The Singapore Fringe Festival returns in January 2026, now as a crowdfunded independent festival. Now in its 22nd edition, Fringe 2026 will feature an inspiring and thought-provoking line-up of events by Singapore and international artists that address the theme of Represent, both as an issue explored in the works, as well as a play on the representation of the Fringe.

Since its inaugural edition in 2005, the Fringe has been dedicated to curating cutting edge, contemporary works tackling critical social issues faced by communities around the world. As populations in many parts of the world grow increasingly diverse, we also see an alarming pushback against minority groups with racist, xenophobic, homophobic, and other discriminatory behaviour and statements. Representation in theatre, media, politics, etc, becomes more important than ever, as the visibility of diverse communities and voices reduces stereotyping and prejudices, and broadens perspectives. This leads to informed actions that help shape a more equitable, empathetic, and compassionate society that benefits everyone.

“We should relook at how we can become a more inclusive and cohesive society,” she affirms. “There is no better time to consider who we might have overlooked, left behind, or marginalised, and we must uplift these communities so that no one is left behind in our national pursuit for excellence and well-being,” says Melissa Lim, Singapore Fringe Festival’s Executive Producer and General Manager of The Necessary Stage, which organises and curates the festival.

A total of six events, with four productions and two panel discussions, will be featured at the Fringe. These works explore the theme of representation in a myriad of ways—from visible and invisible disabilities, to the inner dilemma of a military personnel who abhors violence; from the multiplicity of ethnicity, to affirming positive portrayals of love in the LGBTQIA+ community.

Lim says that the theme is also a play on the idea of re-presenting the festival as a ground-up initiative. “For the first time, the Fringe can truly profess to be independent and propelled by the public’s warm support,” she shares. “This Fringe, we will reimagine how we can be more fearless and responsive to societal needs, going beyond presentation of productions to actively engage communities in difficult but crucial conversations about recent developments in Singapore.”

Created by Rosie McGowan and Kluane Saunders from the multicultural, queer, female – led theatre company Woody Avenue, with original music composed by Henry Allen, A Lesbian Love Story: The Musical promises a fierce, fun, and unapologetically queer outing.

Charlie is on a mission to write a musical. She’s sick of the lack of happy lesbian love stories and has decided she’s going to change this. Her musical will be the happiest, shiniest, most magical love story the world has ever seen. And the queerest! If only her real life would stop interfering with her masterpiece. Starring Coco Wang Ling, Melissa May Garcia, Mitchell Fang, and Natalie Yeap, A Lesbian Love Story: The Musical takes a heartfelt look at what a love story really is.

In Invisible, ART:DIS and The Necessary Stage collaborate to present this story of Malini, a young disabled woman. When she starts her new job as a hotel cleaner, she is determined to do her best. Tensions rise when guest Anita loses her prized possession. Supervisor Safiah and hotel manager Jane attempt to diffuse the situation. However, the characters’ hidden struggles begin to surface, unveiling deeper questions about what disability means.

Written by award-winning playwright Haresh Sharma and co-directed by Sharma and Grace Kalaiselvi, Invisible is a compelling exploration of disability, empathy, and the unseen and unspoken personal battles many of us face.

Why is a Taiwanese military reservist so fascinated by Alicia Keys’ chart-topping hit “Girl on Fire”—a gay anthem he has sung countless times in karaoke bars? As he launches into the song’s climax, he is struck by a disorienting realisation: He can no longer place himself in the timeline of his own life when this transformative song was released on 4 September 2012.

A fanatical search through his digital archives unearths fragments of memory and confronts him with a past haunted by violence and destruction. In a live performance that assembles a visual monument entirely from memory, Taiwanese theatre-maker Wang Ping-Hsiang presents a bold exploration of war, national ideology, and geopolitical tensions through the eyes of a queer middle-class military reservist in Retina Manoeuvre by k*hole karaoke (Taiwan & Germany). Wrestling with the fragility of memory—and the unsettling reality that everything he has preserved could go up in flames in an instant, potentially consumed by forces beyond his control.

Celup is a Malay girl’s musings on not feeling Malay enough. In this interactive one-woman show, Sofie Buligis embarks on a quest towards becoming a little more Malay. With humour and heart, she reflects on her kekok accent, the cultural baggage that comes with her ethnicity and the internalised racism so many in the Malay community face.

At its core, Celup is Sofie’s love letter to anyone who has ever struggled with the awkward twist of their tongue around a language that was meant to be their mother tongue.

The Fringe will also be presenting two panel discussions, both free-to-attend with registration. The first, Is This Too Loud? Representation in Theatre features Rosie McGowan, Sindhura Kalidas, Sofie Buligis, and Wang Ping-Hsiang as panellists, with facilitation by Kathy Rowland. Join the artists as they share their collective insights about the importance and challenges of representation from their personal and professional experiences, on 17th January 2026 at the Esplanade Black Room.

The second panel discussion, No Space for Art: Is the Fringe Dead? features Anais Adjani, Kok Heng Leun, Melissa Lim, and Noorlinah Mohamed as panellists, with facilitation by Charlene Rajendran. As we grapple with the loss of several independent arts spaces and platforms in recent years, what does the future of fringe art-making and support look like? Will it perish under the weight of commercial viability? How can we converge as a community to create new structures to propel discourse, innovation, and experimentation? Find out on 24th January 2026 at the Esplanade Black Room.

The Necessary Stage also continues their collaboration with Official Accessibility Partner Equal Dreams to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of the festival for all, including those with disabilities. These include new accessibility features— Invisible will be the first Fringe production with embedded narration, and selected shows for Invisible, A Lesbian Love Story: The Musical, and Celup will be relaxed performances, all in the spirit of making the Fringe a positive, accessible experience for as many people as possible by continuing accessibility features such as Plain English versions of text on the Fringe website, visual stories for travelling to theatres, open captions for in-theatre performances, and speech-to-text interpretation available for post-show dialogues and panel discussions.

“We are truly heartened and grateful by the enthusiastic groundswell of support we received for our fundraising campaign to keep the Fringe alive,” says Lim. “Their robust belief in socially oriented art and its relevance to the Singapore society has been incredibly inspiring and motivating for us”

Lim adds that the work to fundraise for future iterations of the festival continues. “We are continuing our search for a new title donor aligned to our ethos and vision for the Fringe,” she states. “But in order to run the 2027 edition of the Fringe, we will be launching a new fundraising campaign later this year. We are appealing to you— members of the public and arts community—to stand with us like you did, and support innovative, thought-provoking, and pertinent art so that we can make Fringe 2027 materialise.”

As peace in the world still appear to be elusive, if not precarious, the team hopes that audiences can find a sense of hope and community in Fringe 2026—events that celebrate our strength in diversity, encourage empathy and understanding, and build bridges rather than emphasise differences.

Singapore Fringe Festival 2026 runs from 15th to 25th January 2026. Tickets and more information available here

Support the Fringe by donating to The Necessary Stage here