Reading Time: 6 minutesBy Joan Ang (17A01B), Jeanne Tan (17A01B) and Lee Yun Ning (17A01E)
Photos by Guan Xin (17S03B), Elizabeth Quek (17S07A) and Ethan Ong Szerey (17S06Q)

There was an air of tension backstage. Raffles Chorale Chairperson, Jonathan Tan (16S06K), described concert preparation as “an uphill battle to get every single person up to mark”, and he was right — as the Year 5s only entered Chorale towards the end of February, Chorale only had a solid month and a half of practice before their time to perform rolled around. In each performer’s heart, there was only one question: would their efforts pay off? It would soon be answered.

Continue reading “The Past, Present and Future Sing a Bar Together: RI Choir Limelight 2016” →

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Rachel Lim (16A01E)

On 29 April 2016, the National Stadium seated a crowd of roaring spectators in the thousands-strong, boasting students from schools ranging from Cedar Girls’ Secondary to Victoria Junior College. With cheering competitions, ‘flexcams’ claiming their enthusiastic victims and the initiation of the quintessential ‘Kallang wave’, there was hardly a dull moment for members of the thundering audience.  So when the pin-drop silence hit right before each race, ushered by Nila the SEA games mascot on the massive LED screens, the tension in the stadium was almost palpable. Under the eyes of a sea of nearly 15,000 peers and judges, the grand stage was set with the Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands looming in the backdrop, and the athletes only had one goal in mind.

Continue reading “Over Any Hurdle: En Route to the National Inter-School Track and Field Championships 2016” →

Reading Time: 5 minutesBy Catherine Zou (17A01B) and Sabariesh Ilankathir (17A13A)

The Goodman stage lights open to the image of a life concluded: a man, crushed under the weight of a collapsed car; spinning lights; horrified onlookers.  Yet, Raffles Players’ Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) play “The Coffin Is Still Too Big For the Hole” (written by Lucas Ho and Cheryl Lee) unravels a life from its tail end. It starts with a conclusion: the coffin is still too big – but rather than being literally, physically too big for the hole (as in Kuo Pau Kun’s beloved 1984 play), it is, figuratively, too big for a life that has been confined and diminished by boundaries and restrictions.

Continue reading “The Play Was Not (at all) Too Bad: Raffles Players SYF 2016” →

Reading Time: 4 minutesBy Kaushik Rangaraj (17S06P) and Sabariesh Ilankathir (17A13A)
Photos by Lau Yunxi (17S03E) and Liu Yanru (17S05A)
Additional reporting by Lee Yun Ning (17A01E)

“It was a night of great fun and infectious music that really made it a perfect way to end off a week – not just for the audience, but also the performers,” said Yujun (17S03A), in an apt summation of the entire Uprising gig.

On 22 April, The Theatre Studies Room was bursting with energy from 6–8pm, with Raffles Rock experiencing an unforgettable time that they promised to share with us. Of course, Uprising was intended more as a snippet of Raffles Rock’s real full-length performance on 27th May, “Rock Out”. Nonetheless, Uprising was a night of earnest, energetic rock music that had the entire audience on their feet raving and cheering for their favourite bands.

Continue reading “Against the Current: Raffles Rock Uprising 2016” →