The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) will be back in May, with this year's edition revolving around the theme Let's Play!
There will be a range of activities and events – including large-scale performances, free programmes, film screenings, light works and interactive installations – across different venues such as The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Empress Lawn, Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall.
SIFA 2026 will run from May 15 to 30. Early bird tickets with 20 per cent discounts will be available from Thursday (Mar 12) 4pm via the festival's official website. Some programmes under the festival will also be eligible for purchase with the SG Culture Pass.
This year's edition marks the start of playwright Chong Tze Chien's three-year stint as the new festival director.
"The evolution of SIFA and its impact on local performing arts and culture echoes over generations,” said Chong. “We invite artists and audiences to reflect on the foundations that shape contemporary practice and where we stand today."
Here’s what to expect across SIFA 2026’s five main pillars:
Festival Stage brings together theatre productions from Singapore and abroad, featuring large-scale performances, nostalgic renditions of past stage productions, and interactive plays.
Some highlights include:
SALESMAN
Salesman is a play written by Jeremy Tiang and directed by Danny Yeo. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Written by Singaporean writer and playwright Jeremy Tiang and directed by Danny Yeo, the play centres on Arthur Miller’s 1983 visit to Beijing to direct the first Chinese production of Death Of A Salesman.
Dates: May 15 (8pm), May 16 (2pm, 8pm)
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Tickets: $38, $58 (Eligible for SG Culture Pass)
Language: English and Chinese, with English surtitles
HAMLET
A group of people with Down syndrome take the stage to share their desires and frustrations through a reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Photo: Arts House Group)
A Peruvian reimagining of the Shakespeare play performed by a cast of actors with Down syndrome, who reinterpret the classic text to express personal desires and frustrations.
Dates: May 21 (8pm), May 22 (8pm), May 23 (2pm)
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre
Tickets: $38, $48
Language: Spanish, with English surtitles
Designed with a nostalgic nod to the festive spirit of the 1990s and early 2000s, it will be a gathering point during this SIFA era’s three-year arc. There will be indoor and outdoor performances, participatory experiences, parades and late-night programming.
Programmes include:
JUST KEEP SWIMMING, JUST KEEP SWIMMING
This performance combines music and movement, and explores intergenerational cultures and exchange.
Dates: May 15 (8pm), May 16 (8pm), May 17 (8pm)
Venue: Wayang Stage @ Empress
Tickets: Free
Language: English and Chinese
RUPTURE BY THE OBSERVATORY
A site-specific sound installation that takes place early in the morning after the break of dawn (literally). The performance is rooted in volcanic activity, seismic research and mythology.
Dates: May 28-30 (6.30am)
Venue: Wayang Stage @ Empress Lawn
Tickets: Free
MAKAN CULTURE
A food-inspired interactive performance featuring music, theatre and puppetry. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Makan Culture is a food-inspired interactive programme that explores and celebrates local dishes through puppetry, music and theatre.
Dates: May 15 to 17, 20 to 24, 28 to 30 (6pm, 8pm, 10pm)
Venue: Festival Market @ Empress Lawn
Tickets: $20 (Eligible for SG Culture Pass)
Language: English
This pillar features immersive works primarily designed for families and first-time festivalgoers. Building on last year’s SIFA Pavilion at Bedok Town Square, this year’s Festival Play!Ground will be at Nexus, Punggol Digital District. It will present two programmes that will also be staged at the main festival grounds under the Festival Village pillar.
Some highlights include:
NOLI TIMERE
Noli Timere is an aerial performance featuring a large net sculpture and eight performers. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Noli Timere, Latin for "be not afraid", is a soaring aerial performance featuring a large net sculpture and eight performers navigating through it. Expect a fusion of contemporary dance, circus, art installation and advanced engineering.
Dates: May 22 (6.30pm, 8.30pm), May 23 (5.30pm, 7.30pm), May 24 (5pm, 7.30pm), May 28 to 29 (6.30pm, 8.30pm), May 30 (5.30pm, 7.30pm)
Venue: Nexus, Punggol Digital District (Punggol Coast)
Tickets: Free
A LIGHT BETWEEN RAINS
A speculative theatrical procession that combines community workshops, performances, and installations.
Dates: May 22 (5.15pm), May 23 (6.15pm), May 29 (5.15pm), May 30 (6.15pm)
Venue: Nexus, Punggol Digital District (Punggol Coast)
Tickets: Free
It will comprise immersive, family-friendly performances and workshops, as well as free film screenings and talks at various timings throughout the festival.
The pillar's highlights include:
THE LIGHTHOUSE
The Lighthouse is an immersive programme featuring interconnected rooms with interactive, hands-on experiences. (Photo: Arts House Group)
An interactive performance that's described as "part installation, part scientific quest, part rave". Meant for all ages, this installation includes interconnected rooms with hands-on experiences
Dates: May 15 to 17, May 20 to 24 (Various timings)
Venue: Multiple venues
Tickets: $28
For those who prefer their art after dark, there are programmes under the Automata series, curated by design agency Hothouse. The series brings together filmmakers, programmers, movement artists, musicians and machinists to explore art and mechanical bodies through film, sound and movement.
Part of the series includes:
AUTOMATA: TWO WEDDINGS AND A RAPTURE
Automata: Two Weddings & A Rapture is a multidisciplinary performance that explores social technologies and anxieties. (Photo: Arts House Group)
It's a multidisciplinary performance about a young woman who recalls attending two different weddings in one week. The performance uses distortive and operatic elements to explore modern life anxiety and social technologies.
Dates: May 15 to 16 (10pm)
Venue: Empress Lawn
Tickets: Free
AUTOMATA: EXCESS WITHOUT RETURN
Automata: Excess Without Return is a three-hour party produced by Big Duck Music. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Excess Without Return is a three-hour closing party split into three acts that represent different aspects of the Automata series. Produced by Big Duck Music and featuring regional acts, the programme is a musical display that brings audiences through relaxed ambiences and high-intensity music.
Dates: May 30 (9.30pm)
Venue: Empress Lawn
Tickets: Free
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There will be a range of activities and events – including large-scale performances, free programmes, film screenings, light works and interactive installations – across different venues such as The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Empress Lawn, Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall.
SIFA 2026 will run from May 15 to 30. Early bird tickets with 20 per cent discounts will be available from Thursday (Mar 12) 4pm via the festival's official website. Some programmes under the festival will also be eligible for purchase with the SG Culture Pass.
This year's edition marks the start of playwright Chong Tze Chien's three-year stint as the new festival director.
"The evolution of SIFA and its impact on local performing arts and culture echoes over generations,” said Chong. “We invite artists and audiences to reflect on the foundations that shape contemporary practice and where we stand today."
Here’s what to expect across SIFA 2026’s five main pillars:
1. FESTIVAL STAGE
Festival Stage brings together theatre productions from Singapore and abroad, featuring large-scale performances, nostalgic renditions of past stage productions, and interactive plays.
Some highlights include:
SALESMAN
Salesman is a play written by Jeremy Tiang and directed by Danny Yeo. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Written by Singaporean writer and playwright Jeremy Tiang and directed by Danny Yeo, the play centres on Arthur Miller’s 1983 visit to Beijing to direct the first Chinese production of Death Of A Salesman.
Dates: May 15 (8pm), May 16 (2pm, 8pm)
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Tickets: $38, $58 (Eligible for SG Culture Pass)
Language: English and Chinese, with English surtitles
HAMLET
A group of people with Down syndrome take the stage to share their desires and frustrations through a reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Photo: Arts House Group)
A Peruvian reimagining of the Shakespeare play performed by a cast of actors with Down syndrome, who reinterpret the classic text to express personal desires and frustrations.
Dates: May 21 (8pm), May 22 (8pm), May 23 (2pm)
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre
Tickets: $38, $48
Language: Spanish, with English surtitles
2. FESTIVAL VILLAGE
Designed with a nostalgic nod to the festive spirit of the 1990s and early 2000s, it will be a gathering point during this SIFA era’s three-year arc. There will be indoor and outdoor performances, participatory experiences, parades and late-night programming.
Programmes include:
JUST KEEP SWIMMING, JUST KEEP SWIMMING
This performance combines music and movement, and explores intergenerational cultures and exchange.
Dates: May 15 (8pm), May 16 (8pm), May 17 (8pm)
Venue: Wayang Stage @ Empress
Tickets: Free
Language: English and Chinese
RUPTURE BY THE OBSERVATORY
A site-specific sound installation that takes place early in the morning after the break of dawn (literally). The performance is rooted in volcanic activity, seismic research and mythology.
Dates: May 28-30 (6.30am)
Venue: Wayang Stage @ Empress Lawn
Tickets: Free
MAKAN CULTURE
A food-inspired interactive performance featuring music, theatre and puppetry. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Makan Culture is a food-inspired interactive programme that explores and celebrates local dishes through puppetry, music and theatre.
Dates: May 15 to 17, 20 to 24, 28 to 30 (6pm, 8pm, 10pm)
Venue: Festival Market @ Empress Lawn
Tickets: $20 (Eligible for SG Culture Pass)
Language: English
3. FESTIVAL PLAY!GROUND
This pillar features immersive works primarily designed for families and first-time festivalgoers. Building on last year’s SIFA Pavilion at Bedok Town Square, this year’s Festival Play!Ground will be at Nexus, Punggol Digital District. It will present two programmes that will also be staged at the main festival grounds under the Festival Village pillar.
Some highlights include:
NOLI TIMERE
Noli Timere is an aerial performance featuring a large net sculpture and eight performers. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Noli Timere, Latin for "be not afraid", is a soaring aerial performance featuring a large net sculpture and eight performers navigating through it. Expect a fusion of contemporary dance, circus, art installation and advanced engineering.
Dates: May 22 (6.30pm, 8.30pm), May 23 (5.30pm, 7.30pm), May 24 (5pm, 7.30pm), May 28 to 29 (6.30pm, 8.30pm), May 30 (5.30pm, 7.30pm)
Venue: Nexus, Punggol Digital District (Punggol Coast)
Tickets: Free
A LIGHT BETWEEN RAINS
A speculative theatrical procession that combines community workshops, performances, and installations.
Dates: May 22 (5.15pm), May 23 (6.15pm), May 29 (5.15pm), May 30 (6.15pm)
Venue: Nexus, Punggol Digital District (Punggol Coast)
Tickets: Free
4. FESTIVAL HOUSE
It will comprise immersive, family-friendly performances and workshops, as well as free film screenings and talks at various timings throughout the festival.
The pillar's highlights include:
THE LIGHTHOUSE
The Lighthouse is an immersive programme featuring interconnected rooms with interactive, hands-on experiences. (Photo: Arts House Group)
An interactive performance that's described as "part installation, part scientific quest, part rave". Meant for all ages, this installation includes interconnected rooms with hands-on experiences
Dates: May 15 to 17, May 20 to 24 (Various timings)
Venue: Multiple venues
Tickets: $28
5. FESTIVAL LATE NITES
For those who prefer their art after dark, there are programmes under the Automata series, curated by design agency Hothouse. The series brings together filmmakers, programmers, movement artists, musicians and machinists to explore art and mechanical bodies through film, sound and movement.
Part of the series includes:
AUTOMATA: TWO WEDDINGS AND A RAPTURE
Automata: Two Weddings & A Rapture is a multidisciplinary performance that explores social technologies and anxieties. (Photo: Arts House Group)
It's a multidisciplinary performance about a young woman who recalls attending two different weddings in one week. The performance uses distortive and operatic elements to explore modern life anxiety and social technologies.
Dates: May 15 to 16 (10pm)
Venue: Empress Lawn
Tickets: Free
AUTOMATA: EXCESS WITHOUT RETURN
Automata: Excess Without Return is a three-hour party produced by Big Duck Music. (Photo: Arts House Group)
Excess Without Return is a three-hour closing party split into three acts that represent different aspects of the Automata series. Produced by Big Duck Music and featuring regional acts, the programme is a musical display that brings audiences through relaxed ambiences and high-intensity music.
Dates: May 30 (9.30pm)
Venue: Empress Lawn
Tickets: Free
Continue reading...