Drawing from Grotowski and Beyond: Kuo Pao Kun’s Discourse on Audiences in Singapore in the 1980s

Much has been researched on Kuo Pao Kun’s multilingualism and multiculturalism. However, as one of one of the most important Asian dramatists, the analysis of Kuo’s discourse on audiences remains largely unexplored. There is a pressing need to understand the ways which theatre practitioners imagine audiences as it points to issues of subjectivity, audience participation and social engagement, especially in a neoliberal society like Singapore where people are often positioned as docile economic subjects. Among the many Asian and Western dramatists Kuo drew inspiration from, Jerzy Grotowski was pivotal. This essay seeks to address this gap by examining how the latter’s ideas was crucial to understanding how Kuo envisioned theatre and audiences alongside his artistic practice