Cinemas
For cinema-goers, Singapore has much to offer, with dozens of cinemas in and around the city centre showing everything from the latest Hollywood blockbusters and art films to Chinese dramas. Movie-going is a sophisticated business in Singapore, with many multiplexes and cineplexes featuring 5 to 10 movies at any one time in comfortable surroundings. A visit to the movies is less expensive than in most Western countries and the cinemas are all air-conditioned. Cheek local newspapers for cinema listings.

For film buffs, Singapore stages its own Film Festival biennially, screening dozens of documentaries and Lull-length feature films from all over the world.

Pubs, Bars, Discos and Karaokes
Singapore’s night life gets live lier every month as new bars, discos and karaoke lounges open their doors.

Night life, Singapore-style, is entertaining, exciting — and safe. You can down a pint of bitter in an English pub listen to live rock bands in discos and nightclubs, sing along with other customers in a karaoke bar, listen to a live jazz band over a beei; or enjoy a game of billiards or darts in one of the quieter watering holes. Or you can by a Singapore Sling in the place where it was invented — the world famous Long Bar at Raffles Hotel.

Most bars have happy hours, usually from about 5pm to around 8pm, when drinks are at reduced rates,

or you get two for the price of one. Discos generally have a cover charge which includes the price of the first drink, although many hotels with their own discos admit house guests free.

Orchard Road is still the brightest star in Singapore’s galaxy of —night life, with any number of popular bars, nightclubs and discos tucked away in its shopping malls. But these days, nightlife can enjoyed in many other parts of the city.

The restored shophouses of Tanjong Pagar light up at night as its numerous pubs, clubs and karaoke lounges come to life. Customers throng in and out of pubs, restaurants and lounges along the banks of the Singapore River at Boat Quay. At Clarke Quay, visitors can try the Disney-style adventure rides or wander among the shops and restaurants enjoying street entertainment — such as wayang (Chinese street opera), acrobats, buskers, jugglers and magicians. They can unwind with a quick drink at a wine bar or hit the karaoke pubs and bars if they want more "action Holland Village has its own brand of bars and karaoke lounges, and Bugis Street offers bars, discos and Broadway-style cabaret in a theatre-style saloon.

Nightclubs, Theatre Restaurants & Cultural Shows
For that big night out, Singapore’s hotels, nightclubs and theatre restaurants offer style, great entertainment and LasVegas-type cabaret. Many hotels stage regular cultural shows where Chinese acrobats and martial artistes join graceful Malay and Indian dancers to stage performances that capture Singapore’s rich cultural heritage.

Cultural shows can also be enjoyed nightly at the Malay Village in Geytang Serai or on weeknights at the Singa Inn Restaurant at East Coast Parkway. Orchard Road is the place for ritzy nightclubs, and theatre restaurants offer excellent cuisine and top live cabaret acts.

Chinese Street Opera
Chinese Opera, or wayang, is a colourful spectacle, generally performed in the streets or in temporary outdoor theatres during festivals. A feast of sights and sounds, the wayangs tell age-old stories and legends in dramatic form with the actors garishly made up and dressed in lavish costumes. The operas are especially common around Chinatown during the Festivals of the Hungry Ghosts in August and September.

The Arts Scene
Singapore is increasingly becoming a popular venue for major international performances and productions.

The local arts scene in Singapore is burgeoning too, with a month-long Festival of Arts, held every two years featuring internationally renowned performers and productions as well as local talent.

Local theatre and dance groups such as the Singapore Dance Theatre also flourish in Singapore, with regular productions of plays, musicals and dance performances at the Drama Centre in Canning Rise, the Victoria Theatre, Kallang Theatre. The Black Box and at the experimental Substation in Armenian Street.

Visitors will find more and more productions by local playwrights being performed. Details can be found in the local newspapers.

Classical Music
Now almost 15 years old, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra draws appreciative crowds to its regular performances at the Victoria Concert Hall. An orchestra of growing international stature, the SS0 often features well-known international conductors and soloists. Ensembles from the orchestra also give lunch-time concerts, details of which are listed in the daily papers. Chinese Classical Music is also featured in regular concerts. Both Chinese classics and folk music are organised by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Chinese Orchestra and the People’s Association Orchestra.

For further information, phone NAFA at 3376636 or 3389176 during office hours.

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