About
Active Period
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Genre
Subgenre
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Geographic Location
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People’s Theatre; Panggong Negara; 国家剧场
About
National Theatre, Singapore, 1968. Image contributed by Alvin Lim.
The National Theatre of Singapore was built in Fort Canning Park at the corner of Clemenceau Avenue and River Valley Road with funding from the Singapore government and public donations. The venue was designed by architect Alfred HK Wong. The design featured a five-pointed façade for the stage building and a cantilevered steel roof across an open-air auditorium. The seating capacity was 3,420. The theatre opened early on 8 August 1963 as the venue for the opening ceremony of the first Southeast Asia Cultural Festival. Construction was completed in 1964 at a total cost of S$2.2 million. The theatre was used by many international performing troupes, and as a venue for National Day rallies and university convocations. The last performance was on 15 January 1984. The building was demolished in June and August 1986.
Venue Location
Dates
Associated Performance(s)
Media
National Theatre, Singapore, 1968. Image contributed by Alvin Lim.
Sources
Kartini Saparudin, Zhi Wei. (2018). National Theatre. Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board, Singapore. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=5ec6738a-7536-448c-b43a-570dc081ee18
AWP Architects. (2024). Singapore National Theatre. https://awparchitects.com/projects/civic-cultural/singapore-national-theatre/
Wong, Alfred Hong Kwok. (2016). Recollections of Life in an Accidental Nation, ed. Lai
Chee Kien. Singapore: Select Publishing.
Contributor
2024. “National Theatre“. In Performing Archipelagos, edited by Kyueun Kim, Alvin Eng Hui Lim and Hedren Wai Yuan Sum. Singapore: National University of Singapore.
