Less Than Half

Less Than Half presented by M1 Fringe Festival | 5-8 Jan 2023 

Set in an imagined, futuristic world, Sama Wholeness Centre believes in the country’s mandate that all human lives are Whole. Citizens who do not conform to the status of Whole are put through a rigorous training programme that will help them achieve the desired status before gaining admission to the country. Citizens who fail the programme are ousted and lost forever. Given the high stakes, the recruits soon discover that they must work both individually and collectively. Uncertainty ensues. What have these recruits really signed up for? Will these recruits choose to conform to the demands of the programme, or will they stick to their roots and embrace what makes them “less than half”?

Less than Half is a devised physical theatre performance exploring privilege and inequality that draws from the real-life experiences of the performers. The intense three-month devised process included workshops facilitated by the playwright and directors. Students were tasked to do improv exercises, scene work, physical theatre and research on various areas of social inequality. They engaged in robust discussions and generated monologues, a few of which were featured in the final product (credits to Isabella, Haeindra and Wei Hao). What a truly gratifying way to make theatre and amplify the voices of the youth!  

Directors: Adib Kosnan and Yarra Illeto 
Playwright: Aswani Aswath
​Performers: Students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts BA Performance Making ​programme
Light Design: Tai Zifeng
Sound Design: Alif Daniel 
Production Stage Manager: Shining Goh
Asst. Stage Manager: Stefanie Teo 
Surtitle/Captions Operator: Ashely Fong 
Mic Operator: Manoj Kumar