A Fringe to Start the Year

HE M1 SINGAPORE FRINGE FESTIVAL IS BACK!
ART AND THE LAW
13 – 24 JANUARY 2010 Featuring 20 groundbreaking works from 12 countries
THEATRE: Japan / England / Singapore / USA DANCE: Belgium / Croatia / Singapore / Slovakia MUSIC: Australia / Malaysia / Taiwan VISUAL ARTS: Belgium / Burma / England / Iran / Singapore / USA

The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival is back with its sixth edition from 13 to 24 January 2010. Organised and curated by The Necessary Stage, this much anticipated festival is a showcase of artists from all over the world, across various artistic genres.

Among the exhilarating and thought-provoking original works lined up for the Festival in 2010, the festival is proud to present, for the first time, three groundbreaking works from Burma, Iran and Slovakia, namely an installation piece by Burmese artist Htein Lin, a video work by a female Iranian artist Haleh Anvari and a contemporary dance-theatre production by Debris Company from Slovakia. Be enthralled by the works of these artists, particularly from the two Asian countries where political and ethnic tensions are rife. They show us a glimpse of their lives amidst the strife.

In addition to these exciting artists, the festival is set to further entice audiences at two new venues: Sculpture Square and ION Orchard, Singapore’s newest iconic mall located in the heart of Orchard Road. The former will host a video installation whilst ION Orchard's ION Art will showcase one of the Festival Highlights of 2010.

For more Festival information, go to www.singaporefringe.com 

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2010 will feature 20 international and Singapore works including 3 Festival Highlights from Singapore, Taiwan and England.

__________Can Change is a brand new production by The Necessary Stage which touches on burning issues such as race, religion and sex. Comprising of 3 short plays and an ensemble cast of Chua Enlai, Siti Khalijah, Nora Samosir and Rodney Oliveiro, the production seeks to confront our mindsets of what change is all about.

Virgins and veterans of the Fringe will surely enjoy the sounds of Taiwanese pop duo 棉花糖 (katncandix2) with 屬於我們的B612 (Our Own B612). Their fresh take on folk music will
whisk listeners away from the city noises, through the soothing lyrics and melodies. Starting out as buskers on the streets of Taipei, the duo recently released their debut album, Little F light. Their song "我們都一樣" (“W e Are A# T he Same”) reached No. 2 on UChart, the Chinese pop charts of Radio 100.3FM. The outfit has also been nominated for 3 categories in the 2009 Singapore Hit Awards, namely – 最 佳 組 合 獎 (Best Group), 優 秀 新 人 獎 (Outstanding Newcomer) and 最受歡迎新人獎 (Most Popular Newcomer).

If Days With My Father by Phillip Toledano struck a chord at the 2009 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, his fans would be glad to know that this multi-talented artist will be back this year to present the Asian premiere of America the Gift Shop. This installation project reflects the foreign policy of the Bush/Cheney regime, in the fun-house mirror of American commerce. He explores the question: if American foreign policy had a gift shop, what would it sell?

Date: 13 January to 24 January 2010

No. of Performances: 20 works from 12 countries
Theatre: 6 works (17 ticketed performances) Dance: 5 works (10 ticketed performances) Music: 3 works (3 ticketed performances) Visual Arts: 6 works
Venues: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay National Museum of Singapore
The Substation ION Orchard Sculpture Square

Public Sales: From 13 October 2009 to 24 January 2010 Official 

Ticket Prices: From $19 (Excluding SISTIC fee)
Tickets: Tickets are available from 13 October 2009 through the SISTIC hotline at 6348 5555, via the SISTIC website at www.sistic.com or at any SISTIC authorised agents islandwide.