SIZZLING ACTS

Usher in the Year of the Snake with the 23rd edition of the festival from Feb 7 to 16. Organised by Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, it showcases some of the best theatre and music acts from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Here are some shows to catch

- Shawn Hoo

Eavesdropping on fellow elderly men at the urology clinic led acclaimed Taiwanese director Wu Nien-jen to write his latest script Human Condition VIII, a humorous look at the woes that accompany retirement.

"From their tone, I sensed a kind of disappointment - one that their wives and children might not quite grasp," says Wu, 72, who was a regular at the clinic after surgery for bladder cancer about four years ago. "When I heard them speak, my only thought was that these were men who have been made redundant by the times."

The men he observed - usually unaccompanied by family - inspired Wu's characterisation of a retired patriarch protagonist who confronts his invisibility at home. That is, until the old man wins the lottery and feels the spotlight on him again.

Greenray Theatre Company's Human Condition VIII is the eighth instalment in a series of unlinked plays detailing the everyday life of Taiwanese that Wu has written and directed since 2001. It is the first time a play from the series, which will be staged at the Esplanade Theatre on Feb 15 and 16 as part of Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts, is coming to Singapore.