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Drama Festival

Drama Festival was first launched in August 1978 as part of goverment initiatives to invigorate the local arts scene.

There had been at least 20 drama groups, made up of mainly expatriates and Chinese operatic groups, in the mid-1960s. However, the drama scene was fraught with difficulties such as lack of funds, playwrights and performers. The Drama Festival was a culmination of government initiatives that sought to revive the languishing local drama scene. The 1978 Drama Promotion Scheme by the Ministry of Culture was one such initiative which provided grants for local drama troupes to put up plays.

The first Drama Festival was held between 1 - 13 August 1978 as part of National Day celebrations. It was launched by the Ong, Teng Cheong, acting Minister of Culture, at the Victoria Theatre and the first play was Ping Sheh Peking troupe's Madam White Snake. It was funded by Nanyang Siang Pau with at least 15 plays performed in the four national languages, profiling the talent of local troupes. Despite some criticisms over poor acting, the response to the festival marked a new stage in local drama production.



Author
Bonny Muliani Tan



References
Drama festival: Programme (p. 1). (1979). Singapore: Ministry of Culture.
(Call no.: RCLOS 792.095957 DF) 

First drama festival for National Day. (1978, June 1). The Straits Times.

N-Day drama festival off to a good start... (1978, August 3). The Straits Times.

The information in this article is valid as at 2003 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Events>>National Campaigns
Arts>>Performing Arts
Drama festivals--Singapore
Performing arts--Singapore
Art Publicity--Singapore
Language and literature>>Drama
Law and government>>Culture and community>>Arts



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