Emails
Home Articles General Singapore Theatre A Historical Perspective
Singapore Theatre A Historical Perspective
( 2 Votes )
Written by Malti Lalwani   
Singapore Theatre
Singapore Theatre

If you visit a certain pre-war clubhouse at No 41 Malcolm Road in Singapore , the many photos, plaques and posters will be testimony to the fact that plays like Pygmalion or Blithe Spirit were performed locally as early as 1945. Those were the beginnings of English language Theatre in Singapore today.

From those colonial connections, through the independence era and into the 1970s, English Language Theatre began to be spearheaded by Singaporeans with raw passion. During those years, a Drama Festival was an annual event in September or October - where companies like The Experimental Theatre Club would stage for example, Paul Zindel's "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds"

camera.jpg

web.jpg

head.jpg

In the late 1970s or early 1980s, one might have been able to catch a production of "She Stoops to Conquer" by the Stage Club or "Susan's Party" (an adaptation of Abigail's Party) also by the Experimental Theatre Club.
In the 70s, 3 friends, Jasmin, Chandran and Ruby - who, from a love for children's theatre and story telling got together to call themselves Act 3, and became familiar faces on stage and television.

In 1985, local theatre director, teacher and visionary - Kuo Pao Kun who had established himself within Chinese Theatre scene twenty years earlier, burst upon the English Language theatre scene with "The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole" originally written in Mandarin. Subsequent productions in other languages like Cantonese and Malay took place and established Coffin as a classic. Together with "Emily of Emerald Hill" by Stella Kon, which was first performed, also in 1985, with Margaret Chan as Emily and Max le Blond as director, it secured the reputation of the monologue as a singularly rich performance vehicle; more monologues were to follow in the Singapore theatre. "Emily of Emerald Hill"was recently performed by Ivan Heng at the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne in November 2002. Sadly, Mr Kuo's passing in September 2002 was a big blow to many arts practioners whose lives he had impacted in the last 30 years.



Comments
Add New Search
Write comment
Name:
Email:
 
Title:
UBBCode:
[b] [i] [u] [url] [quote] [code] [img] 
 
Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

 

General Articles

User Generated Revolution

article thumbnail

Collaborative Filmmaking A new revolution is taking shape in the movie industry that challenges traditional filmmaking to the core. Spurred by a newfound passion amongst movie lovers  [ ... ]


Street Theatre Marketing

article thumbnail

Taking it to the streets Several major corporations have launched a new type of advertising campaign. They hire actors, musicians and other performers to promote their products and se [ ... ]


Other Articles

Acting Articles

Adding the Missing Ingredient: Meisner's Approach to Acting

article thumbnail

I was fortunate enough to do a practical three year course in acting at a university with only twelve other students. Together, we explored Shakespeare, Uta Hagen and the enigmatic work  [ ... ]


Preparing Monologues

article thumbnail

Preparing Monologues A lot of people are confused as to go about preparing a monologue for audition or stage. Let me tell you something, it isn't that hard! You just need to follow  [ ... ]


Other Articles

Production Articles

Script Breakdown - Script and Scene Analysis

article thumbnail

Script and Scene Analysis There are many facets of a film Director's prep on any movie or Television show - from location scouts and creative meetings to casting and scheduling. Bu [ ... ]


Theatre Marketing Ideas

article thumbnail

Theatre Marketing Ideas Marketing and promotions in the performing arts for your theatre is often plagued with problems, the public does not always pay attention to such tactics, an [ ... ]


Other Articles

Writing Articles

Writing Scripts Basics

article thumbnail

It is a matter of fine tuning Let your Script breathe... Let a script breathe? Come on. A script isn't human (not before your shoot it) so how can it breathe? Think of it as a chil [ ... ]


Scriptwriting

article thumbnail

Key Points of Story Structure One thing is true of all stories. They all have a beginning, middle and end. Film scripts typically run from 100 to 120 pages with each page representi [ ... ]


Other Articles

Member Access

LoginLogin to to the site to get full access. Or signup now for a free account.

Remember Me

Feature Article

Adding the Missing Ingredient: Meisner's Approach to Acting

article thumbnail

I was fortunate enough to do a practical three year course in acting at a university with only twelve other students. Together, we explored Shakespeare, Uta Hagen and the enigmatic work of Yat Malmg [ ... ]


Coming Up

Sat Mar 20 @08:00PM - 10:00PM
At the Sans Hotel
Wed Mar 31 @06:30PM - 06:30PM
Comedy Hub at Theatre Works

Acting Tips

Actors AuditionsActors can find out about auditions, classes, networking opportunities in every issue. Be on the lookout for articles and tips from working professional actors.More...

Theatre News

Australian TheatreGet all the latest info about Australian theatre from emerging fringe and established mainstream theatre companies. Theatre listings cover shows on near you.More...

Filmmaking Resources

Film IndustryFind out about Films in production, new trends in the Film industry, and plenty of inside info for screen buffs everywhere. Check out the production articles.More...