SINGAPORE — When it rains, it pours. And if you thought the mania surrounding Singapore’s performance scene has tapered off because we’re nearing the end of the year, think again: November’s calendar is just as packed. You have a whole spectrum of shows to choose from, too: From Singapore classics and international works to more unusual fare.

On one end of the spectrum, for instance, is acclaimed theatre director Peter Brook’s new play, Battlefield, which takes on the climactic battle in the epic Mahabharata. It will head to Singapore before it tours elsewhere.

“Peter Brook’s work has influenced theatre goers and makers for decades, and this might be his last production,” said Charlotte Nors, executive director of Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT), which is bringing the work here. SRT previously brought Brook’s The Suit a couple of years ago.

“If there is one theatre-maker you must see in your life, Peter Brook might well be the one. And the theme of war is more relevant now than ever before,” she added.

At the other end, there’s Running With Strippers by Cake Theatrical Productions, which is celebrating its 10th year with an unusual tactic: It is using its studio-cum-office space at Goodman Arts Centre into a performance space for a variety of different pieces after it organised a garage sale to do away with much of their stuff.

“One of our aims when we moved here was to transform it into a performance space, but with everything that was going on, that had to be put on hold. Now, at 10, we’ve decided to finally hollow out our space and discover its potential as an arena for performance,” said Cake’s artistic director, Natalie Hennedige.

“We’re curating works that have an element of the artists revealing or confessing into their works. That was the brief: To do something that matters to you artistically and that connects very essentially into a past, present, future artistic vein.”

Here are some shows that you might want to watch when November comes around.

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THE BROOK AND BURGESS SHOWS: THE INTERNATIONAL BIG GUNS

It’s a clash of battle royal proportions when the works of two big international names hit the stage. First up is the all-male stage version of A Clockwork Orange, the classic dystopian masterpiece by the late author Anthony Burgess that was also turned into a movie by Stanley Kubrick. Set in Manchester’s underworld, it features violent teen Alex and his gang of “droogs” who go on a terror spree in this “physical theatre horror show”.

And then there’s Battlefield, theatre legend Peter Brook brand new play. SRT has co-commissioned this touring piece, his nine-hour take on the Mahabharata, which the 90-year-old did three decades ago. This time around, he’s zooming in on the Indian epic’s last chapter as a stand-alone play for his swansong.

A Clockwork Orange is from Nov 4 to 8 at the Esplanade Theatre, while Battlefield is from Nov 17 to 21 at Capitol Theatre. Tickets from SISTIC.

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OF GHOSTS AND CABARETS: LOCAL GIANTS REDUX

Don’t overlook our local scene: Two homegrown classics are also making its way back. The latest version of Michael Chiang and Dick Lee’s Beauty World will be getting a “darker” and more realistic treatment courtesy of Lee, who’ll be directing. Celebrity Jeanette Aw is taking on the iconic role of cabaret star Lulu while Janice Koh is also making her musical theatre debut as mama san Mummy. A younger generation of theatre actors are also set to cha-cha their way into the public’s imagination, including Timothy Wan, Frances Lee, Joshua Lim and Cheryl Tan.

But before that, you’ve got The Finger Players’ own take on Kuo Pao Kun’s 1998 work The Spirits Play. Helmed by Oliver Chong, the Mandarin production of Kuo’s poetic musings on war bring to life five Japanese spirits trying to make sense of their experience of World War II, with, of course, the trademark puppetry aesthetic of the company.

The Spirits Play is from Nov 5 to 15 at Drama Centre Black Box while Beauty World is from Nov 13 to Dec 12 at Victoria Theatre. Tickets from SISTIC.

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BOLLYWOOD, FAIRYTALES AND GAMBLERS: LET THE FUN BEGIN

Who’s up for a load of laughs? From a wild Bollywood-inspired romp to a Hans Christian Andersen musical panto to a Peranakan musical about gamblers, local theatre groups have got it covered. One of the productions in the inaugural Peranakan Arts Festival is Bibik Behind Bars, Kena Again!, a musical comedy by Richard Tan about a bunch of gambling bibiks. (The other show is Desmond Sim’s new play Pintu Pagar, a love story that spans four decades.)

Over at the Drama Centre Theatre, Wild Rice is wrapping up what has been an exceptional season for them with its annual musical pantomime. Playwright Joel Tan and director Pam Oei take on Emperor’s New Clothes, with a local twist, of course: This particular emperor is celebrating his reign’s 50th anniversary with a special NDP — a National Dress Parade. And you’ve got live music to boot, courtesy of Lim Kay Siu, Sezairi Sezali, Siti Khalijah Zainal and Benjamin Kheng.

Then there’s Checkpoint Theatre’s The Good, The Bad And The Sholay. Presented as part of the Esplanade’s Kalaa Utsavam Indian arts festival, playwright Shiv Tandan’s hilarious and imaginative 2011 play melds the 1975 Bollywood action adventure film Sholay with the coming-of-age story of an Indian boy who moves to Singapore.

Bibik Behind Bars, Kena Again is from Nov 5 to 8 at Victoria Theatre, Pintu Pagar is from Nov 4 to 8 at Victoria Concert Hall, Emperor’s New Clothes is from Nov 20 to Dec 12 at Drama Centre Theatre and The Good, The Bad And The Sholay is from Nov 26 to 29 at Esplanade Theatre Studio. All tickets from SISTIC.

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DINNER SERVED, STRIPPERS AND PERFORMANCE ART: BEYOND THE STAGE

Most of the shows this month are pretty much of the conventional sort. But there are others that take it a step further, whether it has to do with food, installation performances or even performance art.

Skinned Knee Productions’ follow-up to the 2013 gastronomical theatre piece The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband is Marcia Vanderstraaten’s Mind Map Of Love, which will take place in fine-dining restaurant ZOTT’s True Alps. Directed by Rayann Condy, the piece will allow audiences to have dinner as the story unfolds, and you can get to choose what happens next — for an all-in-one package of S$160.

Cake Theatrical Productions has “stripped down” its current space at Goodman Arts Centre — and they’re doing some series of nightly events. Aptly called Running With Strippers, it comprises unique nightly events ranging from performances to performance art to installations by the theatre company and its frequent collaborators.

And since we’ve already ventured into performance art territory, there’s Future Of Imagination 10, this year’s instalment of the annual performance art event. Helmed by FOI director and performance artist Jason Lim, it will feature 17 participating artists from Singapore and beyond, as well as performance art videos, a symposium and a workshop of writing about performance art.

Mind Map Of Love is from Nov 4 to 7, 11 to 14, 8pm, at ZOTT’S True Alps, 97 Amoy Street. Tickets at S$160 (inclusive of dinner) at http://www.skinnedkneeproductions.com. For adults only. Running With Strippers is from Nov 19 to 21, 8pm, Goodman Arts Centre, 90 Goodman Road Blk E #03-32. Pay as you wish. Register at admin [at] caketheatre.com. Future Of Imagination 10 is from Nov 21 to 28, various timings, Zarch Collaboratives, No 6001 Beach Road, #04-00, Golden Mile Tower. For more info, visit http://www.foi.sg/