Singapore Night Festival installations illuminate Bras Basah.Bugis precinct

With the theme Rebirth, the Singapore Night Festival 2022 opened last night with installations illuminating the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct.

The festival returns for its 13th edition after a two-year hiatus, and features one highlight act, six projection mapping installations, 15 Night Lights installations, five performance locations with over 30 performances, five experiential programmes and a Festival Village.

This year’s highlight act, titled Cathay Hotel: The Curse of the Missing Red Shoe, has been commissioned specially for SNF 2022. The immersive theatre experience is presented by local art collective Vertical Submarine, written and created by Justin Loke and directed by Jeremiah Choy.

This year’s festival highlights the lesser-known stories of the precinct and its community. Roving theatre performance Yesterday Once More: Queen Street by Inch Chua and Tim De Cotta dives deep into the history of the precinct, featuring personal stories from past and present inhabitants.

Hungarian projection mapping studio Maxin10sity transforms the façade of the National Museum of Singapore with Stories from Forbidden Hill, an amalgamation of ancient wall murals, nature and treasures that retrace the roots of Fort Canning Park.

The festival grounds expand to Fort Canning for the first time this year, with works that festival-goers can enjoy both in the day and at night. These artworks cast a spotlight on the history of Fort Canning and the vibrancy of its flora and fauna.

Dhoby Ghaut Green transforms into an enchanting neon forest as the location of this year’s Festival Village with a spectacular line-up of live performances, DJ acts and game stations.

SNF 2022 runs from 19th to 27th August 2022 with an exciting and eclectic line-up of activities and experiences that celebrate the heritage, people and lesser-known stories of the BBB precinct.

For more information, please visit: https://www.nightfestival.gov.sg/

Image top: At Cathay Green, a re-creation of the historical Cathay complex transports festival-goers to a surreal version of old Singapore. Audiences encounter iconic characters from the Cathay universe such as Mat Bond, Orang Minyak, Pontianak, Mambo Girl and ASP Latiff, to investigate a mysterious curse from more than 60 years ago; image centre: Festival-goers embark on a journey to discover the stories of Queen Street, with a performance by Euphoria Pole & Aerial Studio; Image: The iconic museum lights up as the wall carvings, royal bath and legend of Badang tell the story of Singapore’s mythical origins and history through a mix of sound, light and scenography; image above: Festival-goers can look forward to food and beverage offerings at the Festival Village by partners including Alley, Praffles, The Swag Social, Sofnade, Pop's Cafe, Tasty Chics, Wado, Vadai Queen and W Noodle.