and cellos, so it’ll be interesting to see what they come up with,” he said of the Guts & Steel concert.

“They’ve also been around for a long time. To sustain (a career), especially in music, is quite hard to do, so they must really be good at what they do,” Kumar added. “And also, because I’ve always liked to play music instruments, but I never could!”

SMRITI PADHA (MEMORY ROUTE).

Having trained as an Indian classical dancer when he was young, Kumar’s interest in this dance piece by Cultural Medallion recipient Santha Bhaskar is perhaps to be expected. There’s an interesting premise to the production: It’s anchored to the performance of Dussasana Vadham, a story from the Mahabharata, which was first staged in Victoria Theatre in 1954. Performed by dancers from the Kerala Kalamandalam in India, it was brought to Singapore by Mrs Bhaskar’s late husband KP Bhaskar, who then started a Kathakali group in Singapore. Fast forward to the present day, and a show inspired by the same story is back in the new Victoria Theatre. And yes, it’s performed by dancers from Bhaskar’s Arts Academy.

OPEN WITH A PUNK SPIRIT! DANCE MARATHON. It seems like Kumar is really into dance. While going through the programme, he zoomed in on this festival-within-a-festival and picked out a few choice pieces, such as Padmini Chettur’s Wall Dancing, Preethi Athreya’s Light Doesn’t Have Arms To Carry Us and Mandeep Raikhy’s A Male Ant Has Straight Antennae — the latter primarily for its publicity photo of two dancers seemingly tethered via their nether regions. “It’s going to be interesting to see ... But it’s art, you see?” he deadpanned. “I might not understand it, but I would love to see it.”

The Singapore International Festival Of Arts 2015 runs from Aug 6 to Sept 19. For more details on the shows and the festival itself, visit http://sifa.sg/sifa/