The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival has always sought out to create conversations about touchy issues, and this year isn’t any different. Now in its 13th edition, the festival presents a provocative Art & Skin theme that will explore the matters of identity, beauty, intimacy, sensitivity, pleasure, pain and shame through a total of 14 works from nine countries (including Singapore) taking place at a variety of venues including the Esplanade, Centre 42 and even Khoo Teck Puat Hospital from Jan 4-15, 2017.

Sean Tobin takes the lead as artistic director for the third year, and will continue to do so until 2020 as he takes a new direction with the festival from 2018 onwards. You can expect a lot of skin in highlights like Foreign Bodies, a burlesque performance presented by Skin in SIN, a new politically progressive troupe made up of cast members from various communities and produced by Becca D’Bus and Madge of Honor, which explores identity in a country that is home to 6.9 million people.

Also on the bill is Undressing Room, an unorthodox and intimate one-on-one performance between artist Ming Poon and a participant, where they’ll undress one another in total silence to create a sort of unspoken dialogue about society’s obsession with power, masking flaws and more; Naked Ladies by Thea Fitz-James, a powerful feminist-slanted production on the politics of the female body; and more.

But of course, if you prefer watching productions where artists have their clothes on, you can also check out thought-provoking ones like Pretty Butch and Si Ti Kay throughout the entire festival. For a full line-up of the festival, check out their website.