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About us
Diaspora Asia Theatre Arts
The idea to form a company with the name "Diaspora Asia" started in 2014 when the artistic director and production manager were making Singapore's first Historical drama in a century-old Cantonese clan association - Cantonese Diaspora Culture: A Legacy Sustained . The name captures the trans-nationality of the creative team who are Singaporean, German, Malaysian and Filipinos working from Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuala Lumpur and Zamboanga for a drama production in Singapore. The process of scripting, translating, designing and producing the play crossed geographical boundaries many times both physically and virtually through face to face rehearsals and internet communication. And so Diaspora Asia was started as an arts collective that works from and across countries and time zones. Subsequent to Diaspora Asia's inception, the artistic director produced its next play, REMITTANCE , a social performance-in-research about giving a face and voice to the millions of migrant workers in the world who risk exploitation and persecution just so they can send money back to their families and loved ones. It then became clear that this company's mission is one that must cross time, space, race, age, gender and ability borders to capture the full range of human narratives that are increasingly porous in a globalized and mediated world. Thus the birth of Diaspora Asia Theatre Arts.
Low Kok Wai
He is an arts educator and theatre director whose interests include Southeast Asian theatre, intercultural performances, community theatre and theatre/drama studies for higher education. He has performed extensively in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka on a four-city tour of Beauty World 1992; Perth, Australia, for the 4th Abilympics 1995; Mumbai and Chennai, India, as part of the international dance drama Buddhavatara, 2003; Tunis, Tunisia, in a multi-disciplinary performance entitled Streets Called Home that premiered at the United Nation’s World Summit for Information Society, 2005. He has also conducted workshops at the 5th Athens International Theatre/Drama and Performing Arts Education Conference, 2006 (Athens); and IDEA 2007: the 6th World Congress of International Drama/Theatre and Education Association, Hong Kong. In 2011, he presented one paper each at the 6th ATEC International Forum, Beijing, 18 to 21 May, and at the NAFA Symposium, Singapore, 19 to 21 September. Besides his artistic-scholarly work, he has been volunteering as a theatre director/educator with people with intellectual disabilities for 15 years. He recently completed his thesis in Performance studies and is currently a lecturer for drama and theatre studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
Malou Radovan
Malou is a Filipino physiotherapist who is currently managing a centre for Individuals With Autism (IWAs) in Brunei Darussalam. She has been involved with the IWAs for the past 10 years. She has managed the stage and production of several large-scale autism musicals written and directed by Low Kok Wai since 2011. She has also co-presented in the Community Cultural Development (CCD) 2012 – Practices and Possibilities symposium held at the Singapore Polytechnic in September 2012 with regards to the production of Oddy’s Quest, a musical play that celebrated the lives of persons with autism through the magic of theatre, music and dance. She was also the PR and media designer for the Cantonese Diaspora Culture: A Legacy Sustained which is Singapore’s first historical drama written and performed in Cantonese in September 2014. Apart from all these, she has also written articles, edited numerous newsletters, magazines and program books related to autism.