Stella Kon | |
---|---|
Born | Lim Sing Po 1944 (age 79–80) Edinburgh, Scotland |
Occupation | Playwright |
Nationality | Singaporean |
Alma mater | National University of Singapore |
Stella Kon (née Lim Sing Po, [1] born 1944) is a Singaporean playwright. She is best known for her play, Emily of Emerald Hill, which has been staged internationally. She is a recipient of the S.E.A. Write Award.
Kon was born in Edinburgh in 1944. [2] She grew up in a mansion on Emerald Hill. [2] Kon's mother, Kheng Lim (or Rosie Seow), [1] was an actress who inspired her daughter's love of theatre. [3] Kon's father, Lim Kok Ann, got Kon interested in science and literature. [1] Kon was also related to Lim Boon Keng and Tan Tock Seng who were her paternal great-grandfather and maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather respectively. [4] [5] [6] Kon attended Raffles Girls' School and then went on to the University of Singapore, where she earned a degree in philosophy. [1]
In 1967, after she was married, she moved to Malaysia for fifteen years. [2] For four years, she lived in Britain while her children were in school there. [2] In 1987, she returned to Singapore. [2]
Kon was awarded the Merit Award in the Singapore Literature Prize. [7] In 2008, she won the South East Asian Writers Award. [7] Kon was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame in 2014. [7]
Kon was first published in 22 Malaysian Stories (1962), with the work, Mushroom Harvest. [2] Kon won the Singapore National Playwriting Competition for three plays: The Bridge (1977), The Trial (1982) and for Emily of Emerald Hill (1983). [8]
Emily of Emerald Hill is a one-woman play that debuted in 1984 and was directed by Chin San Sooi. [3] The melodrama follows the life of a Peranakan woman who is married into a family she doesn't know at age 14 to a man twice her age. [9] The story was primarily inspired by Kon's grandmother, but also includes stories drawn from the rest of her extended family. [3] The Herald Sun wrote that the writing in Emily was "colorful and smartly written." [10] The Honolulu Star-Bulletin wrote that "The play is rich with the details of everyday life in a well-to-do Singaporeean Chinese family." [11] The play was performed at the Commonwealth Arts Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1986. [8] It has also been performed in Hong Kong, Australia, the United States and in Germany. [2]
Kon's play, The Human Heart Fruit, was staged by Action Theatre in 2002 and starred Nora Samosir. [12] Kon's first musical, Exodus, was written with the composer, Kenneth Lyen. [13] Her second musical, Lost in Transit, was performed at The Arts House in 2005. [13]
Stella Kon | |
---|---|
Born | Lim Sing Po 1944 (age 79–80) Edinburgh, Scotland |
Occupation | Playwright |
Nationality | Singaporean |
Alma mater | National University of Singapore |
Stella Kon (née Lim Sing Po, [1] born 1944) is a Singaporean playwright. She is best known for her play, Emily of Emerald Hill, which has been staged internationally. She is a recipient of the S.E.A. Write Award.
Kon was born in Edinburgh in 1944. [2] She grew up in a mansion on Emerald Hill. [2] Kon's mother, Kheng Lim (or Rosie Seow), [1] was an actress who inspired her daughter's love of theatre. [3] Kon's father, Lim Kok Ann, got Kon interested in science and literature. [1] Kon was also related to Lim Boon Keng and Tan Tock Seng who were her paternal great-grandfather and maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather respectively. [4] [5] [6] Kon attended Raffles Girls' School and then went on to the University of Singapore, where she earned a degree in philosophy. [1]
In 1967, after she was married, she moved to Malaysia for fifteen years. [2] For four years, she lived in Britain while her children were in school there. [2] In 1987, she returned to Singapore. [2]
Kon was awarded the Merit Award in the Singapore Literature Prize. [7] In 2008, she won the South East Asian Writers Award. [7] Kon was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame in 2014. [7]
Kon was first published in 22 Malaysian Stories (1962), with the work, Mushroom Harvest. [2] Kon won the Singapore National Playwriting Competition for three plays: The Bridge (1977), The Trial (1982) and for Emily of Emerald Hill (1983). [8]
Emily of Emerald Hill is a one-woman play that debuted in 1984 and was directed by Chin San Sooi. [3] The melodrama follows the life of a Peranakan woman who is married into a family she doesn't know at age 14 to a man twice her age. [9] The story was primarily inspired by Kon's grandmother, but also includes stories drawn from the rest of her extended family. [3] The Herald Sun wrote that the writing in Emily was "colorful and smartly written." [10] The Honolulu Star-Bulletin wrote that "The play is rich with the details of everyday life in a well-to-do Singaporeean Chinese family." [11] The play was performed at the Commonwealth Arts Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1986. [8] It has also been performed in Hong Kong, Australia, the United States and in Germany. [2]
Kon's play, The Human Heart Fruit, was staged by Action Theatre in 2002 and starred Nora Samosir. [12] Kon's first musical, Exodus, was written with the composer, Kenneth Lyen. [13] Her second musical, Lost in Transit, was performed at The Arts House in 2005. [13]