4 days ago
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- Straits Times
Independent producers pool $30,000 to boost Singapore shows and brand at Edinburgh Fringe
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The Singapore Spotlight team with artists during the initiative's launch at *Scape.
SINGAPORE – Six independent theatre producers have created a $30,000 initiative to spotlight Singapore works at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Known as the biggest arts marketplace in the world, Edinburgh Fringe 2025 takes place from Aug 1 to 25. Six Singapore acts have paid their way to the Scottish capital, presenting their shows to a global audience and harbouring hopes they will be picked up by international producers.
For the first time, they will have unity of branding under a 'Singapore Spotlight' umbrella – co-marketing on the same posters, meeting presenters and producers from other countries at Singapore Spotlight networking events, and even sharing house rental.
The initiative is started by Singaporeans in their 20s to 40s based both here and in Britain: Shien Hian Lim, Shaifulbahri Mohamad, Caleb Lee, Brent Tan, Joanne Tay and Syania Shaharuddin.
Shaifulbahri is the veteran with six shows at the Fringe Festival in the last 10 years under his belt. But everyone knows they have to compete with thousands of other creative works for eyeballs and are eager to bring their combined connections to bear.
Lim says over Zoom from Edinburgh: 'To come here as a first-timer, you don't know anyone here and it is very daunting. We provide that base and foundation of support, and point you in the right direction.'
In starting Singapore Spotlight, they noted how artists from other countries and territories banded together to amplify their presence, for instance the Taiwan, South Korean and Danish seasons, typically funded by their respective ministries of culture.
Lee says: 'It is definitely about strength in numbers. If you asked me what show was in the Taiwan season last year, I can't remember. But I can tell you for certain there was a Taiwan season.
'It is about putting the Singapore brand in Edinburgh as well as internationally. This benefits both Singapore artists going out and also for international artists to understand where and what Singapore is.'
In the true fringe spirit of building community, Singapore Spotlight secured sponsorship from local brands such as massage chair retailer Osim , food and beverage manufacturer Yeo's, sock designer Freshly Pressed Socks and hardware wholesale supplier Jitt Yi Sheng.
Others who supported by providing in-kind services are youth hub *Scape, public relations firm Tate Anzur, charity BinjaiTree and networking platform Singapore Global Network.
Singapore Spotlight is also a push for Singapore works travelling to Edinburgh to have more legs.
Shaifulbahri refers to the National Arts Council's (NAC) espoused efforts to internationalise its arts productions, which he feels has had limited success with Singapore and South-east Asian works continuing to be under-represented in international platforms.
The NAC's Our SG Arts Plan (2023 to 2027) and Our SG Arts Plan 2.0 both cited promoting Singapore artists internationally as a major goal.
'Artists spend so much money to come out here and you've got all these presenters from around the world looking for works to present back home. If the work just dies after the Fringe, there's so many missed opportunities,' he says.
The six works at Edinburgh Fringe under the Singapore Spotlight umbrella in 2025 are an equal mix of Edinburgh Fringe veterans and newcomers.
The three familiar names are playwright Jo Tan, who is taking on major venue Summerhall with her
one-woman exploration of gender identity, King ; Jonathan Goh with his acrobatics and juggling act; and stand-up comedian Sam See, collating two showcases The Asian Comedy Showcase and Off With Your Head.
The newcomers are sound artist Hee Suhui with her experimental audiovisual work III Behaviour; dance group Decadance Co's dark movement comedy The 11th Hour; and stand-up comedian Nebulous Niang's Slomosexual, a reflection of her life as one half of an inter-ethnic lesbian couple raising Gen Z kids in a conservative society.
Jo Tan, whose King is among 26 plays shortlisted for the Popcorn Writing Award celebrating fresh writing at the festival, says of Singapore Spotlight: 'It is so refreshing because in our country's relatively smaller landscape, things can sometimes feel competitive or even adversarial. Here, we can share knowledge and publicise each other, and we share otherwise daunting costs.'
These costs include accommodation, which she is splitting with artists from at least four different acts. 'It feels almost like a clan house for early immigrants to Singapore.'
Edinburgh Fringe greenhorn Hee says III Behaviour is her first production and also the first time she is touring – an attempt to 'see if my bodily experience could feel universal'.
Hee Suhui's III Behaviour.
PHOTO: ZANE MOTALIF
Using contact microphones, she creates a soundscape from breath, pulse and touch in an intimate exploration of what it means to hear oneself. 'Singapore artists need more production and touring infrastructure: how to liaise with venues, manage shipping, situate a show, how to keep momentum going after the run.
'Without the right support, navigating this alone would be overwhelming.'
Asked if the Singapore Spotlight team hopes more official bodies like the NAC would step in to fulfil this role, the producers noted that their application to NAC for support this time was unsuccessful.
Beyond concerns about limitations on curation, Lee says there is also something creative and joyful about an organic group of people pulling off this project, with even Singaporeans working in cafes in Edinburgh volunteering to put up posters.
'Part of the Fringe is also about decentralising the arts. The Fringe was, after all, a resistance that came from the larger Edinburgh International Festival.'
