Students in secondary school and junior college might be familiar with The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree. It tells the story of a girl who befriends an ancient tree who tells her strange stories of the past. When the people of the city decide to cut down the tree, the girl protests - but the people think she's gone mad. In the end, although she manages to save the tree, she finds she can no longer talk to it.

The man behind this interesting play is Mr Kuo Pao Kun. He is no longer alive, but, he is still regarded as Singapore's most important playwright. He inspired others to use drama to connect with local cultures and issues. He suffered for his honesty: he pointed out his society's faults in ways that some people did not like. But, in the end, people respected the sincerity and wisdom in his words.

A life in theatre
Mr Kuo was born in Hebei, China, in 1939, and came to Singapore with his father at the age of 10. When he was only 14, he began performing and writing plays on Mandarin radio. As a young man, he also studied Western theatre techniques in Australia. This was where he got engaged to his future wife, choreographer and dancer Goh Lay Kuan.

Returning to Singapore in 1965, the husband-and-wife team started a professional dance and drama school. Mr Kuo wrote and directed plays in Mandarin describing the rapid and sometimes hurtful changes in society that happened following independence.

In 1976, he was arrested and jailed by the police, who claimed he was trying to stir up trouble against the government - a charge that we now know was untrue. He was held in prison for more than four years while his wife looked after his two daughters. While inside, he spent his lonely hours studying Malay and reading William Shakespeare's plays.

After he was released in 1980, his new plays still criticised the way the country was developing. Sometimes, they were funny, like The Coffin Is Too Big For the Hole, which is about a man trying to get government permission to bury his dead father in a giant coffin. Sometimes, they were told like fairy tales or legends, like Lao Jiu – The Ninth Born, about a bright boy who refuses a high-paying job so he can become a traditional puppeteer instead. Even when the plays talked about violent times, they had a tender side. The Spirits Play was about Japanese ghosts from World War Two, regretting their actions and trying to find peace.

His plays were no longer only in Mandarin. They'd sometimes be in English, and might include speeches in Hokkien, Malay or Tamil. He became known for his talent for getting artists from different cultures to work together, whether they were British-trained actors, Chinese opera performers or Malay rock musicians.

When talking about multiculturalism, he would sometimes compare the different cultures to trees in a forest. Just as tree branches touch each other, people from different cultures can also engage in cultural exchange. And, just as tree roots draw their nutrients from the same soil, cultures are based on the same experiences of human nature.

By the time he died of cancer in 2002, Mr Kuo had received the Cultural Medallion, the highest honour the Singapore government can give an artist. He had also gained the respect of fellow writers from all over Asia. The company he set up with his wife, The Theatre Practice, is still very active. So is The Substation, the home for the arts that he started. There's also a whole generation of theatre directors trained and inspired by him, who follow his example of multiculturalism in theatre. And, of course, he left behind his beautiful plays, like The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree. Students have sometimes performed this play in new ways that the playwright might never have imagined. This is a good thing. For as long as young people are able to connect with his works, Kuo Pao Kun is still alive.

This article by NG YI-SHENG was published in the September 2008 issue of What's Up. Updated and published on this website in April 2012.