In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chinese immigrants from various regions brought their traditional entertainment arts to Singapore. As a result, early puppet theatre on the island exhibited distinct regional characteristics. Among them were Teochew Iron-stick Puppet Theatre, Henghua and Hokkien String Puppet Theatre, Hokkien Glove Puppet Theatre, and Hainanese Rod Puppet Theatre. For example, Teochew Iron Rod Puppet Theatre originated from traditional paper shadow play. In performance, it inherited shadow puppet techniques, integrated Teochew-Shantou elements, and drew inspiration from Teochew opera art, thus developing its unique style.1

Traditional puppet theatre

Traditional puppet theatre is typically performed in dialects and often staged on temporary platforms along streets or inside temples. Sometimes, performances also take place at private celebrations such as weddings or birthday banquets. With the decline of dialects and the rise of other arts such as getai (live stage performances), traditional puppet theatre has gradually lost its prominence since the 1990s. The number of active local puppet theatre troupes in Singapore has decreased as well.

Early Teochew Iron Rod Puppet theatre troupes included Lau Nguang Hua, Lau Sa Jia Shun, Sa Jia Heng, Lau Poh Shun Heng (later renamed Lau Sai Poh Hong in 1938),2 Nguang Jia Hong, Bueh Jia Tiang Hiang, Sin Tor Nguang Chun, and Sin Ee Lye Heng.3

Having inherited the troupe from his father, Wu Ah Rong, the owner of the century-old Sin Sai Poh Hong Troupe held the group’s final puppet show in September 2015 at Chee Chung Temple in the vicinity of MacPherson Road. The Sin Ee Lye Heng troupe, which has been passed down three generations to its current owner, Tina Quek, is currently the only active Teochew Iron Rod Puppet theatre troupe in Singapore.

Children eagerly watching puppet shows on Cecil Street, 1951. Reproduced with permission from SPH Media Limited.

Early Henghua String Puppet Theatre troupes included Zi Xing Lou (1920–1923), De Yue Lou, He Ping (1930s), Feng Huang Ting (1954), Xingzhou Jutuan, and Xin Qun Fang (1979).4 The precursor of Sin Hoe Ping Puppet Theatre Troupe was Hoe Ping Puppet Theatre Troupe, which was taken over by the third-generation owner, Yeo Lye Hoe, in 1981. It is currently the only surviving puppet theatre troupe that performs in the Henghua dialect.

In 1947, Foo Tiang Soon (1904–1989) and his friends formed San Chun Long, the oldest recorded Hainan Stick Puppet Theatre troupe in Singapore. In 1948, they were invited to perform for 15 nights in Riau, Indonesia. Another active Hainan Stick Puppet Theatre troupe is the Tien Heng Kang Heng Nam Drama Association, established in 1956.5

Puppets, actors and more: The Finger Players

In 1996, Practice Performing Arts Centre (now Theatre Practice) established The Finger Players with the aim of promoting puppet theatre to the younger generation. In 1999, The Finger Players separated from The Theatre Practice and became an independent troupe. In 2001, The Finger Players premiered its first full-length production, Nezha. The troupe actively engages in exchanges with various international puppet theatre groups, incorporating both Eastern and Western characteristics. Several of its productions have received the President’s Design Award, as well as multiple Straits Times Life Theatre Awards.

The Finger Players’ productions are characterised by puppets performing on stage alongside actors. Some of their major works include Furthest North, Deepest South (2004), Twisted (2005) and First Family (2005), I Am Just a Piano Teacher (2006), Pinocchio’s Complex (2008), Whispers (2009), Turn by Turn We Turn (2011), The Book of Living and Dying (2013), Love is the Last Thing on My Mind (2015), The Collectors and Journey to the West: Treasures from the Dragon Palace (2016), The Spirits Play (2017), Citizen Dog (2018), Peepbird (2020), The Ghost of Yotsuya (2021), Every Brilliant Thing (2022) and Puppet Origin Stories @ ONE-TWO-SIX (2022). Turn by Turn We Turn, directed by Chong Tze Chien, explores the lives of puppet theatre performers over several decades, depicting their pursuit of puppet theatre artistry. The play was restaged in 2014 and re-produced in 2020. It was also released online in the form of an audio drama with the same title.

Tan Beng Tian, the founder and artistic director of The Finger Players, was awarded the Singapore-Japan Business Association Cultural Award in 2005 for his outstanding promotion of puppet theatre art. In 2004, Chong Tze Chien, who was active in English theatre, joined The Finger Players. The theatre group went through an artistic transformation, dedicating itself to developing puppet theatre into an art form suitable for audiences of different ages and demographics. It began to expand its repertoire to include dramas targeted at adults, and presented performances in both Mandarin and English or multiple languages.

Oliver Chong, who became artistic director of The Finger Players in 2023, has been serving as the resident director until 2018 since joining the company in 2004. His self-written, -directed, and -performed monodrama, Roots (2013), won The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards (for Best Production and Best Script).6

Finger Players combines puppetry with drama, developing a performance style where puppets share the stage with actors, suitable for audiences of all ages. The image shows a production of Citizen Dog in 2018. Photographed by Tuckys Photography, courtesy of The Finger Players.

Puppetry for children: Paper Monkey Theatre

Founded by Benjamin Ho Kah Wai in April 2008, Paper Monkey Theatre is a bilingual puppet theatre company dedicated to creating puppet dramas for children. It integrates traditional and modern puppetry techniques and incorporates Asian culture and values into its stories. Some of its productions, both adapted and original, include The Three Bullies (2012), Romance of Mistakes (2013), Looking for Mama (2014), The Journey West: Web of Deceit (2015), The Magic Lantern (2016), The Magic Paintbrush (2017), The True Monkey King and Little Miss Boleh (2018), The Universe According to Niu (2021), The Tiger Hero (2021), Duckie Can’t Swim (2021), The Journey West: Fiery Mountain (2020), The Journey West: White Bone Fiend (2022), and The Journey West: The Crimson Boy (2023).

In addition, the theatre creates productions suitable for students. These include works such as Sadako & The Thousand Cranes, Mercury, My Ah Gong, Hug the Tree, Dragon Dance, and The Wolf of Mr Dong Guo. Besides its public performance programmes, Paper Monkey Theatre also conducts puppet theatre workshops tailored to the requests of schools and communities.

Paper Monkey Theatre incorporates modern elements into puppet theatre, enriching the performance and making puppet theatre more relatable to contemporary audiences. For example, The Magic Paintbrush uses an in-house, newly developed type of puppet that replaces the traditional wooden framework with a paper-based design.

In 2013, to celebrate its fifth anniversary, Paper Monkey Theatre adapted a classic Peking Opera piece and presented Romance of Mistakes, featuring puppets alongside live performers. In 2019, during its 10th anniversary celebration, Paper Monkey Theatre re-adapted the musical puppet theatre performance Romance of Mistakes, customising 40 Pili puppets from Taiwan and creating 19 original songs, with elements of rock, tango, pop, and Chinese music infusing the performance with a modern sensibility.

Paper Monkey Paper Theatre has created numerous puppet plays for children, performing in theatres and schools. This image shows one of the performances from their Journey to the West Series titled Fiery Mountain, staged in 2013. Courtesy of Paper Monkey Theatre.

Paper Monkey Theatre’s founder, Benjamin Ho Kah Wai, was involved in the establishment of TOY Factory in 1990.7 Additionally, in 1996, he collaborated with Tan Beng Tian and others to establish The Finger Players, which was affiliated with Theatre Practice.8 In 2008, he founded Paper Monkey Theatre and has served as its artistic director since. Under his leadership, Paper Monkey Theatre has innovated traditional Teochew iron rod puppets by attaching the rods at the elbows instead of the wrists, making them easier to manipulate. The company is known for its original productions that reinterpret ancient stories in modern ways.

The history of puppet theatre in the local context spans more than a century. Due to various factors such as language, labour, and social development, local traditional Chinese puppet theatre companies underwent a period of prosperity followed by decline throughout the 20th century. The currently active puppet theatre companies not only promote traditional puppet theatre but also continuously experiment and innovate in puppet design, scriptwriting, performance language, thematic depth, and other aspects. They combine Eastern and Western puppet theatre characteristics, integrate diverse art forms, and aim to meet the demands of contemporary audiences.