Michael Chiang

Michael Chiang (born 27 October 1955 in Muar, Malaysia) is a prolific playwright and screenwriter in Singapore. He is known as "Singapore's most famous and successful playwright".

From 1990 to 2009, Chiang was the editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing, which publishes 8 Days. The playwright of Army Daze (1987) and Beauty World (1988), Chiang had his plays were collected in and published as Private Parts and Other Playthings in 1994 by Landmark Books and Play Things in 2014.

In 2015, Army Daze was selected by The Business Times as one of the "finest plays in 50 years" alongside productions by Goh Poh Seng, Kuo Pao Kun and Alfian Sa'at and others.

Early life

Born in Muar, Malaysia, to a schoolteacher and housewife, Chiang came to Singapore at the age of 11 and attended the Anglo-Chinese School, where he was placed in the care of his eldest brother Dr Chiang Hai Ding. He is the youngest of seven siblings, including an adopted younger sister. As a child, he made frequent visits to the cinema, and developed a taste for the Hong Kong classics of the 1960s.

He graduated from the National University of Singapore with majors in English Literature, Chinese Studies and Philosophy. In 1992, Chiang became a Singapore citizen.

Career Chiang's foray into playwriting began in 1984, when he was an entertainment journalist and editor for The Sunday Times. He was invited to submit a light-hearted play for the Singapore Arts Festival's Bumboat production because he wrote humour columns for the newspaper. The result, Beauty Box, about beauty queens and shopping malls, was savaged by critics but popular with audiences. Chiang also wrote the screenplay for Our Sister Mambo which was released in July 2015 to celebrate Cathay Organisation's 80th anniversary.

In October 2014, Chiang began his stint as editorial director of The A List, the National Arts Council's fortnightly arts magazine.

Works by Michael Chiang

Plays Jun 1984: Beauty Box (short) Sep 1985: Love & Belachan (short) Jun 1987: Army Daze Jun 1988: Beauty World Jun 1989: Mixed Signals Jun 1992: Private Parts Apr 1994: Heaven II Oct 1995: My Art Belongs to Me Nov 1995: Mortal Sins Dec 1999: My Lonely Tarts Jul 2013: High Class

Screenplays Army Daze (1996) Our Sister Mambo (2015)

Publications Army Daze (1985, Times Books International) Michael Chiang's Army Daze: The Play (1987, Landmark Books) The New Army Daze (1992, Times Books International) Private Parts & Other Playthings: A Collection of Popular Singapore Comedies (1994, Landmark Books) Play Things: The Complete Works 1984-2014 (2014, Really Good Books)

Anthologies Gwee Li Sui, ed. Written Country: The History of Singapore through Literature (2016, Landmark Publications)