Events

Activism has been in the news recently in Singapore. Given Singapore’s tight restrictions around civil society, those rallying behind certain causes find themselves trying to navigate around these perimeters—and in several cases, infringing them, leading to legal repercussions. At the same time, Singapore artists have been exploring and boldly engaging in discourse on these same topics: from disability to genocide, from the treatment of migrants to biodiversity loss.

For Fringe 2027, we invite you to join us in unpacking the relationship between art and activism in the present Singapore context.

Can the porous boundary between performance and protest be better defined? At what point does art get flagged for undermining a national policy or institution? In light of recent charges against activists in Singapore, would artists begin to temper their artivism (activism through art) by policing themselves? How can artists and activists better support one another, so that we can more positively engage the public?

Join moderator Sudhir Vadaketh and speakers Bani Haykal, Dayana Noor, Kirsten Han, Kristian-Marc Paul for an afternoon of intense conversations and urgent discourse on Art and Activism in Singapore.

Download artist biographies↗ 

Speech to text interpretation is available upon request. Please email your request to info@singaporefringe.com by 9 December 2026.

In 2013, Siti Khalijah Zainal brought The Necessary Stage's Best Of to life, playing the role of a young Malay Muslim woman going through divorce. Through a glimpse into a day in her life, she shares intimately about prejudice, family, dreams, and the kindness of strangers.

Three years later, we presented the husband’s perspective in Best Of (His Story), where he brings the audience on a journey through his past, his hopes, his beliefs—and what ‘home’ means.

In Best Of Us, playwright and director Haresh Sharma revisits these plays, and for the first time, creates a narrative combining both husband and wife’s accounts. What happens when the estranged couple reunite at the Syariah court? Where do they go from here? How would it change your view when you see both sides of the story? Siti Khalijah Zainal reprises her role as the divorced wife, with Fir Rahman as the husband.

These two award-winning and celebrated actors will face off in this brand-new iteration of two seminal plays by The Necessary Stage about a marriage that breaks apart—and the ties that bind and sustain us.

There’s the kind of storytelling that lights up fireworks and milks this communal moment for all its worth. Best Of, The Necessary Stage’s enjoyable one-woman show featuring Siti Khalijah Zainal, skips all of that and simply tells.

— Mayo Martin, TODAYonline, 25 January 2013, on Best Of

...deeply watchable and tosses up a great deal of food for thought – from funny to bitingly incisive observations on how the Malay community is perceived, to tender recollection of various religious traditions and the constant struggle to cope with loss.

— Corrie Tan, The Straits Times Life, 26 January 2013, on Best Of

His is a character not privileged by the Singapore stage – a lowly educated average Joe who spouts non-politically correct remarks and speaks English with obvious discomfort. He exists in the lower rungs of society where art, politics and the media rarely explore. The Necessary Stage, a theatre company committed to indigenous stories, is once again showing us a side of Singapore often kept hidden.

— Helmi Yusof, The Business Times, 5 November 2016 on Best Of (His Story)

There will be a dialogue with the artists after the 8pm performance on 14 and 15 January 2027, with speech to text interpretation available upon request. Please email your request to info@singaporefringe.com by 9 December 2026.

Artist Statement

Best Of Us started as two monologues: Best Of, first staged in 2013 and Best Of (His Story), which was staged in 2016. Revisiting the plays and rewriting them as a duologue challenged me to question: what would they say to each other? What could they say to each other? What remains unsaid?

The premise of the play is simple: a couple going through a divorce, each telling their side of the story. But various issues emerge from this, such as the roles of men and women today in the context of society’s expectations. Where does each character sit in the spectrum of traditional values and independent lifestyle?

How will the audience respond? Will they take sides? What will prompt their responses as they listen to the couple’s stories? Or will they find it difficult to take sides, hoping instead for reconnection, reconciliation: a positive future for both.

Calling all actors who are starting out! If you are new to the theatre scene, this workshop is perfect for you.

This workshop is an introduction to the devising methodology of The Necessary Stage, led and guided by Artistic Director Haresh Sharma.

Participants will learn how to create characters through improvisations, write scenes, and structure narratives. They will be part of a collaborative process where they work with fellow actors to create short presentations.

This seven-session workshop will take place during the Singapore Fringe Festival 2027 and will culminate in a public performance showcasing the works-in-progress of the participants.

Submit your application to participate in this workshop at: go.singaporefringe.com/sff27-devisingappform

Do note that the deadline for submissions is Monday 7 December 2026, 12pm.

Join us for a free showcase by the participants of Devising with Emerging Actors!

Specially for Fringe 2027, we will be launching a workshop for actors who are starting out in the theatre scene, led by Artistic Director Haresh Sharma.

Centered on our theme of “Belonging”, Devising with Emerging Actors introduces our participants to The Necessary Stage’s unique devising methodology. Over the Fringe, they will collaborate to create characters through improvisations, write scenes, and structure narratives. The workshop will culminate in a special work-in-progress presentation.

Watch the next generation of actors in Singapore. Share your suggestions and feedback. Support our emerging creative voices.

The world is collapsing. Sinkholes open without warning, swallowing streets, homes, and cities.

Amid this instability, a woman chooses to live alone in her fortress of debris. Inside this fragile sanctuary, she finds comfort in Bongpal, a conversational AI who becomes her only friend.

Outside, people turn to the “Rope God” for salvation, praying that the Holy Rope will appear in their moment of need to pull them back up from their doom. As this faith spreads, its prayers begin to encroach upon the woman’s solitary sanctuary. Together with Bongpal, she dreams of escaping to space, far away from this trembling world.

From the Trembling World is a compelling and timely work that delves into our growing isolation in a technologically driven existence, Do we retreat further inward as our protagonist does? Is true connection even possible now?

It powerfully captured the story of today’s youth.

— Audience feedback (translated from Korean)

As a one-woman piece, the actor’s wholehearted, all-out performance shone.

— Audience feedback (translated from Korean)

There will be a dialogue with the artists after the 8pm performance on 20 January 2027 , with speech to text interpretation available upon request. Please email your request to info@singaporefringe.com by 9 December 2026.

Artist Statement

Loneliness has become an urgent social reality in South Korea. The rise of 고독사 (godoksa: lonely deaths) raises a difficult question: what happens when a person slips away from this world, and no one notices? It points to a society where people live side by side, yet remain unseen, unsupported, and alone.

The work begins from this reality and expands outward into a world where even the ground beneath us feels uncertain, and collapse becomes part of everyday life. Environmental instability, youth anxiety, rapid AI integration, and fear-driven belief systems shape a world marked by trembling, uncertainty, and the search for something to hold onto.

As creators, we wanted to present loneliness not as an abstract issue, but as the lived reality of one woman. What begins as something personal gradually opens into something universal. For in the end, we all need someone.

Jamil Sekadar Nama (Jamil is Just a Name) immerses us in the final days of a man trapped within four walls, where memories rise like ghosts and the burden of every choice made seems too heavy.

Accompanied by a mysterious figure in this liminal space, Jamil grapples with his grim reality and ceaseless reflection on the truths of love, the sting of loss, and the shadow of regret.

Written and directed by Ali Mazrin and performed by Al-Matin Yatim and Rizal Aiman, Jamil Sekadar Nama is a poignant meditation on mortality and memory that invites us to consider the traces we leave behind when our time in this mortal coil runs out.

First conceptualised under Centre 42 and Teater Ekamatra's New Scripts Garage Programme, Jamil Sekadar Nama is also supported by Teater Ekamatra's Artist Residency Programme and Director's Development Programme.

There will be a dialogue with the artists after the 8pm performance on 21 January 2027, with speech to text interpretation available upon request. Please email your request to info@singaporefringe.com by 9 December 2026.

Artist Statement

I want the audience to be fully immersed in the journey of the story, experiencing an emotional ride that is honest, raw, and deeply human.

Through hyper-realistic storytelling and unfiltered language, the work seeks to reflect the complexities and dilemmas of contemporary Singaporean life. Rather than offering easy answers, it invites audiences to confront uncomfortable truths, challenging their assumptions and lingering in their minds long after the performance has ended. I hope they leave the theatre feeling unsettled, provoked, and compelled to reflect on the realities presented on stage.