The first ever comprehensive collection of plays in English from Southeast Asia. Features work by eight playwrights from seven countries in Southeast Asia, a region which is experiencing profound change: Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia. Southeast Asian Plays explores the rich variety of dramatic work that is only beginning to be translated into English.

Theatre scripts are merely blueprints for productions, especially in this region. As elsewhere, second productions and revivals are rare, so publication is key to allowing play texts to find a wider international readership.

Topics include the global financial crisis, sex workers, traditional v modern values, the role of faith in society, corruption in high places and journalistic ethics. The plays have been selected for performance.

Plays:

The Plunge by Jean Tay (Singapore) about the efects of a financial crisis

An Evening At the Opera by Floy Quintos (Philippines) about a dictator and his wife

Night of the Minotaur by Tew Bunnag (Thailand) about a man misused as a monster

Tarap Man by Ann Lee (Malaysia) about a man wrongly imprisoned under the justice system

Dark Race by Dang Chuong (Vietnam) about corruption in high places

Frangipani by Chhon Sina (Cambodia) about the sex trade in Cambodia

Piknic by Joned Suryatmoko (Indonesia) about the need to get rich quick in Bali

Nadirah by Alfian Saat (Singapore) about the conflict between faith and morality

“The editors have done an excellent job of opening up our chances of reading and learning about plays from all over Southeast Asia. …editorial choices are significant for opening up spaces to voices which are otherwise heard less often. All in all the plays are interesting for the ways in which they grapple with key concerns in their respective societies.” --The Asiatic

Barbara Hatley