I’ll bet people will be looking very closely at this year’s SAF. Steering it towards a more Asian flavour is already, dare I say, gutsy as it is, but there are other things too that will intrigue. Unlike previous editions where you pretty much divide the line-up into “free” and “not free” or “cheem” and “mass-appeal”, etc, this one’s curated into five sub-themes that are linked to the fest’s main theme of “I Want To Remember”. But fest GM Low Kee Hong emphasises that having the word “remember” doesn’t mean nostalgia but “what our relationship is to memory”. Thank god for that. As much as I’m a sucker for things past, I was getting kind of sick of all the bland “weren't the `60s just great?" themed stuff that’s been happening for the past year or so. And then the biggie: no notable "blockbusters". By that I mean no (living) marquee names. As in zilch for theatre, dance and classical music. “Big names are not necessarily relevant,” said Low. Hear hear. I should stop mentioning Peter Brook’s 11 & 12 from last year but that was really the perfect example. Still, I’m only one fest goer. At the end of the day, it’s up to how audiences will receive this new direction. Anyone pining for the “good ol’ days” of the Singapore Arts Fest should open their eyes and realise that these days, they’ve got a bunch of other fests and one-off shows where they can gorge on marquee names to their heart’s content. Let’s try out this new SAF direction shall we? (And I shall hope it doesn’t go the way of the Singapore International Film Festival – one of the most respected and beloved film fests abroad for its dedicated regional focus yet always gets crucified here). Besides, there are other reasons why you should go to SAF11. Here are some. ***