VA: The Context

3 Key Events in Singapore Queer History

Early queer-themed theatre works in Singapore often responded to events which directly affected the LGBTQ community. The Vault: Desert Blooms recounts several key moments in history between the years 1985 and 1995 which provided fodder and impetus for theatre-makers to…

Singapore Theatre in the 1970s

“Theatre is dead, really.” With original English-language plays by the likes of Lim Chor Pee and Goh Poh Seng in the 1960s, it seemed like Singapore theatre was off to a promising start. But just a decade into Singapore’s independence,…

Singapore Theatre in the 1980s

The 1980s were an exciting time for Singapore theatre, and English-language drama in particular. In his essay Singapore English Theatre: Dynamic and Diverse, which traces the history of local English-language theatre, Robin Loon called the 80’s the “first golden age…

Shifting Sands: Pasir Panjang Land Reclamation

Singapore's fast-changing landscape has always been rich fodder for the work of local theatremakers. There was Stella Kon's landmark monologue Emily of Emerald Hill (1984), in which an aged Emily Gan laments the new apartment blocks surrounding her mansion on…

Losing the English Advantage

In colonial Singapore, English literacy among the Asiatic population – Chinese, Malays and Indians – was alarmingly low. In a 1935 report in the Malaya Tribune, the 1931 population census found that: However, among the three largest ethnic groups in…

The Bilingual Policy

A lot of factors go into the decline of languages in a country, but here are some events in Singapore history that led to the diminished use of Chinese dialects among the Chinese population.

Singapore Theatre in the 1990s

Sea was written and staged in the 1990s, an exciting decade for the local theatre scene. Singapore plays were being written and produced by local professional theatre companies. The government found value in the arts for the future of Singapore…

#7 – A tense 1964

1964 was a significant milestone in Singapore’s history, a period of tension amidst the uncertainty and hope of forging a new identity. Various views about the Merger: A recording of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s address, in Mandarin and English,…

#6 – The golden age of Singapore music

Plug in to this short 1964 playlist of music tracks by some of the many popular local bands in the ’60s: The Crescendos (pop band) Naomi and the Boys (pop band) The Checkmates (guitar band) The Quests (guitar band) 1960s:…

#5 – Cabaret Girls in the limelight

Singapore. Neon lights at night, 1960s. There were the three “Worlds” which lit up Singapore’s nightlife in the ’50s and ’60s: New World Park. View “New World was famous for its cabarets, Chinese and Malay opera halls, shops, restaurants, open-air cinemas, boxing…