Diva's Interview with Albin Johnson and R2-KT, guests of May the 4th Festival 2018

Two wonderful special guests will be celebrating Star Wars Day aka May the 4th Celebrations 2018 with the local Star Wars community in Red Dot Island next weekend. They are Albin Johnson, the founder of the international costuming group the 501st legion, and R2-KT, a compassionate yet spunky pink astromech droid who is also known as the pink beacon of hope.

Both Albin and R2-KT have made appearances in countless events through the years, especially focusing on bringing hope to seriously and terminally ill children at hospitals around the U.S.A. This time, the duo will be entering into hyperspace to visit the Red Dot Island, with a mission to bring more joy and hope to the fans and children here.

In fact, R2-KT has arrived a week early and is already on the island. She got her new power cells, oil baths, fancy polishes... basically, getting all prettied and prepped up for Star Wars Day.

Here she is, chillin' out before she charms everyone's feet off.

R2-KT holidaying in Red Dot Island (pic by Hansen Khoo)

Before it gets too wild at the May the 4th Festival next weekend, Red Dot Diva caught hold of both of them (via an efficient protocol droid through a secured channel, of course!) for a quick interview.

SRT's Shakespeare in the Park : Julius Caesar - Diva's Interview with Director, Guy Unsworth

Freelance director Guy Unsworth is currently back here working on another Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) production - the upcoming performance of Shakespeare in the Park : Julius Caesar.

Last year, he directed the dark comedy SRTs "Hand of God", which scored positive reviews from critics and audiences. His recent works include an acclaimed UK tour of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and his own adaptation of "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em".

Even though he is busy getting the play ready for the 2 May launch date, Red Dot Diva managed to grab a few minutes of his time for an interview:

Red Dot Diva: How did you get involved with SRT's Shakespeare in the Park: Julius Caesar? 
Guy Unsworth: I was introduced to Gaurav Kripalani and Juliet Chia back in 2016 and since then we’ve been talking about the exciting potential of Julius Caesar. I came to Singapore last year to stage Hand to God, and since then have been working solidly on this production.

RDD: What is it like adapting the play for Singapore audiences?
Guy: It’s a fun challenge. I was very keen to find a contemporary equivalent that would work in the international community of Singapore. There’s a lot of talk about Rome and Romans in the play, but specifically the honour, history and responsibility that that identity carries. The big question for me to answer therefore was ‘What is the equivalent of Rome today?’. More than just a literal place, 'Rome' is an identity, it’s a community, and a title which binds these people together. It then struck me that intergovernmental organisations like NATO, the UN, G7, G20 etc. carry stakes on a much more global scale. They require their members to work as a team, but inevitably alliances form and factions are made. And where better to have lots of different nationalities coming together than Singapore? So it seemed a perfect fit to set this at a R.O.M.E. summit.

I was also excited by the age range of the Singapore audiences and I want the show to reach out to younger audience members. When I was a teenager I found Shakespeare very difficult to get my head into, so whenever I direct it, I'm very keen to bear my younger self in mind. It's going to be pretty fast and furious, and there are lots of theatrical surprises along the way. I want to make something which my teenage self would have enjoyed.

SRT's Shakespeare in the Park : Julius Caesar - Diva's Interview with Actor, Julie Wee

In Shakespeare's historical and political thriller "Julius Caesar", one could argue that the senator Caius Cassius is more of a baddie than the titular character. After all, the politician was the main instigator of the plot to kill Caesar.

Starting 2 May 2018 at Fort Canning Park, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) will be presenting Shakespeare in the Park -"Julius Caesar", set in modern times. Two key characters in the play has been cast as females. Well-known actress Jo Kukathas takes up the lead role of Caesar, while Julie Wee - a familiar face for local viewers, having been on Mediacorp 5 TV series like "Moulmein High" and "Light Years" - will be playing the manipulative and politically savvy Cassius.

Julie is no stranger to SRT's Shakespeare in the Park productions either. She has acted as Portia in "The Merchant of Venice", Miranda in "The Tempest", Hero in "Much Ado About Nothing" and Bianca in "Othello". "Julius Caesar" will be her 5th Shakespeare in the Park role!

To get some dibs about Julie's role in "Julius Caesar", Red Dot Diva got in touch with her for a mini interview.

Red Dot Diva: Hi, Julie! It’s just a couple of weeks away from the first day of SRT’s Shakespeare in the Park: Julius Caesar. How excited are you to be finally on stage with a live audience? 
Julie Wee: Very excited! The audience is the missing character in rehearsals, so it's always such a relief to finally have them with us to share the story.

ArtScience Museum's "Marvel Studios: Ten Years of Heroes" Exhibition Begins 9 June 2018

"Avengers: Infinity War" is set to have an epic showdown of Thanos versus almost everyone's favourite Marvel superheros. The film, plugged as the biggest movie event of the year, premieres in Red Dot Island on 26 April 2018. It is going to be longest Marvel movie, with a runtime of 2 hours 36 minutes. So, do plan your toilet breaks accordingly!

After watching the "Avengers: Infinity War" movie, Marvel fans can indulge with even more superheroes fun at a special interactive exhibition called "Marvel Studios: Ten Years of Heroes", which will be held at ArtSci Museum. Curating from Marvel's decade of movies (which consists of 19 films in total), the exhibition will present the superheroes, like Iron-Man, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow, Starlord and more, via cutting-edge AV and media technology.

Fans will be transported into these Marvel cinematic worlds, with interactive exhibits that include segments from the recent international hit "Black Panther", "Thor: Ragnorak", "Avengers: Infinity War" and the upcoming "Ant_man & the Wasp".

Drowning In Kawaii-ness at the Tokidoki x Kumoya Cafe

Kumoya Cafe has collaborated with lifestyle brand Tokidoki for a pop-up cafe. The entire set up is filled with wildly colourful Tokidoki characters, making it an Instagrammer's dream come true!

This is the world's first Tokidoki cafe, and it is open till the end of June 2018.


LAUNCH OF CAFE ON 29 MARCH

Red Dot Diva went to the official launch two weeks ago. Simone Legno, co-founder of Tokidoki, was back in Red Dot Island for the opening as well as meet and greet for 30 fans at a first-come, first-served basis.

A post shared by Red Dot Diva (@reddotdiva) on Mar 30, 2018 at 11:56pm PDT

When she arrived, there was already a long line of hardcore Tokidoki fans waiting to meet Simone. Luckily, she managed to score the last ticket for the meet and greet.

Meet Albin Johnson & R2-KT at Star Wars Day's May the 4th Festival 2018 in Singapore

Albin Johnson, R2-KT and some members of 501st Legion

May the 4th - the Star Wars-iest event of the year - is back. The festival is organized by Esprimo and a group of local Star Wars fans, with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board, and will be held at the F1 Pit Building on May 4th & May 5th 

Last year's May the 4th extravaganza was held at the Gardens by the Bay, which featured Disney Park's Kylo Ren and Chewbacca, as well as a scintillating Star Wars-themed light show at the Supertree Grove. If you missed the party last year, come join the fan community for a weekend of nerdy fun and camaraderie.

In fact, you might get to meet an actual movie star! The pink astromech droid R2-KT will be in Red Dot Island just for the festivities. She is already on her way here!

Pop-culture Convention Watch: ComicCon Asia, Manila - Was It Worth Attending?

Last year, Red Dot Diva and her Geek Blogger Alliance pals spotted a dodgy looking promo video of a new pop-culture convention called ComicCon Asia held at SMX Convention Center, Metro Manila, on 24th & 25th March 2018. They wondered if the convention was for real, especially since Asia-Pop Comic Con (APCC) has managed to garner solid fan and vendor support in the last couple of years. Are these newbies ready to take on the competition? That initial promo video and their newly launched website did not inspire much confidence.

The organizers, PSL Entertainment (who had more experience with beauty pageants) and Nam Entertainment Group, had touted that the convention was supported by Manny Pacquiao as the Philippines’ tourism ambassador. This was one of their biggest mistakes. The controversial, religiously conservative sportsman, was known to have called gay people ‘worse than animals’.

Perception that the show was being a poor copycat of the internationally reknown San Diego Comic-Con was also evident in its choice of name and the similarity in the logo design.

In comparison to APCC, tickets for the ComicCon Asia were more expensive. A 2-day ticket cost PHP1,300 (SGD33) compared to APCC's 2017 ticket prices of PHP1,100 (SGD27) for a 3-day access. To be fair, considering that they did invite Marvel's "Generalissimo" Stan Lee, the photo and autograph opportunities for the fans would have been worth the ticket price. However, any pop-culture fan would know that Stan Lee is already 96 years old, and has been of poor health lately. Would you fly more than 24 hours to another country to attend a convention at that age? It was not a surprise then, due to another bout of pneumonia, Stan Lee's appearance was cancelled a week before the convention. Also, a week's notice was late for those who had already made travel arrangements, even though Cavaet Emptor.

That was not the end of ComicCon Asia's list of boo-boos. Here are some of them: