Tamil Shakespeare

Individuals from South Asia have long contributed to Singapore's performing arts scene. In the late nineteenth century, travelling Parsi theatre troupes from Mumbai (or Bombay, as it was then known) toured Singapore and peninsula Malaysia. These Parsi companies were known locally as the 'wayang parsi'. Inspired by these troupes, residents created the bangsawan or Malay Opera.

In the mid- to late- twentieth century, Tamil artistes living in Singapore continued this South Asian artistic legacy, by translating and performing Shakespeare in Tamil.

In 1961, the P. Krishnan, a local Tamil literary pioneer, produced a Tamil translation of Macbeth which was broadcast on Radio Singapura. He later published a full Tamil Macbeth for distribution in Singapore n India in 1996.

In 1963, the Rational Dramatic Troupe, which S. Varathan had helped to found several years earlier, mounted a Tamil-language version of Romeo and Juliet (pictured) in Gan Eng Seng School Hall. The troupe also published a souvenir booklet to commemorate the occasion, featuring a foreword by then-Minister for Culture S. Rajaratnam. In his foreword, Rajaratnam declares that ‘[s]uch productions will undoubtedly help in promoting better understanding between the various races’ (Singapore Rational Dramatic Troupe Romeo & Juliet Souvenir, 1963 p. 5).