Flipside 2024: A whimsical arts fair that finds funny in the ordinary
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s Flipside 2024 showcases artists who express their thoughts via unconventional forms: puppetry, circus, physical theatre, and comedy.
Flipside 2024 (31 May – 9 Jun) is all about finding humour and connection in the everyday.
This year, it celebrates common objects such as tin cans and floor tiles. While we may not give them much thought, they take on a different meaning or form in the hands of artists.
A good number of the events are free to enjoy. For ticketed theatres/plays, a standard ticket is priced at S$38 but students, full-time national servicemen, seniors and disabled persons pay a concession price of S$30. A workshop ticket costs $18 (no concessions).
Check out these sneak peeks.
Stars in Our Eyes – A Double Bill (31 May – 2 Jun, Esplanade Recital Studio)
Stars in Our Eyes is a 1 hour and 30 minutes double bill of two comedy pieces, Star Show and Love of Risk. The plays celebrate the imagination fuelling human creativity.
In object theatre Star Show, step into the shoes of an astronaut confronted with the trials of space exploration. Every shake of a tin can, the entanglement of desktop cables, and plummeting kitchen tiles symbolise the precarious challenges of venturing into the cosmos.
Love of Risk tells the story of a man waiting to be served a candle-lit dinner by waiters. The catch? The waiters are robots with limited capacities, powered by artificial intelligence. As dinner service begins, chaos ensues — keep your eyes peeled for the accident that occurs.
This is a ticketed event.
The Distraction (7 & 8 Jun, Singtel Waterfront Theatre at Esplanade)
If you need a distraction from work or school, catch The Distraction at Flipside 2024. The Distraction is a 75-minute comedy that appraises Mankind’s over-reliance on digital screens.
For theatrical effects, the live physical theatre performance incorporates a ginormous screen and multimedia effects (the dramatic irony is real here).
The show is put together by Umbilical Brothers, an Australian comic duo named as two of Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment. The global comedy phenomenon has performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Woodstock ’99.
This is a ticketed event.
Flou Papagayo (7 – 9 Jun, Esplanade Recital Studio)
Want to let your hair down after work? Catch Flou Papagayo at Flipside 2024, an hour-long Spanish circus play showcasing the seldom-performed act of hair-hanging (ouch!).
Go on a fanciful expedition with 3 characters as they embark on a circular pilgrimage. As they find their way around a timeless universal loop, they discover beauty and comedy in the most unimaginable avenues via song, acrobatics, games, and audience participation.
The Spanish circus act has taken home several Spanish awards. These accolades include the 2018 Zirkolika Award for Best Street Show and the 2019 Circaire Audience Award.
This is a ticketed event.
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