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The Necessary Stage: 36 Years of Social Theatre - Fundraising for the Future
The Necessary Stage (TNS) was founded in 1987 with a simple aim—it was a necessary time in theatre to create a platform for Singapore writing, presenting our unique voices, issues, hopes and dreams.

In 36 years, we have created more than 120 original plays, presented numerous youth events and community festivals and performed to hundreds and thousands of people of all ages. Our plays have also been performed in more than 20 cities around the world. The Necessary Stage is also the organiser and curator of the annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, which presents local and international contemporary, cutting-edge and socially engaged works around a chosen theme each year. The Festival has grown in strength through the years, and has successfully reached a record-breaking audienceship of 2,728 in the 2022 edition as we emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic to the reopening of theatres and resumption of live productions.

Since 2017, our developmental platforms—the TNS Devising Platform which incorporates laboratories, training workshops and mentorship, The Orange Playground and The Orange Production—have seen us working with emerging Singapore and international artists, to experiment with interdisciplinarity and form, as well as to create brand new works. Our popular Theatre for Seniors programme from 2008 saw many seniors discover their theatrical talents. We also launched our archival portal at tnsarchives.com, providing the public access to our three decades in theatre history.

We appeal to you to champion our cause. Be our partner to create a future for challenging and thought-provoking Singapore theatre.

As we forge ahead into our 36th year and beyond, we remain committed to creating Singapore theatre that demonstrate our creativity and innovative spirit. We want to reach out to new and current audiences through original plays of the highest calibre and nurture budding talents in the arts. We believe that theatre allows us to pose important questions about the world we live in, and celebrate diversity, resilience, and equal opportunities for all.

The National Arts Council funds about 25 percent of our total income, but since 2017, our funding has been affected because of cuts made by the Council. This year, as we recover from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with changing consumer habits and a looming economic downturn, more than ever, we are dependent on your support. Your contribution will go a long way towards our efforts to continue creating theatre that is both challenging and empowering; theatre that does not discriminate age, class or ethnicity; theatre that touches the heart and the mind of our audience.

Donors also enjoy benefits such as complimentary tickets to our main season productions*, as well as invitations to open rehearsals for our laboratories and sharing sessions.

The Necessary Stage is a registered non-profit arts company with Institute of Public Character (IPC) status. As such, your donations will qualify for a 250% tax deduction until 31 December 2023 . Your contribution will also be eligible for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth's Cultural Matching Fund, that provides a dollar-for-dollar match for cash donations to arts and heritage charities.

Over the years, we have relied on funding to engage different communities through collaborations across genres and generations, and have also boosted arts education amongst youths and seniors alike. Your generous support will go a long way in helping us create empowering theatre; theatre that is indigenous, intercultural and important in our time.


* For donation values of $500 and above, donors will be offered at least a pair of tickets to productions presented by The Necessary Stage (including main season and M1 Singapore Fringe Festival productions), over a period of one year. Please note that this excludes tickets to commissioned productions.