Wouldn't It Be Nice?

Han Xuemei is a theatre director, facilitator, educator, designer and Co-Artistic Director of Drama Box.

Xuemei believes that theatre can inspire growth. She creates different forms of artistic experiences that engage with audiences from all walks of life. Her works seek to deepen reflection and dialogue about pertinent issues so that we can grow our individual and collective capacity to contribute to a better society. Since 2012, she has conceptualised, directed, designed and facilitated numerous projects about issues such as development and displacement, domestic violence, as well as violence in school. She is specifically interested in the possibilities of theatre in youth engagement and education. She has consistently created performances for youth, and continues to study and explore different ways of engaging and co-creating with youth.

Notable projects include Camp-O, A Young Person’s Guide to Surviving in Singapore (Seeing the Obvious, 2023), Re: Assembly, MISSING: The City of Lost Things (2018, nominated for “Best Multimedia” at the 2019 Straits Times LIFE! Theatre Awards), and The Young Can Change The World (SCENES: Forum Theatre, 2015).

In recognition of her artistic endeavour and development, she received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council of Singapore in 2021.

Heng Leun is a prominent theatre director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator, known for engaging the community on various issues through the arts, championing civic discourse across different societal segments.

As Founder, artist of Drama Box (Singapore), notable directorial works over his three-decade career include Drift, Trick or Threat, and Underclass; site-specific theatre ubin and Project Mending Sky, Both Sides, Now, which explores end-of-life conversations, and the recent Air, about the dispossession of the indigenous Malays and Orang Seletar of Singapore. 

National awards received include the Young Artist Award, Cultural Fellowship and Cultural Medallion. He also served as a Nominated Member of Parliament (2016– 2018), representing the arts sector. In 2024, he received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Tainan, for his achievements in the fields of academia, arts and education.