With the theme More Than Ever, SIFA 2025 will be held from May 16 to Jun 1 with a record 15 commissioned local works, including local adaptations of international classics. Visitors will be able to enjoy a range of works and performances fromlocal adaptations of George Orwells Animal Farm and Shakespeares King Lear to reimaginations of Singapore‘s history.

The annual Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA 2025) will return and present a record 15 commissioned local works, making this year its largest showcase of homegrown talent. From May 16 to Jun 1, with the theme More Than Ever, this years lineup honors the festivals 48-year journey.

Explaining the theme, festival director Natalie Hennedige holds: In a world afflicted with the rhetoric of divide, More Than Ever, we need to resist limiting binaries and relate to each other in nuance.”

Celebrating Singapore’s Evolving cultural history

Against the backdrop of Singapores 60th anniversary; SIFA 2025 is to celebrate the nations evolving cultural identity by positioning Singapore artistic expression at the fore, while expanding global perspectives with the invitation of distinct international artists.

The festival will feature the SIFA Pavilion at Bedok Town Square, which will host local works including SIFAs opening performance, The Sea and the Neighborhood, a coral-inspired installation inspired by Bedoks coastal heritage, neighborhood charm and modernity.

Created by visual artist Wang Ruobing, composer Philip Tan, choreographer Christina Chan with Singapore Ballet and video artist Brian Gothong Tan, and curated by SIFA, this large-scale work captures the ebb and flow of Singapores collective past, present and future.

Additionally, visitors can experience local adaptations of international classics, including local theatre company The Finger Players adaptation of George Orwells Animal Farm as well as Glasgow-based Singaporean Ramesh Meyyappans re-imagination of Shakespeares King Lear.

Relive Singapores history through Umbilical by artists Rizman Putra, Zul Mahmod and the supersystem, a multi-sensorial performance depicting the stories of the people who lived through the separation of Singapore and Malaysia in 1965.

Or experience a haunting reimagining of Syonan-to a Japanese-occupied Singapore, in A Thousand Stitches told through a blend of performance, painting and live cinema by artist-curator Alan Oei, performer-director Kaylene Tan and actresses Xuan Ong and Mihaya Shirata.

Other highlights include local comedian Hossan Leongs Hossan-AH! In The High Arts which is inspired by Leongs personal journey which mirrors Singapores own cultural awakening from church pianist to becoming one of the nations most versatile entertainers, as well as Waiting For Audience directed by Nelson Chia and Mia Chee, founders of Nine Years Theatre, a Mandarin play which explores the enduring vitality of theatre as an ancient art form.

Additionally, enjoy four international acts including HOME by actor-creator Geoff Sobelle which presents a non-verbal performance that explores the everyday drama of what makes a house a home, as well as Vampyr, a mockumentary about stubborn shapeshifting creatures and the third part of Chilean playwright and theatre director Manuela Infantes exploration of the non-human.

The festival also features PRISM 48, a conversation series curated by writer, editor and producer Hong Xinyi that explores our understanding of ourselves and our region, as well as the nations place within global artistic circuits.

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country’s territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet.

In its early history, Singapore was a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrept trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a Crown colony following Japan’s surrender in 1945.

Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore’s expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers.

As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita. It is also identified as a tax haven. Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers.

Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world.