Benjamin Yeoh
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Yeoh aka Ben Yeoh is one of the first British Chinese
playwrights to have his plays performed and recognised in the UK.
Born near London
, England
his father came from Ipoh
, Malaysia and mother from Singapore
. His grandfather, Datuk Yeoh Cheang Lee was the first non-European chairman of the Perak Turf Club
http://www.turfonline.com/turfclubs/perak_turf_club.asp, in Ipoh
, Malaysia.
Yeoh won a scholarship to Westminster School
and went on to study Natural Sciences at Emmanuel College
, Cambridge University
, the same college as his father and grand father. He then went on to Harvard University
as a Herchel Smith
scholar studying dramaturgy and play writing.
Yeoh is also among the first generation of writers to have come from the Soho Theatre
Young Writers’ Programme. He has also been on the Royal Court Theatre
’s writers’ programme led in 2005 by playwright Jane Bodie.
Yeoh has directed several plays and has been involved with writing groups and mentorships such as Royal Court Writers, Soho Young Writers, BBC Radio, Moti Roti, Talawa and Yellow Ink. He currently sits on the board of Talawa http://www.talawa.com/about/directors.html and advises CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust on socially responsible investment. He won the Thomson Extel Award for Best Sector Sell-side Analyst for Integrated Socially Responsible Investment Analysis in 2003 http://www.uksif.org/cmsfiles/press/Thomson%20Extel%20(July).pdf
at the Finborough Theatre
, London (2001). Lemon Love is a revenge love story that involved a mystical older couple guiding and berating a younger couple in their stormy relationship. Directed by Elizabeth Freestone.
The play dealt with torture and interwove personal tragedies with those on a larger scale particularly 'the disappeared' in Latin America
. The UK newspaper, the Guardian
suggested that it ‘pushed the boundaries of form and style’ but also noted that it was a difficult play. http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/critic/review/0,1169,936670,00.html
Yellow Men was renamed Yellow Gentlemen http://yellowgentlemen.com/ and performed at the Oval House Theatre in February - March, 2006. Time Out applauded "...the vertiginous sense of possibility and regret present in Yeoh’s intelligent script."
was broadcast by BBC World Service
in December 2006. It starred Danny Sapani and Tanya Moodie. The play was bout an African President who hits his head and starts giving out medicines for free.
, a dramatisation of the book by Rory Stewart
, directed by Kirsty Williams
and starring Greg Wise
was broadcast on BBC Radio 4
on 15 February 2007. The story is about Rory Stewart, who walks across Afghanistan
just after the fall of the Taliban.
play.
The UK newspaper, the Guardian
said of Nakamitsu: ‘Small but exquisitely formed, Benjamin Yeoh's new version of a 14th-century Japanese Noh play is fusion theatre, borrowing from east as well as west. It is both strange and familiar, accessible and remote, restrained and yet somehow full-blown.’ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/reviews/story/0,,2095742,00.html
British Chinese
British Chinese , including British-born Chinese are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in, or have migrated to, the United Kingdom. They are part of the Chinese diaspora, or overseas Chinese...
playwrights to have his plays performed and recognised in the UK.
Born near London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
his father came from Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
, Malaysia and mother from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. His grandfather, Datuk Yeoh Cheang Lee was the first non-European chairman of the Perak Turf Club
Perak Turf Club
Perak Turf Club is the major Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. The Club is a part of the Malayan Racing Association. The Club's major annual races are:* Perak Coronation Cup* Perak Derby* Sultan Gold Vase-References:*...
http://www.turfonline.com/turfclubs/perak_turf_club.asp, in Ipoh
Ipoh
Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
, Malaysia.
Yeoh won a scholarship to Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and went on to study Natural Sciences at Emmanuel College
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, the same college as his father and grand father. He then went on to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
as a Herchel Smith
Herchel Smith
Herchel Smith was an Anglo-American organic chemist. His discoveries include the key inventions underlying oral and injectable contraceptives. In later life, he was a major benefactor to university science....
scholar studying dramaturgy and play writing.
Yeoh is also among the first generation of writers to have come from the Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
Young Writers’ Programme. He has also been on the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
’s writers’ programme led in 2005 by playwright Jane Bodie.
Yeoh has directed several plays and has been involved with writing groups and mentorships such as Royal Court Writers, Soho Young Writers, BBC Radio, Moti Roti, Talawa and Yellow Ink. He currently sits on the board of Talawa http://www.talawa.com/about/directors.html and advises CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust on socially responsible investment. He won the Thomson Extel Award for Best Sector Sell-side Analyst for Integrated Socially Responsible Investment Analysis in 2003 http://www.uksif.org/cmsfiles/press/Thomson%20Extel%20(July).pdf
Lemon Love (2001)
His first play, Lemon Love, was performed by Louie Bayliss and Salima SaxtonSalima Saxton
Salima Saxton is a British actress and writer. She graduated from Girton College, Cambridge University in 2000. She appears as a regular character in Jennifer Saunders' BBC1 comedy series Jam and Jerusalem.- External links :...
at the Finborough Theatre
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen...
, London (2001). Lemon Love is a revenge love story that involved a mystical older couple guiding and berating a younger couple in their stormy relationship. Directed by Elizabeth Freestone.
Lost in Peru (2003)
Lost in Peru, was his second full length piece, first performed at the Camden People’s Theatre, London (2003). It was Arts Council of England funded.The play dealt with torture and interwove personal tragedies with those on a larger scale particularly 'the disappeared' in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. The UK newspaper, the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
suggested that it ‘pushed the boundaries of form and style’ but also noted that it was a difficult play. http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/critic/review/0,1169,936670,00.html
Yellow Gentlemen (2006)
A reading of his third play called Yellow Men, at the time (2004), was performed at the Soho Theatre and was produced by Yellow Earth Theatre. It also received Arts Council funding.Yellow Men was renamed Yellow Gentlemen http://yellowgentlemen.com/ and performed at the Oval House Theatre in February - March, 2006. Time Out applauded "...the vertiginous sense of possibility and regret present in Yeoh’s intelligent script."
Patent Breaking Life Saving (2006)
Patent Breaking Life Saving, directed by Jessica DromgooleJessica Dromgoole
Jessica Dromgoole is a British theatre and radio-play director, notable as the Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre from 1988 to 1991. She is currently New Writing Co-ordinator for BBC Drama, Entertainment and Children's programmes....
was broadcast by BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
in December 2006. It starred Danny Sapani and Tanya Moodie. The play was bout an African President who hits his head and starts giving out medicines for free.
The Places In Between (2007) (adaptation)
The Places in BetweenThe Places in Between
The Places in Between is a travel narrative by Scottish author Rory Stewart about his solo walk across north-central Afghanistan in 2002. Stewart started in Herat and ended in Kabul following the Hari River from west to east. Along the way he travels through some of the most rugged, isolated and...
, a dramatisation of the book by Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart
Roderick 'Rory' James Nugent Stewart OBE FRSL MP DUniv is a British academic, author, and Conservative politician. Since May 2010, he has been the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border, in the county of Cumbria, North West England.- Overview :Stewart was a senior coalition official in a...
, directed by Kirsty Williams
Kirsty Williams (drama)
Kirsty Williams is a radio drama director and producer for BBC Radio Drama at Pacific Quay, Glasgow.Her play Daniel and Mary received a Bronze Sony Radio Academy Award for Best Drama in 2010.-Radio Plays:Notes:-References:...
and starring Greg Wise
Greg Wise
Greg Wise is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in many British television works, as well as several feature films .- Early life :...
was broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
on 15 February 2007. The story is about Rory Stewart, who walks across Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
just after the fall of the Taliban.
Nakamitsu (2007)
Nakamitsu won the international Gate Theatre Translation Award and was performed 24 May - 16 June 2007. It is a version of a Japanese NohNoh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
play.
The UK newspaper, the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said of Nakamitsu: ‘Small but exquisitely formed, Benjamin Yeoh's new version of a 14th-century Japanese Noh play is fusion theatre, borrowing from east as well as west. It is both strange and familiar, accessible and remote, restrained and yet somehow full-blown.’ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/reviews/story/0,,2095742,00.html
- Yeoh has also had work on BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
(The Inventor of Fireworks performed by David YipDavid YipDavid Yip is an English actor.Yip, of Asian and English descent, was born in Liverpool and trained at East 15 Acting School, London...
on 22 January 2004) http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlondon/unitedcolours/roots/chinese_new_year2.shtml and several readings of other works.
See also
- British ChineseBritish ChineseBritish Chinese , including British-born Chinese are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in, or have migrated to, the United Kingdom. They are part of the Chinese diaspora, or overseas Chinese...
- Overseas ChineseOverseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
- List of overseas Chinese
- List of British Chinese people
External links
- Guardian article and interview on Nakamitsu
- BBC radio documentary on British Born Chinese and interview with Benjamin Yeoh
- Times review of Nakamitsu by Sam Marlowe
- Guardian review of Lost in Peru by Lyn Gardner
- Plays listed at Dollee site
- Website of the play Yellow Gentlemen
- Stage review of Nakamitsu
- Visible Chinese Profile
- Author site