‘May have no choice but to cancel’: Singapore Fringe Festival 2027 donations short of target
The Straits Times
It has raised about $18,800 of its aim of $80,000, two weeks from the crowdfunding campaign’s close. Read more at straitstimes.com.
SINGAPORE – Local theatre company The Necessary Stage (TNS) is once more appealing for donations for its annual Singapore Fringe Festival, with funds far short of its $80,000 target two weeks from the crowdfunding campaign’s close.
As at March 18, it has managed $18,807, which comes to 24 per cent of its target sum. This is already a marked improvement from the 12 per cent eight days ago when it was driven to warn on Instagram that “we may have no choice but to cancel Fringe 2027”.
Donations to the festival known for its forthright confrontation of prickly social issues and support for independent creatives are matched by the Ministry of Finance’s Tote Board dollar-for-dollar, effectively doubling all donations for TNS.
TNS general manager Melissa Lim says it currently looks “awfully tough” for the festival to successfully attain its goal by March 31. Its previous round of crowdfunding for 2026’s edition held in January exceeded its target of $50,000 by a sliver, but rising venue and manpower costs have since driven expenses up.
There had also been hopes of commissioning more local artists and programming more works to gradually restore the festival to its stronger slate before title sponsor and telecommunications company M1 pulled out in 2025.
The 2026 edition had a roster of just four shows – including Invisible, TNS’ own collaboration with disability arts group ART:DIS and queer musical A Lesbian Love Story – down from 2024’s seven.
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