Synopsis:

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2021: Quiet Riot
Call for Submissions

What does it mean to fight back against oppressors today? More often than not, riots and protests are associated with destruction and cacophony, followed by crackdowns by the police.

But is there a place for 'quiet riots', which begin with individuals standing up for what we see is right and fair, and motivate people to move collectively into communities in solidarity for revolution and transformation?

Being quiet no longer means you are invisible. Resistance does not have to be loud or violent. We have so many examples of quiet, stoic strength in protestors and activists from Greta Thunberg to Malala Yousafzai, from Martin Luther King to Colin Kaepernick, and not forgetting the many conscientious objectors who remain nameless, but whose contribution in numbers added strength to struggles for rights and action.

Can quiet riots be a means towards negotiation for a middle ground between entities that may appear irreconcilable at first encounter? Or do quiet riots mean compromise and playing by the rules, eventually leading to surrender and assimilation?

Similarly, in making art that looks at resistance, how do we foster quiet riots in our creative process? Can we rupture our usual modes of production and rules of performance in similar ways, to find new ways of expression and engagement?

Quiet Riot.
20–31 January 2021.
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