Performance and Exchange of China Drama in Singapore since the New Century

Frontiers of Theatre Studies

FTS, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.69-80.

Print ISSN: 3106-8073; Online ISSN: 3106-8081

Journal homepage: https://www.ftsjournal.com

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64058/fts260108pecds

新世纪以来中国戏剧在新加坡的演出与交流

陈雅玲（Chen Yaling），张连桥（Zhang Lianqiao）

摘要：新世纪以来，依托多元文化政策构建的包容环境与长期积淀的国际化传播优势，新加坡成为中国戏剧跨文化传播及中新戏剧人文交流的重要场域。中国戏剧在新加坡的传播呈现出交流频次高、演出形态多元的特征，其传播过程并非单向文化输出与被动接纳，而是在本土市场的筛选、在地学术与文艺批评的介入下，完成的本土化重塑。在当地媒体的传播赋能与公共文化体系的持续支持下，新世纪以来的中国戏剧作品深度融入新加坡的社会文化生态，对当地多元文化建设产生深远影响。整体来看，中国戏剧的演出活动在新加坡具有促进文化理解、塑造文化认同的重要意义，也成为中新两国人文交流与文明互鉴的重要载体。

关键词：中国戏剧；跨文化交流；新加坡；戏曲；现代戏剧

作者简介：陈雅玲，广州大学人文学院硕士研究生，研究方向：比较文学与世界文学、跨文化研究。电子邮箱：1164736833@qq.com。张连桥（通讯作者），博士，广州大学人文学院教授、博士生导师，博士后合作导师，广州大学国际中文教育与汉学研究中心主任，研究方向：比较文学与世界文学，跨文化交流。电子邮箱：504078138@qq.com。

Title: Performance and Exchange of China Drama in Singapore since the New Century

Abstract: Since the turn of the 21st century, building on the inclusive institutional environment shaped by its official multiculturalism policies and its long-established strengths in international cultural dissemination, Singapore has emerged as a key site for the intercultural communication of Chinese theatre and for China-Singapore theatrical and humanities exchanges. The dissemination of Chinese theatre in Singapore is marked by a high frequency of bilateral exchanges and diverse performance formats. Far from being a process of one-way cultural export and passive reception, its circulation is defined by a localized reconfiguration of works, mediated through the filtering of the local market and the intervention of domestic academic and literary criticism. Empowered by the communicative reach of local media and sustained support from Singapore’s public cultural system, Chinese theatre works over this period have become deeply embedded in Singapore’s social and cultural ecosystem, exerting a profound influence on the country’s ongoing multicultural development. Overall, the performance practices of Chinese theatre in Singapore hold significant intrinsic value in fostering intercultural understanding and shaping cultural identity, while also serving as a key carrier for humanities exchanges and mutual learning between the civilizations of China and Singapore.

Keywords: Chinese theatre; intercultural exchange; Singapore; Xiqu; modern drama

Author Biographies: Chen Yaling, Master’s Candidate at the School of Humanities, Guangzhou University. Research interests: comparative literature and world literature, cross-cultural studies. E-mail: 1164736833@qq.com. Zhang Lianqiao (Corresponding Author), Ph.D., Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Humanities, Guangzhou University, and Postdoctoral Co-supervisor. He is also Director of the Center for International Chinese Language Education and Sinology Studies, Guangzhou University. Research interests: comparative literature and world literature, cross-cultural communication. E-mail: 504078138@qq.com.