DIDO AND AENEAS

A show after the opera of the same name (1689) by Henry Purcell

T:>Works

  • Japan Premiere
  • Dance
  • Sound/Music
  • Theatre
  • Installation/Exhibition
  • Japan
  • Singapore

Dido and Aeneas is a riotous reimagination of Henry Purcell's baroque opera of the same name, through the lens of T:>Works' (formerly known as TheatreWorks) artistic director Ong Keng Sen and the body-ody-ody of Becca D'Bus, Singapore's biggest drag queen. The premiere at the Singapore International Festival of Arts turned out to be a performance that finds new life (and a new death) in the classic tale, offering fresh perspectives into old themes of love, loss, destiny, and empowerment. A call for volunteer performers from Yokohama and neighborhoods for this presentation in YPAM is open until October 15.

The Queen of Carthago, Dido falls in love with Aeneas, the Prince of Troy who lost the Trojan War. The ship of Aeneas was heading to Rome, before it was shipwrecked and reached Carthago in North Africa. Dido and Aeneas fall in love. The witches who hate Dido incite Aeneas to leave Carthago and return to Rome, and...

Venue

KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre Medium Studio
281 Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama 231-0023

Date and Time

12.5 Thu 19:30
12.6 Fri 19:30
12.7 Sat 15:00

Running Time

Approx. 70 min

Language

English

Translation/Subtitles

Japanese surtitles and interpretation

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair access
  • Accessible toilet

*12.7 Sat 15:00 Child nursery service available (¥2,000). Please contact us by one week before the show.

Tickets

General ¥3,500
YPAM Registrant ¥1,500

Available at ArtSticker and Ticket Kanagawa (general only)

Artist Information

Ong Keng Sen

Ong Keng Sen is the Artistic Director of T:>Works (formerly TheatreWorks), where he has created many works that negotiate diverse traditional arts, queer expressions, documentary and archives, of Asia with a wide range of contemporary artforms. His productions have toured around the world, the latest being Trojan Women which played at  Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2022 and Edinburgh International Festival in 2023. He has also initiated and conceptualized a number of projects for curation and public engagement including the renewal of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (2013–2017).

Becca d'Bus

Becca D'Bus, Singapore's biggest drag queen, seen all over the world since she was created in Boston in 2005, is Eugene Tan, an artist interested in making meaning with entertainment, activism, garments, words and pleasure. Becca is the producer and host of RIOT!, Singapore's only regular drag revue, and an organizer and host of The Glory Hoes present, a queer film screening series at The Projector. Eugene has also been part of the organizing committee of IndigNation, Singapore's pride season, and worked with multiple corporations on their Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity initiatives.

Khairullah Rahim

The winner of the 2017 IMPART Awards for Visual Artist category, Khairullah Rahim is an internationally acclaimed artist working across mixed-media installation, object-making, painting, photography and moving image. His explorations delve into complex strategies of resourcefulness for everyday survival, through various means of collaboration and critical thinking. Recurring points of departure in his work premise around themes of queerness, desire, resistance, aspiration, labour and ethics of disclosure. His works are in the collection of Singapore Art Museum and SUNPRIDE Foundation.

Staff, Cast and Credits

A T:>Works Production
Conceived and Directed by Ong Keng Sen
Set and Props Design by Khairullah Rahim
Costume Design by Becca D'Bus and Khairullah Rahim
Starring Becca D'Bus and the Yokohama Belindas (Angel Revlon, Koppi Mizrahi, Labianna Joroe, Le Horla Mizrahi, Mika-LE, Misaki Masuda, Momo Adachi, Nana Rainbow, Showta Oricci, Tokiko Kuala Lumpur)
Hands Performance Choreography by Koppi Mizrahi
Video Design by Elizabeth Mak
Production Stage Manager: Cindy Yeong
Technical Manager and Lighting/Video: Ian Tan
Sound Engineer: Joel Manuel Fernandez
Producer: Traslin Ong

Premiered in Singapore International Arts Festival at Stamford Arts Centre on May 17, 2024

Stage Manager: Lang Craighill (Green Room, Ltd.)
Lighting Coordination: Megumi Yamashita (RYU)
Lighting: Aria Hoashi (RYU), Keisuke Yoshitsugu
Sound: Ken Inarimori
Video: Yuki Sato (Edith Grove Co.,Ltd.)
Stage: Takumi Hasegawa (Stage Work URAK Co., Ltd.), Hiromu Sasaki
Costume Assistant: Tomoe Kobayashi
Props Assistant: Luna Shawa Ota
Simultaneous Interpretation: Kayoko Yokota (Idiolink, Inc.), Takao Kawaguchi
Surtitle Translation: Tomoyuki Arai
Management: Kumi Hiraoka, Nobutaka Nakahara

Organized by Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting Executive Committee