Get Involved
Be a donor:
SAVE THE FRINGE FESTIVAL
We seek your help to sustain the Singapore Fringe Festival—a ground-up initiative that amplifies independent voices in the arts.
Since our inception, The Necessary Stage (TNS) has been dedicated to creating and presenting critically acclaimed theatre dealing with issues such as mental health, racial discrimination, and inequality.
In 2005, we launched the Singapore Fringe Festival, with M1 Ltd as our title donor, aimed at empowering independent artists to share thought-provoking performances. Over the last two decades, the festival has become a highlight of the Singapore cultural calendar each January. We have commissioned over 1,000 Singapore artists and arts groups, featuring their work alongside numerous international productions.
We have reached out to and captivated tens of thousands of audience members through ticketed and free events, fostering safe spaces for critical conversations about crucial societal issues. The Festival has also made great strides in its efforts to be one of the most inclusive and accessible arts events in the Singapore calendar, through the integration of open captions, Singapore Sign Language interpretations, audio description, and speech to text interpretation for its performances, as well as other accessibility features for information dissemination on its website and wayfinding to venues.
After the next Festival in January 2025, M1 will cease their funding. While we deeply appreciate M1’s support through the years, their withdrawal puts the future of the Singapore Fringe Festival in jeopardy. Its demise would see the end of a vital platform where independent creative voices can perform meaningful work addressing pressing topics of our time. More importantly, the festival has always placed young and emerging artists at its heart. If the festival is to come to a halt, these young creators will be most adversely impacted.
As such, the company will be launching a fundraising drive. The Fringe Festival Fund hopes to raise $50,000 from individuals, partners and supporters who are keen to keep the festival going in 2026 and beyond. The Necessary Stage is appealing to the public to step forward and support independent voices and socially engaged art.
In order for the Singapore Fringe Festival to continue to develop and present ground-breaking, stimulating and engaging works, The Necessary Stage as the festival's organiser and all the artists and personnel involved rely on your generous donations.
We are a not-for-profit organisation that depends on your generosity and belief in our work to make the Fringe a success. Donations are received during our fundraising events and donation drives, but are welcome all year round.
We believe that socially engaged art has the power to spark critical thinking and inspire positive change. We have consistently embraced this mission through the Singapore Fringe Festival, as well as our productions at The Necessary Stage. We invite you to be a part of our mission to cultivate a vibrant and dynamic Singaporean arts scene with a social conscience. One that fearlessly confronts the critical questions of our time and envisions a brighter, more inclusive, and compassionate future.
We need your help to keep alive the spirit of independent artists. Contribute to the Fringe Festival Fund. Only with your support can we continue to programme the festival in 2026 and beyond.
All donations will qualify for a 250% tax deduction and will also be eligible for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth's dollar-for-dollar Cultural Matching Fund.
To contribute towards the Fringe Festival Fund, visit The Necessary Stage’s donation webpage. Through this webpage, you can choose to make a one time or recurrent donation to us via your credit card or GrabPay.
You can also support us via Giving.sg.
For more information about donations, please contact The Necessary Stage’s General Manager Melissa Lim at melissa@necessary.org.
Thank you for your kind support!
Photo BY Zivanai Matangi
Commission Continua by Noma Yini (South Africa)
Image Description: A production photo of Commission Continua. A Black man stands in front of a well-worn vintage-looking wooden blackboard that sits on a wooden easel. He is wearing glasses and a grey short-sleeved shirt. His black curly hair and facial hair are closely cropped. On the right section of the blackboard there is a table with numbers 100 to 500 listed, ending with the word “NOW”. The numbers 100, 200, and 300 have a check mark on the right column.
Be a Sponsor:
SAVE THE FRINGE FESTIVAL
We seek your help to sustain the Singapore Fringe Festival–a ground-up initiative that amplifies independent voices in the arts.
Since our inception, The Necessary Stage (TNS) has been dedicated to creating and presenting critically acclaimed theatre dealing with issues such as mental health, racial discrimination, and inequality.
In 2005, we launched the Singapore Fringe Festival, with M1 Ltd as our title donor, aimed at empowering independent artists to share thought-provoking performances. Over the last two decades, the festival has become a highlight of the Singapore cultural calendar each January. We have commissioned over 1,000 Singapore artists and arts groups, featuring their work alongside numerous international productions.
We have reached out to and captivated tens of thousands of audience members through ticketed and free events, fostering safe spaces for critical conversations about crucial societal issues. The Festival has also made great strides in its efforts to be one of the most inclusive and accessible arts events in the Singapore calendar, through the integration of open captions, Singapore Sign Language interpretations, audio description, and speech to text interpretation for its performances, as well as other accessibility features for information dissemination on its website and wayfinding to venues.
After the next Festival in January 2025, M1 will cease their funding. While we deeply appreciate M1’s support through the years, their withdrawal puts the future of the Singapore Fringe Festival in jeopardy. Its demise would see the end of a vital platform where independent creative voices can perform meaningful work addressing pressing topics of our time. More importantly, the festival has always placed young and emerging artists at its heart. If the festival is to come to a halt, these young creators will be most adversely impacted.
As such, the company is seeking corporations to partner with us and take on the title donor place with naming accreditation to the Festival.
We will also be launching a fundraising drive. The Fringe Festival Fund hopes to raise $50,000 from individuals, partners and supporters who are keen to keep the festival going in 2026 and beyond. The Necessary Stage is appealing to the public to step forward and support independent voices and socially engaged art.
Sponsorship of the Singapore Fringe Festival gives you a fantastic opportunity to associate your company's name, logo and brand with one of the most anticipated and accessible arts events around!
Sponsorship of the arts is regarded as a wonderful investment and beneficial marketing and promotional tool for companies keen to establish themselves as brands that can contribute to social well-being. Your sponsorship will amplify how your brand connects with diverse audiences, fosters creativity and independent voices, thus enhancing brand visibility and reputation.
Here at the Singapore Fringe Festival, we have a fervent belief in developing the Fringe as a creative centre that encourages innovation, discourse and positive engagement. During our 12-day long festival, artists, audience, sponsors and partners share and participate in this celebration of creativity and connection with the community. The 2024 Fringe reached out to 2,375 audience members through six events, and attained an average 85% house. We aim to attain the same audienceship—if not more—for all future editions of the Fringe, with diverse programming that continues to entertain and challenge audiences.
In order to do so, aside from having a thrilling line-up for programmes, the Singapore Fringe Festival also runs an exciting and highly visible marketing and communications campaign from November to January each year.
Our extensive, nation-wide media relations campaign goes hand-in-hand with our comprehensive and highly visible marketing drive which often includes:
- An accessible Festival website at SingaporeFringe.com;
- A robust social media marketing presence via dedicated Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts to engage audiences;
- Partnerships with outdoor media channels for poster advertisements at bus stops located within the Fringe Belt as well as islandwide;
- One to two-month campaign of street banner advertising within the Fringe Belt;
- Collaterals for individual exhibitions and performances;
- Press releases;
- Front-of-house displays, where applicable;
- Email flyers to The Necessary Stage's local and international database, as well as the databases of our sponsors and partners;
- Onsite and venue marketing collaterals which may include floor stickers, posters, banners, foyerboards, calendar listings, etc.;
- And pre-show announcements at every performance at the Fringe, where applicable;
The Fringe's marketing campaign may vary depending on the programme each year. Nevertheless, the title donor and all sponsors and partners are always acknowledged in our collaterals, based on your level of investment.
We need your help to keep alive the spirit of independent artists. Contribute to the Fringe Festival Fund. Only with your support can we continue to programme the festival in 2026 and beyond.
To join us as a title donor or sponsor of the Singapore Fringe Festival, please contact The Necessary Stage’s General Manager Melissa Lim at melissa@necessary.org.Photo by Tuckys Photography
Eclipse by The Necessary Stage (Singapore)
Image Description:
A publicity photo of Eclipse. A moody close-up headshot of a young South Asian man from the shoulders up. He has medium-dark skin tone and dark brown eyes. He looks straight at the camera with a solemn expression and lips together. His dark hair is neatly combed in a side parting and he is clean shaven. Only the right side of his face is visible with the left half completely in shadow.
Be a Volunteer
We are looking for
- Front-of-house volunteers.
Volunteering with the Fringe is a fabulous way to meet new people and artists, learn what happens behind the scenes of running a fringe festival, and get involved with one of the most dynamic events in town!
The commitment periods range from four-hour blocks to a few months. No prior experience is required for most positions, though you should have a keen interest in the arts and meeting people from all around the world.
For more information on volunteering with the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, please email us at info@singaporefringe.com.
Your volunteering can be acknowledged as CIP hours upon request.
Join our mailing list for volunteers here:
Dancing With the Ghost of My Child by Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Ruby Jayaseelan & Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore)
Image Description:
A black and white publicity photo of Dancing with the Ghost of My Child. A close up shot of many feet pressing against each other from multiple directions. There is a sense of tenderness in the way the bare feet are surrounding and cradling the foot in the centre of the frame.