About
Active Period
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Genre
Subgenre
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Geographic Location
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同乐戏院 [Huang, 2019]; Tong Le Theatre [Huang, 2019]; Royal Theatre [renamed in 1935]; Indo Gekijo [name during Japanese Occupation; Official programme for Tentyo-Setu, 1942]
About
Malay Theatre Royal faces North Bridge Road. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. 19980007360 – 0033.
Theatre Royal was opened by Chinese Peranakan businessman Cheong Koon Seng (钟坤成) on 13 June 1908. It was the first major theatre in Singapore to specialize in Malay performances. It presented Shakespeare’s plays, Chinese classics, and fairy tales of many cultures – all embellished with a variety of entertainments, from dance and music to magic, wrestling, and clowns. The first performance held at Theatre Royal was Wayang Kassim’s Trip to Fairyland. Cheong later launched Star Opera Company in 1910 and based the company in this theatre. Occasionally, the threatre was used to host Chinese opera. Once such example is a series of Cantonese operas by the Zhen Tian Sheng (振天声) opera troupe in March and April 1909 [Huang, 2019]. The theatre was eventually demolished in 1977.
Venue Location
Dates
Associated Performance(s)
| Performance Name | Performer | Production | Festival |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seti Zubeidah Part 4 – 1923 – Theatre Royal |
– |
||
| Heiyu Honglian (黑獄紅蓮) |
Zhen Tian Sheng Troupe (中國振天聲社) (Troupe)
|
Media
Malay Theatre Royal faces North Bridge Road. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. 19980007360 – 0033.
Sources
“New theatre opened: Wayang Kassim’s first night at the Royal”. (1908, June 15). The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
“Official programme for Tentyo-Setu”. (1942, April 28). Syonan Shimbun, p. 4;
“Indian community holding mass rally tomorrow”. (1944, December 9). Syonan Shimbun, p. 2;
Huang, Ziming. 2019. 优影振天声：牛车水百年文化历程 Youying Zhen Tian Sheng: Niucheshui bainian wenhua licheng [Chinese opera troupe Zhen Tian Sheng: One-hundred-year history of Singapore’s Chinatown]. Singapore: Bafang Wenhua.
Tan, Chui Hua. “The theatres of bangsawan”. Jan-Mar 2020. Biblioasia.
Contributor
2025. “Theatre Royal“. In Performing Archipelagos, edited by Kyueun Kim, Alvin Eng Hui Lim and Hedren Wai Yuan Sum. Singapore: National University of Singapore.
