M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with the creators of Matter.Less’ forum theatre show ‘Here Where You Were’

In the 2020s, suicide rates in Singapore rose to an all-time high. Is it because we live in a fast-paced, high stress nation? Is it that it often feels like there is no way out? And even when a suicide is completed, can we summon up enough courage to go past the shame and guilt surrounding it to talk about the aftermath, and how we … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with the creators of Matter.Less’ forum theatre show ‘Here Where You Were’

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with creator Noor Effendy Ibrahim on ‘Motherland’

Amidst even the most brutal of wars, there exists the possibility of love that can be kindled. That’s the central plot point at the heart of Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s Motherland, where two unknown soldiers on opposing sides of a violent war find themselves in love. Unable to do anything beyond hugging tightly at the border, how does one then navigate loyalty to one’s country and … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with creator Noor Effendy Ibrahim on ‘Motherland’

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with Karine Ponties, choreographer of absurdist dance ‘SAME SAME’

Does work set us free, or does it chain us? For far too many people, between being bored to death or burnt out, it’s the latter, and the very concept of labour for survival brings to mind questions about absurd routines and the complex relationship colleagues have with each other, from resemblance and dissemblance, domination and submission, superficiality and depth. From Belgian dance company Dame … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with Karine Ponties, choreographer of absurdist dance ‘SAME SAME’

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with director Edith Podesta and choreographer Yarra Illeto on ‘THOM PAIN (based on nothing)’

To span the length of the human experience in a single production sounds like an impossibility, but when THOM PAIN (based on nothing) premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004, critics remarked that the deceptively simple one-man show about a man and his suffering in life. Now, that show will be performed in Singapore, by students of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ BA (Hons) … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with director Edith Podesta and choreographer Yarra Illeto on ‘THOM PAIN (based on nothing)’

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with choreographer J’Sun Howard on ‘aMoratorium’

Starting its journey as a commission by the Art Institute of Chicago, in response to the work of visual artist Charles Wilbert White, Chicago-based dancemaker, poet, writer, curator, and all-around Renaissance artist J’Sun Howard, aMoratorium was born as a way to coalesce White’s exploration of African American history, culture, and lives. Through the dance-theatre piece, Howard explores Black male identity, visibility, temporality, and its absence, and … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024: An Interview with choreographer J’Sun Howard on ‘aMoratorium’

The Necessary Stage announces two additional Associate Artists for 2024, with A Yagnya and Lim Shien Hian

In April 2023, The Necessary Stage (TNS) launched a new iteration of its Associate Artists Programme (AAP) , featuring two young Associate Artists — theatre – makers Sindhura Kalidas and Deonn Yang — who have been attached to the company since then. The company has now announced two more new Associate Artists joining its team: theatre – makers A Yagnya and Lim Shien Hian. All … Continue reading The Necessary Stage announces two additional Associate Artists for 2024, with A Yagnya and Lim Shien Hian

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024 explores pressing social issues and the ways we relate and connect to each other

Over the years, the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival (M1SFF), organised by The Necessary Stage (TNS), has undergone a variety of changes to the way it’s been run, from taking on specific themes and topics, to responding to art work. But at its heart, M1SFF has always been about one key goal – to present small scale local and international work that address key social issues, … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2024 explores pressing social issues and the ways we relate and connect to each other

★★★★☆ Review: Happy Indian Women by The Necessary Stage

An authentic, diverse exploration of what it means to be an Indian woman today. The Singaporean Indian identity is deeply multi-faceted. Within the community, there are already diverse languages, skin tones, religions, sexualities, family histories and rootedness to one’s culture, where every Indian person has a unique story to tell. As a minority race within the country, Indians have also faced and continue to face … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Happy Indian Women by The Necessary Stage

Brown Joy: An Interview with writer/co-director Sindhura Kalidas and the cast of The Necessary Stage’s ‘Happy Indian Women’

“Happiness is a mood, not a destination,” says Sindhura Kalidas. “That’s a quote from One Tree Hill, and I think about that a lot, and how it’s really just this fleeting emotion that comes and goes, not a constant state of mind.” That’s an important distinction for Sindhura to make, especially considering she’s directing a show called Happy Indian Women this November. Presented by The … Continue reading Brown Joy: An Interview with writer/co-director Sindhura Kalidas and the cast of The Necessary Stage’s ‘Happy Indian Women’

Preview: The Necessary Stage presents showcases for Devising with Actors and Playwrights 2023

To round off the year, The Necessary Stage (TNS) is presenting an exciting lineup of works-in-progress by the latest batch of creatives from its Devising with Actors and Playwrights (DAP) workshops. Led by Resident Playwright and Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma, Devising with Actors and Playwrights 2023 is part of TNS’ devising platform and sees 20 theatre-makers undergo an intensive training programme over a six-month … Continue reading Preview: The Necessary Stage presents showcases for Devising with Actors and Playwrights 2023