M1 Singapore Fringe Festival

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival
FrequencyAnnual
CountrySingapore
Attendancenearly 14,000 (2014)
Websitesingaporefringe.com

The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival (M1SFF) is an annual fringe theatre festival in Singapore sponsored by M1. In additional to theatrical performances, it hosts art installations, live music, and a forum. It is organised by The Necessary Stage (TNS), a non-profit theatre company.

History

The M1SFF started as the Youth Explosion! in 1997. After M1's donation, the festival was renamed M1 Youth Connection in 1998 and then M1 Theatre Connect in 2004. As title donor, M1 sponsors $100,000 for every edition.[1]

In 2014, the tenth M1SFF had a higher attendance than any previous M1 festival. It was after this festival that TNS instituted a policy of appointing a new artistic director every three years to realise their vision for the festival, while building relationships with artists and curators.[2]

On 30 October 2024, it was announced that M1 would sponsor the festival till its 2025 edition, ending 21 years of sponsorship.[1] TNS announced it will start a fund-raising drive to raise $50,000 to organise the festival after the sponsorship ended.[1]

Themes

The festival occurs each January with a different theme.

  • 2014 - Art and the People[3]
  • 2015 - Art & Loss[4]
  • 2016 - Art & the Animal
  • 2017 - Art & Skin[5]
  • 2018 - Let's Walk[6]
  • 2019 - Still Waters[7]
  • 2020 - My Country And My People[8]
  • 2021 - Quiet Riot[9]
  • 2022 - The Helpers[10]
  • 2023 - No specified theme
  • 2024 - No specified theme[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Hoo, Shawn (30 October 2024). "Singapore Fringe Festival faces closure as M1 ends title donorship after 21 years". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  2. ^ Martin, Mayo. "New Artistic Director for Singapore Fringe Fest". TODAY. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  3. ^ Martin, Mayo. "S'pore Fringe Fest' celebrates 10th year with the 'People'". TODAY. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  4. ^ Tan, Corrie (27 January 2015). "Record turnout at 11th edition of M1 Singapore Fringe Festival". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  5. ^ Nanda, Akshita (5 October 2016). "Fringe fest gets under the skin". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  6. ^ Nanda, Akshita; Ho, Olivia (31 January 2018). "Ticket sales at M1 Singapore Fringe Festival almost doubled". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  7. ^ Nanda, Akshita (17 October 2018). "Exploring in-between spaces at 2019 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival: Still Waters". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  8. ^ Ho, Olivia (2 October 2019). "Imagining Singapore's past and future". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  9. ^ "M1 Singapore Fringe Festival to return from Jan 20 to 31".
  10. ^ Toh, Wen Li (23 November 2021). "M1 Singapore Fringe Festival returns from Jan 12 to 23". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  11. ^ Ong, Sor Fern (7 November 2023). "M1 Fringe Festival eschews digital with six live shows for 2024 edition". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2024.