Drama Box and the Social Theatre of Singapore - Cultural Intervention and Artistic Autonomy, 1990-2006

This pioneering study provides an essential guide to the formative years of Drama Box, a leading Chinese-language theatre company in Singapore. How Wee Ng presents a compelling narrative of how Drama Box has emerged as a prominent force in the field of theatre for social intervention, effectively amplifying the voices of marginalised communities and establishing itself as a foremost advocate of cutting-edge, socially oriented artistic practice. Ng’s in-depth analysis of Drama Box’s most influential works during this pivotal period, and his meticulous examination of the social, political, and economic contexts of their productions, illuminate the remarkable balance the company has achieved in its engagement with government policy, censorship, and financial imperatives, while fiercely defending its artistic autonomy. As well as unveiling the remarkable history of Drama Box, the book offers readers a unique lens through which to understand the complex relationship between the arts and state authority, and the broader socio-cultural and political landscape of contemporary Singapore.


Dr How Wee Ng is Lecturer at School of Humanities, University of Westminster. His research interests include Sinophone cinema, theatre, television, literature, and broadly, the exclusionary politics of representation related to ethnicity, gender, and class in visual culture. His new monograph Worrying about the Audience in Postsocialist China: The Censorship Discourse on Chinese Television will be published in 2025/2026.