Projects: Sight/Unseen: Amplifying Voices of Southeast and British East Asian Theatre Playwrights

London, April 2018

Two day conference that provided a unique opportunity to explore and celebrate the plays of writers from both Southeast Asia and the British East Asian community. Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICCE) and Asia Centre at Goldsmiths co-organized this conference together with Aurora Metro Books and Tara Arts, with the support from East 15 Theatre Conservatoire, Regent’s Park University, Asia House, Royal Holloway University and The Fence.

Discussing the topics in their plays - Joned Suryatmoko (Indonesia), Alfian Sa’at (Singapore/Malaysia), Asa Palomera (Korea/USA), Ann Lee (Malaysia), Chhon Sina (Cambodia), Lucy Sheen (China/Hong Kong/UK), Daniel York Loh (China/UK), Stephen Hoo (Malaysia/China/UK), Yang May Ooi, Joel Tan... supported by academics focusing on the arts, policies and politics in East / South East Asia.

Aurora Metro published in 2016 Southeast Asian Plays, the first comprehensive collection of plays in English from the region. This conference marked the launch of the first collection of British East Asian Plays in the UK. By featuring playwrights from both collections, the Conference provided an important platform for performance and discussion of their work, reflecting the increasingly important relationship between the UK and Southeast Asia.