Trimming the Fringe

The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival kicks off the arts year in 2009 with a diverse line-up themed around the family. Laura Dozier highlights the top five, not-to-be-missed best of the Fest

It’s that time of year again, when some of us wrap up presents and all of us wrap up 2008. If you’re working on your New Year’s resolutions – and they involve spending more time with the family and/or ‘getting cultured’ – you can do both by attending the annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Under the theme ‘Art&family’, this year’s festival will feature works by headline-grabbing international and local artists in theatre, film, dance, visual arts, mixed media – everything but a heavy dose of comedy. And, if you miss out on that year-end bonus you were hoping for, there’s good news: many events are free and nothing in the festival costs more than $27.

However, if this artistic smorgasbord seems overwhelming (and your time is limited by a newfound dedication to kickboxing), then use our top-five list to plot your cultural enlightenment this January.

1 Frozen Angels
First staged earlier this year as part of the National University of Singapore’s Art Festival, this performance explores the impact of technology and science – stem cell research in particular – on our day-to-day lives and relationships, using a clever mix of theatrical performance and digital media.

Photo: The Necessary Stage

Disparate stories about unconnected characters reveal disease and death, in addition to new problems that arise when technology goes bad. Two actors shed costumes and roles with alacrity as they play teenagers chatting flirtatiously online, a 200- year-old couple facing immortality with despair, a lab technician selling stem cells to her black-market contact and a woman crying about her father’s struggles with dialysis while her companion reveals his insulin pump. No lecture or explicit discussion of stem cell research is offered; instead, the montage of stories with their disconcerting but realistic sci-fielement does the talking.
7-10 Jan, 8pm; 10 & 11 Jan, 3pm. Sistic $19, $27.
Gallery Theatre, National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Rd. City Hall or Dhoby Ghaut.

2 FREE Museum of Broken Relationships
What do a garden gnome, a prosthetic leg and a tiny glass horse from Venice all have in common? They are the bric-a-brac accumulated over the course of various relationships, seemingly insignificant objects with searing memories attached. These sometimes mundane, sometimes bizarre fragments (an axe, a molecular animal) of people’s lives transform during this exhibit into poignant evidence of the fragile ties between lovers, friends and family.

Founded in Croatia, the Museum is now travelling around the world, accumulating artefacts from each country it visits. In fact, everyone in Singapore is invited to contribute their own objects with stories attached – an anonymous and therapeutic donation that promises a sense of closure and fulfi lment through artistic creation… or at the very least, some extra storage space.
7-18 Jan. Esplanade – Jendela exhibition space, 1 Esplanade Dr. City Hall.

3 Within.Without
The recipient of the 2007 Young Artist Award, Kuik Swee Boon, directs this contemporary dance piece that examines the family unit, how group identity forms and how an individual exists within a family. Known for infusing contemporary dance with classical ballet-based movements, Kuik has crafted a performance that depicts the strain on groups by outside forces, and how change and the passage of time can erode family bonds. By stripping away stereotypes and generic expectations, a notable effort to reveal the essence of family is made.
7 & 8 Jan. S $19, $27.
Esplanade Theatre Studio, 1 Esplanade Dr. City Hall.

4 FREE Raised as a Pack of Wolves

Photo: Genevieve Chua
Is there anything better than viewing a photography exhibit from your home computer while wearing whatever you want (PJs? a sombrero? nothing at all?)? Genevieve Chua’s photo narrative tells the story of a family of adolescents who have eschewed contact with adults and civilisation itself, moving together in a pack-like formation; they are wolves circling their prey, hunting for knowledge. The confusion, awkwardness and bonds that develop are captured frame by frame, juxtaposed with the harsh realities of surviving in the wild.
1 Jan onwards. Go to www.raisedasapackofwolves.com to view the exhibition.

5 Betrayed Babies
You’ve probably seen the series growing up; now watch the behindthe- scenes story of popular 1980s TV drama Sandiwara. This production showcases the relationships of the backstage crew – a family of sorts, rocked by politics, intrigue, emotional flare-ups and personal tragedies. These women are forced into the spotlight when the actors and director don’t turn up, but the crew recognises that the show must go on.
16 Jan, 8pm; 17 Jan, 3pm & 8pm. Sistic $19. Esplanade Recital Studio, 1 Esplanade Dr. City Hall.

The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival ’09 runs from 7-18 Jan, showcasing 21 works from 12 countries. For more information go to www.singaporefringe.com.