Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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CONTENTS
Executive Summary
[ Pg 5 ]
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“We are very happy about the work (by the
Festival). Very efficient and professional.”
—Mònica Almirall, Company Member/
Co-Deviser/Performer, ATRESBANDES
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 14th edition of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, curated around the theme Let’s Walk,
has been significant and positive in many ways.
We are delighted to share that the Fringe’s average house was a very well-performing 92%,
with 26 out of the 46 performances presented playing to sold-out houses. In addition, the
attendance of 4,731 for ticketed events was almost double that of the 2017 edition of the
Fringe.
The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival continues to be a key part of how The Necessary Stage
achieves our mission to create challenging and innovative theatre that touches the heart and
mind. With Fringe 2018: Let’s Walk, we challenged ourselves with a new thematic direction
which made for a slightly more complex curation process. We believe it has paid off,
resulting in a programme that was not only strong in its purpose and resonance, but also
extremely well attended.
Our new thematic series that began with Amanda Heng’s iconic performance Let’s Walk is
clearly off to an excellent start. Socially-engaged and artistically progressive artists from
Singapore and around the world were invited to enter into a robust conversation about a
range of issues, many of them centred around pressing questions of identity and equality.
The works were extremely varied in form and flavour, but all pertinent and relevant, as
attested to by the full houses and the thoughtful questions posed at the post-show
discussions.
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Furthermore, we are also glad that Amanda took up the invitation to participate in the Fringe,
conducting workshops with student-participants and undertaking both solo and public walks,
which will culminate in the exhibition A Walked Line Can Never Be Erased in May 2018.
These events gave the festival a very strong anchor and focus.
We also sustained our strong support for independent Singapore artists, further developing
our Fresh Fringe programme, as well as platforming two very idealistically intimate shows at
Centre 42. Tickets sold out so rapidly that we had to add extra shows and seats to cope with
the overwhelming demand.
Our strong relationship with Centre 42 also resulted in three of the Fringe commissions
being supported in their development. Another two Fringe commissions benefited from our
exciting new partnership with Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, with whom we look forward to
exploring more collaboration possibilities.
Step Outta Line by Thong Pei Qin & Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore)
Photo Credit: Asrari Nasir, Paradise Pictures
We are also delighted to have tried something new in commissioning Walking in Beauty, a
line-up of soul-baring storytelling performances. Considering how different this is—being less
experimental in form—for our usual Fringe audiences, it sold tremendously well at an
average of 88.3% house across three performances.
Fringe 2018 also saw a new partnership with ArtsEquator, which included a forum on theatre
reviewing that closed Fringe 2018. The panellists included the esteemed Lyn Gardner from
The Guardian (UK), highly respected playwright Alfian Sa’at, arts reviewer Corrie Tan, and
me in the capacity as Festival Artistic Director. We also worked with ArtsEquator to welcome
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a small group of emerging theatre critics to review our shows, which was another meaningful
way to support the capacity of our local industry, while also encouraging more conversation
about the Fringe programme.
Enclosed in the report are all the key information and statistics gathered by our team for this
year’s Fringe.
We thank you again for your wonderful support, and for attending our Fringe events. We
welcome any feedback you have and hope to keep working with you for many more years to
come. We are also looking forward to the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2019: Still Waters,
for which applications have closed on Friday 2 March 2018.
Kind regards,
Sean Tobin
Artistic Director
M1 Singapore Fringe Festival
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"[We liked] the variety of international and local
works! I particularly appreciate the attention
given to the Fresh Fringe works as it would be
easy to give less attention and effort for the
smaller shows but we didn’t feel left out at all.”
—Team from One Thousand Millennials Crying
One Thousand Millennials Crying by Kenneth Chia & Mitchell Fang (Singapore)
Photo credit: Kenneth Chia
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THE FRINGE IN NUMBERS
12 DAYS
7 COUNTRIES
102 ARTISTS
10 VENUES
16 EVENTS
$3,541.141.30 PR VALUE
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83% of our audience are Singaporeans and PRs
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“Boldly artistic and wildly imaginative … All In
left us shaken with its unusually portrayed hard
truths, paranoid over our true sense of agency,
and haunted by its perfectly scripted
showstopper of a final scene.”
—bakchormeeboy.com
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PERFORMANCE &
EXHIBITION DETAILS
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NO. OF TOTAL TIX/ %TAGE
TITLE DATES VENUE
SHOWS CAPACITY VISITORS HOUSE
Fringe Highlights
Live Fringe
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NO. OF TOTAL TIX/ %TAGE
TITLE DATES VENUE
SHOWS CAPACITY VISITORS HOUSE
Esplanade
All In by ATRESBANDES (Spain) 19 – 20 January 2018, 8pm 2 436 231 53%
Recital Studio
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Fresh Fringe
Esplanade
Does This Work For You? by The
28 January 2018, 2pm & 4pm 2 Rehearsal 160 160 100%
Nervous System (Singapore)
Studio
Fringe Gallery
Artist talk with Charmaine Poh 20 January 2018, 3pm N/A ION Art gallery N/A 32 N/A
Fringe Conjunction
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Walking in Beauty by Petrina Kow (Singapore)
Photo credit: Sung Lin Gun
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SPONSORS, PARTNERS
& SUPPORTERS
Special Thanks
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No. of New Sponsors 13
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PUBLICITY & MARKETING
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COLLATERAL |
DESCRIPTION
AVENUE
Step Outta Line was featured as the cover image for the Jan –
Nanyang Academy of
March issue of the NAFA quarterly calendar, which also included
Fine Arts (NAFA)
listings of Step Outta Line and Forked.
Information about All In Her Day’s Work was listed in the Singapore
Singapore Art Week
Art Week booklet.
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COLLATERAL | AVENUE DESCRIPTION
ibis Singapore on
Seven A0-sized posters were displayed in the hotel’s dining area.
Bencoolen
Singapore Tourism Board 37 street banners were displayed along Bras Basah Road and
Penang Road from 2 to 28 January 2018.
Six A2-sized posters advertising Step Outta Line and Forked were
NAFA
displayed around campus.
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Performers from Ground Cover Theatre’s Displaced posing with the
Esplanade bus stop poster advertising their work
ONLINE
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COLLATERAL | AVENUE DESCRIPTION
The Festival was also advertised via the SISTIC Buzz Subheader,
mobile app icon and customised event pages.
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COLLATERAL | AVENUE DESCRIPTION
Official Magazine – Previews articles and event listings on Time Out's website from
Time Out Singapore November 2017 to January 2018, and mentions of the Festival
were included on the website, Electronic Direct Mailers and social
media posts.
Singapore Art Week Information about All In Her Day’s Work was included on the
website.
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COLLATERAL | AVENUE DESCRIPTION
Others
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Festival Press release
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Festival Booklets
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Images by Studio W Photography
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Festival Website
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Festival Website
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Festival Electronic Direct Mailers
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Festival Electronic Direct Mailers
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Festival Electronic Direct Mailers
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Festival Electronic Direct Mailers
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Festival Electronic Direct Mailers
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Festival Facebook Page
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M1 – Online collaterals – Website
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M1 – Online collaterals – Facebook posts
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Esplanade – Online collaterals – Website
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Esplanade – Onsite Collaterals – Tunnel poster
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Esplanade – Onsite Collaterals – Annexe posters
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Esplanade – Onsite Collaterals – Annexe posters
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Esplanade – Onsite Collaterals – Foyerboards
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Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts – Onsite collaterals – Posters
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Centre 42 – Online collaterals – Newsletter and Blog
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ION Orchard – Onsite collaterals – Poster at Concierge counters
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ION Orchard – Online collaterals – Website
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Time Out – Print collaterals – Advertisements
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Mediacorp OOH – Outdoor collaterals – Bus Shelter 4Prime Posters
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ibis Singapore on Bencoolen – Onsite collaterals – Posters at hotel restaurant
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ibis Singapore on Bencoolen – Online collaterals – Facebook posts
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Arts & Heritage District – Outdoor collaterals – Street Banners
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Singapore Tourism Board – Outdoor collaterals – Street Banners
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REVIEWS &
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
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Fringe Highlights:
The Immortal Sole by Edith Podesta (Australia | Singapore)
Fringe Highlights:
If there’s not dancing at the revolution, I’m not dancing by Julia Croft (New Zealand)
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Fringe Highlights:
Displaced by Ground Cover Theatre (Canada)
"One of the most timely plays programmed for this festival, it
is a heartfelt illustration of the cyclical nature of migration and
a call for openess."
—Olivia Ho, The Straits Times Life!
Fringe Highlights:
Let’s Walk by Amanda Heng (Singapore)
“I really appreciated the opportunity to revisit this important work with everyone and to witness and
experience what it’s like to turn the entire city into a moving space for, and of art."
—Participant of Revisiting Let’s Walk
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Live Fringe:
Hayat by Pink Gajah Theatre (Singapore)
Live Fringe:
Step Outta Line by Thong Pei Qin & Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore)
“I loved the theme and stories that was so close to my heart &
experiences as a woman.”
—Audience feedback
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Live Fringe:
All In by ATRESBANDES (Spain)
Live Fringe:
The Neighbor’s Grief is Greener by Emanuella Amichai (Israel)
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Live Fringe:
Attempts: Singapore by Rei Poh (Singapore)
Live Fringe:
The Most Massive Woman Wins by Madeleine
George/Mitchell Productions Inc. & Chopt Logic
Production (Australia | USA)
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Live Fringe:
Walking in Beauty by Petrina Kow (Singapore)
"Thank you very much for the truly magical evening— the
words and the emotions will remain with me for a very long
time…."
—Audience feedback
Live Fringe:
Forked by Jo Tan (Singapore)
"Perhaps then, in viewing what it’s like to be a minority in another country, audiences may better
walk away from Forked with more compassion, empathy and understanding towards those around
them."
—bakchormeeboy.com
“Entertaining and educational. It really made me feel more proud to have a Singaporean identity."
—Audience feedback
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Fresh Fringe:
One Thousand Millennials Crying by Kenneth Chia & Mitchell Fang (Singapore)
"An absurdist storm of buzzwords and punchlines that feels birthed straight from the mouth of a
millenial social media influenza."
—bakchormeeboy.com
Fresh Fringe:
Does This Work For You? by The Nervous System (Singapore)
"The Nervous System has done very well to put these accounts into a capable, accessible
production that feels feels fresh in its presentation of a familiar topic and polished in its execution ...
Does This Work For You? has the potential to go very far with its pertinent themes and subject
matter, sure to resonate with countless audience members watching it."
—bakchormeeboy.com
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Fringe Gallery:
All in Her Day’s Work by Charmaine Poh (Singapore)
"Intimate photos and personal take with a lot of respect and thought."
—Gallery visitor
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FRINGE TEAM 2018
Artistic Director Sean Tobin
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Board of Directors Kenneth Paul Tan
Alvin Tan
Andy Yeo
Christopher Tan
Haresh Sharma
Sunder Iyer
Jian Yang
Vincent Lim
The public relations for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2018 was managed by
Phish Communications Pte Ltd.
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M1 SINGAPORE FRINGE
FESTIVAL 2019: STILL WATERS
Water. Elemental. Vital for all life forms. It makes up most of the human body. In its purest form,
water is colourless; yet despite looking transparent, water could well harbour contamination. It
perpetually and unpredictably travels and transforms through its cycle. It rejuvenates, cleanses and
refreshes, perhaps giving us a false sense of purity and security.
Water forms borders of protection, inviting invasion and defence. It saves us. And destroys us. We
seek to conquer and control it, even though we know it can engulf us. We consume it. We try to
conceal it in subterranean pipes and canals. Yet when it disappears down our drains, we forget
about it. Even in its deepest tranquillity, its potential to wreck chaos remains.
For Fringe 2019, we have selected Still Waters, a seminal work by ground-breaking Australia-
based Singaporean artist Suzann Victor. Shown widely on the international stage, Suzann has
been actively pushing the envelope in the Singapore contemporary arts scene since the late
1980s. Her desire to make art accessible—even transcendental, whilst critiquing assumed
structures of power and states of being, is evident in her work, which are always elegant, incisive,
and thought-provoking.
Suzann Victor’s site-responsive performance of Still Waters in 1998 was presented by the artist at
the façade of the Singapore Art Museum. She had utilised the liminal space of a drain on the
second storey of the Museum—a relic of its original colonial architecture, now bereft of its purpose,
having been excluded by way of a retrofitted glass wall around the Museum to control its internal
climate, sealing the works and people within its halls from the vagaries of external elements. Using
customised glass dams, Suzann filled this in-between space with water that reached above the
ankles, and her resolute presence within it sought to remind us of what the Museum perceived as a
threat of danger outside its carefully protected space. Her movement in this drain surfaced
questions about the place of art and performance. The audience, positioned along the corridors
within the Museum, found themselves with their backs to the hallowed galleries housing officially
sanctioned art. Instead, they focused on Suzann’s body interacting with the water within the glass
encased drain; the audience became riveted witnesses of a proscribed art form trapped in a zone
that is not state-endorsed.
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Still Waters had particular resonance at the time, since Performance Art had suffered a de facto
ban in Singapore since 1993, when 5th Passage, the art initiative Suzann directed, found itself
along with other artists embroiled in a media-incited controversy due to a performance that was
regarded by some—including the state—as contentious. The performance then led to Singapore’s
ban on the burgeoning art form. Government funding was proscribed for Performance Art until
2004. As such, Suzann’s Still Waters was one of the first public pieces of Performance Art that
grappled with the issues surrounding this interdict prior to the ban being officially lifted.
In relation to her work Still Waters (Between Estrangement and Reconciliation), Suzann says,
“I chose this space for its sense of journey, the passing of time and the
remaking of histories [vis-à-vis Performance Art]. The shallow pool of blue
water provided a site for the re-enactment of a loss of innocence embodied
by a performance that operated simultaneously inside and outside the
institution, mirroring the ‘fugitive’ status of the performing body in
Singapore.”1
During the performance, submerged lengthwise in the water, Suzann distributed photographs,
folded into sampans (small boats). She elongated her body sideways along the drain, dividing her
body in two experiential states: one ear under the silence of water and the other taking in noise
from outside the building; one half of her body in the cold waters, the other half exposed to the
warm atmosphere. Her unusual presence provoked inquiry, not only in terms of her performance,
of the space it is trapped within but also how this control could entrap creativity.
1 Victor, Suzann, 2008. “Abjection: Weapon of the Weak.” PhD thesis, University of Western Sydney.
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Discussing her work, Suzann continues,
Still Waters poses an urgent question to us: what happens to art when it is carefully regulated and
only lives in designated spaces? While the cultural conditions may seem different on the surface,
more than 20 years after the ban on Performance Art, the questions and tensions—important ones
acknowledged in Still Waters—not only remain, but have become ever more pertinent. In the
physical and cultural context of Singapore at the time, Suzann’s work was highly charged with very
specific questions about the politics of art, the body and public space in Singapore. But it is such a
rich work that might invite a diversity of other investigations and responses about the fugitive, the
abject; about estrangement and reconciliation in society, and about “the remaking of histories”.
We have invited artists to consider Suzann Victor’s work and its many ideas, layers and symbols,
and respond to our call for proposals for Fringe 2019: Still Waters, which closed on 2 March
2018. Resources have also been provided on our website to better acquaint you with Suzann, and
have you engage with and be inspired by Still Waters (Between Estrangement and Reconciliation).
SEAN TOBIN
Artistic Director
M1 Singapore Fringe Festival
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THE NECESSARY STAGE |
M1 SINGAPORE FRINGE FESTIVAL
278 Marine Parade Road
Singapore 449282
CONTACT US AT
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