Singapore Political Theatre
Playwright, educator and activist, Kuo Pao Kun lived most of his life in Singapore. He was brought there by his father at the age of ten from Beijing where he was living with his mother. Kun developed an early fascination and love for performance by joining the Rediffusion’s Mandarin Radio broadcast at the age of 14. This led to a job with Radio Australia in Melbourne after his graduation from high school.
Kun’s work focused on the social issues of Singapore’s working class population. He and his wife, choreographer and dancer Goh Lay Kuan, established the Practice Performing Arts School in 1965. Years later, Kun and his students would develop a movement called the “Go into Life Campaign” and would immerse themselves in Singapore’s laboring population to gain life experience. Many original works, which focused on social issues of the working poor, were a result of this project. Most of Kun’s work focused on political and social issues and in 1966 he directed a production of German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, which he translated into Mandarin. Brecht was a political writer and theorist who had revolutionized standard drama. Kun’s production of his work was the first time Brecht had been performed in Singapore.
Kun was not the only political writer in Singapore at the time. During much of the 1960s most of the Chinese theatre was heavily politicized as result of the Cultural Revolution. Drama was beginning to be viewed as a tool for social change. This led to a massive counter surge and in 1976 many artists were imprisoned under the Internal Security Act and detained without the benefit of trial. Kun was one the writers to be jailed. He spent four years and seven months in prison. After his release he immediately went back to writing and directing for the theatre, as well as teaching. Today he is known for his dramatic style, which included the use of simple metaphors and multicultural themes. Today his plays are staged more for their entertainment value than for concerns with social activism. An audience is much more likely to enjoy a show and dinner, and if they’re in from out of town they can enjoy a stay in one of the 5 star Singapore hotels.
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