Arts Theatre of Singapore: The country’s oldest active Chinese-language theatre company

Arts Theatre of Singapore is the oldest Chinese-language theatre company that is still active in Singapore. It was founded in the 1950s, during the anti-colonial era when Singapore and Malaysia were fighting for independence. Its founders were a group of Chinese-educated youths who were active in student theatre during their secondary school years, including Wang Qiutian (1905–1990), Low Ing Sing (1924–2002), Tay Bin Wee (1926–2000), Liu Huai’en (birth and death years unknown), Phua Beng Tee (1929–2003), Wu Zhufu (birth and death years unknown), and Cai Guohua (1926–unknown). On 16 April 1955, they successfully registered the theatre group. During the British colonial period, it was not easy to set up a Chinese-language theatre group, and for various reasons, the group had to register using Singapore Amateur Players (SAP) as its name.¹

Sunrise: Pioneering the professionalisation of local Chinese-language theatre

The group’s focus was Chinese-language theatre. In November 1955, after almost a year of rehearsals, it presented Sunrise written by renowned Chinese playwright Cao Yu (1910–1996). The choice of this play reflected the artistic ambitions of its founders and the desired cultural positioning of the group. The actors, sets, lighting, and costumes for this inaugural production garnered much attention, support, and praise.²In 1960, the group became one of People’s Association’s member organisations. In 1961, it was invited by the Ministry of Culture to take part in the second Cultural Festival. For this event, Arts Theatre of Singapore member Lin Chen (1919–2004) created an original work.

In its first 15 years, Arts Theatre of Singapore stood out for three reasons: the quantity and frequency of its productions, its steady pipeline of performers and directors, and its distinctive style of realism. From 1955 to 1962, it staged the greatest number of plays and dance performances among local theatre companies. These included Chinese-language classics created by the Chinese diaspora elsewhere, such as Cao Yu’s Sunrise (1955), Thunderstorm (1957) and Family (1959); Xia Yan’s (1900–1995) Under the Roof of Shanghai (1956) and Fragrant Flowers on the Horizon (1959); Wu Zuguang’s (1917–2003) Lin Chong Flees by Night (1961); Yu Ling’s (1907–1997) Apartment for Ladies (1961); and Huang Zuolin’s (1906–1994) The Thief (1962). The group also staged Chinese-language versions of renowned plays from the West, such as Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s (1809–1952) The Government Inspector (1957); Night Inn (1958), which was adapted from Russian writer Maxim Gorky’s (1868–1936) play The Lower Depths; and French dramatist René Fauchois’ (1882–1962) Mind the Paint (1962).

The Arts Theatre of Singapore had many experienced directors, such as Wang Qiutian, Lin Chen, Low Ing Sing, Wu Jingtian (1926–1985), Tay Bin Wee, and Huang Tianneng (1926–late 1990s). It also featured many actors who had first ventured into theatre when they were students. These³ included Bai Shuluan, Gao Jinfeng (1926–2013), Tan Peng Boon, Pang Nai Yeow, Liang Baozhu (1931–2009), Chen Youcao, Li Nana (1933–1989), Zeng Panpan, Chen Guoshou, and Liang Qiaozhen. It abided by the aesthetic principles of realism and used exquisite stagecraft to depict the essence of real life.

From 1966 to 1976, the group continued in this style of realism, staging Chinese-language adaptations of plays created during different periods by playwrights all over the world. These included iconic works such as Oscar Wilde’s (1854–1900) Lady Windermere’s Fan (1966); Cao Yu’s Peking Man (1966); Henrik Ibsen’s (1828–1906) Nala (1967); and Chen Baichen’s Promotion Scheme (1968).

Actor training programme and dance and vocal music divisions

In 1968, Arts Theatre of Singapore started an actor training programme, which infused new blood into its ranks. It also presented monodramas such as Xianggelila xiaojie (Miss Shangri-La) (1968), Jinzhi xiaobian (No Peeing) (1967), Yige pingguo yige shijie (An Apple, A World) (1971), and The Thief (1977).

In the 1970s, the group had over a hundred members. Its dance and vocal music divisions were led by Liang Qiaozhen and Wu Nanju respectively, and presented Gewuju wanhui (An Evening of Song, Dance, and Theatre) (1972), Jianghe zai benliu yinyue wudao wanhui (“Rivers Are Flowing” Music and Dance Concert) (1972), Shiyue huanchang wanhui (October Melodies Concert) (1974) and Wenyi wanhui (An Evening of Literature and Art) (1978), which continued to express the creative spirit of earlier shows such as Yinyue shige wudao wanhui (An Evening of Music, Poetry, and Dance) (1960) and Wenyi wanhui (An Evening of Literature and Art) (1962). From 1966 to 1976, Arts Theatre of Singapore also staged original plays which were collectively devised, such as Juchong (Maggots) (1973), A tian shu (Uncle Ah Tian) (1974), A Secretary’s Dream (1978), Nightmare (1978), and Gambling (1978). Its first attempt at collective devising took place in 1973, at its 18^th anniversary. The result was the play The Second Escape, and the programme booklet was published alongside.

From 1979 to 1994, Arts Theatre of Singapore continued to explore many artistic practices. It took part in the Ministry of Culture’s Drama Festival, where it presented The Unwelcome Guests (1979), Chasing the Rainbow (1981), An Uninvited Guest (1982), The Truth (1983), The Flying Swallow (1984), and A False Step (1986). During this period, its significant productions also included Public Opinion (1983), Andi (Auntie) (1985), The Wedding (1988), Gone with the Wind (1990), and The Bells Are Chiming (1991), which was a joint performance with NTUC Drama Troupe.

Crosstalk and skits

From 1982 to 1985, the group took part in crosstalk performances and skits organised by radio stations, and performed original crosstalk works by Zheng Jianyuan. Subsequently, it presented many crosstalk and skit shows, such as Xiaokou changkai xiangsheng wanhui (An Evening of Laughter and Crosstalk) (1991), whose artistic director was renowned crosstalk performer Hao Aimin from China. Other outstanding original crosstalk productions included The Laughter from Old Days (1999). Arts Theatre of Singapore’s crosstalk productions of the 1980s and 1990s, and its presentations of short plays in Chinese and English in 1991, were important works during this phase.

In 1986, Koh Chong Chiah, who had been part of Arts Theatre of Singapore since 1971, took over the reins. The group continued to teach classes in vocal music, dance, theatre, and crosstalk. In 1992, it began teaching and promoting theatre in schools.

Theatre for children

1995 was a milestone year for Arts Theatre of Singapore — it registered as a non-profit professional theatre company, and adopted Arts Theatre of Singapore Ltd as its official English name.⁴It started classes for children, teaching performing arts, language, music, and dance, and established the Little Raindrops Children’s Arts Troupe. It collaborated with Guizhou’s Little Flower Children’s Arts Theatre Company for performances and began to focus on the performing arts for children. By staging musicals for children — such as Huaxianzi (Flower Fairy) (1996), A White Rabbit (1996), and The Ugly Duckling (1998) — it established itself as a leader in this new niche.

In 1998, the company launched its annual Inter-School Short Play Competition to encourage students to create original works. It also started a creative drama camp for students, which it conducted till 2004. Its school drama competition became a part of the Singapore Youth Festival organised by the Ministry of Education, which was another milestone for Singapore Chinese-language theatre.

Over the years, the company has staged, adapted, and created a repertoire of over 10 popular children’s productions. These include Treasure Island (2015), Tadpole Looking for Mom (2016), and Little Prince (2019); and plays from its Chinese Proverbs series, such as Waiting for the Rabbit (2016), Nanke yimeng (A Dream Under the Southern Bough) (2017), the Journey to the West series, and allegorical play Mr Dongguo (2016). Its original plays include Heshu yiqi fei (Flying with Books) (2018), Women de jiayuan (Our Home) (2019) and Huanbao xiaotianshi (Little Recycling Angel) (2019).

Arts Theatre of Singapore has long been a training ground for graduates of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)’s theatre programme, and also their biggest employer. Ai Jiaqi, who was part of NAFA’s first batch of theatre graduates, is now the company’s Artistic Director. The company is active in primary and secondary schools, and has performed at Victoria Theatre, Drama Centre, Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, China Cultural Centre, Gateway Theatre, and various community clubs. It stages an average of 50 shows of various types every year, reaching out to 20,000 audience members, and has nurtured generations of audiences for Chinese-language theatre. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it produced over 30 livestreams for schools, and its children shows have been invited to tour China, Japan, and Thailand. The company continues to innovate as times change, and has become an indispensable part of mainstream Singapore Chinese-language theatre.

Arts Theatre of Singapore Ltd 50 years in Singapore

The 65th anniversary video of Arts Theatre of Singapore Ltd