Anthony Chan (dramatist)

For other uses, see Anthony Chan.
In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Chan. In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Anthony Chan and the Chinese-style name is Chan Kam-kuen.
Anthony Chan Kam-kuen
陳敢權
Born1953 (age 72–73)
Occupationsdramatist, director, set designer, and costume designer

Anthony Chan Kam-kuen (born 1953[1]) is a Hong Kong dramatist, director, educator, set designer, and costume designer.[1] Throughout his career, he adapted and translated more than a hundred plays and directed more than eighty.[2] He was former head of the directing and playwriting at the School of Drama of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Biography

He embarked on his playwright career at an early stage. In 1973, while still in tertiary education, he wrote his first play, Doomsday’s Wedding,[3] which won Best Playwright, Best Director and Best Actor at a competition held during the "Hong Kong Festival."[a][4] He later obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Denver. In 1982, he returned to Hong Kong.[2]

In the early-1990s, Chan gained international recognition. His Hong Kong Heartbeat, an ensemble production incorporating dance and music, was staged at the Festival Hong Kong '92 in London, Calgary and Ottawa by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.[1][5] His Nuwa Mends the Sky toured Tarascon and Bordeaux, France, and won a best script award.[b][1] In 1994, he translated, directed and designed the set for You Can't Take It with You.[1]

He was former head of the directing and playwriting at the School of Drama of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. During his nearly two decades of service, he devoted himself to nurturing talents, and before stepping down, he completed the curriculum design for the Master of Fine Arts in drama programme.[6]

Between 2008 and 2023, Chan served as the artistic director of Hong Kong Repertory Theatre until his retirement.[2] Seeking to counter typecasting and broaden the actors' artistic range, he introduced an audition system that allowed supporting actors to compete for leading roles. He applied this approach in Field of Dreams, which he wrote and directed.[7] The production won the Hong Kong Drama Award for Best Actor (Tragedy/Drama) (Lau Shau-ching). He also introduced the troupe to programme with a theme for each production season.[8]

Personal life

Chan is married, and he met his wife in Hong Kong Repertory Theatre.[2]

Works

Plays

As a dramatist

Incomplete list (many of his earlier plays do not have official English titles)[9]

  • Doomsday's Wedding (世界末日的婚禮; January 1974)[9]
  • Warm Fuzzies (暖毛毛; June 1983)[9]
  • 1841 (March 1985)[9][8]
  • Cages Beast (困獸; 1985)[9]
  • Metamorphosis under the Stars (星光下的蛻變; March 1986)[9]
  • The night rider (黑夜衝激; November 1992)
  • Hong Kong Heartbeat (香港心連心; 1992)[1]
  • Nuwa Mends the Sky (女媧; 1992; adapted) [1]
  • Our Town (1993; adapted)
  • You Can't Take It with You (不搶錢家族; 1994; translated)[1]
  • 1941 (April 1997)[9]
  • The Call of A White Orchard (白蘭呼喚; October 1997)[9]
  • The Dresser (風雨守衣箱; 1997; translated)
  • Formula of the Thunderstorm (周門家事; September 2000)[9]
  • The Border Town (邊城; December 2001)[9]
  • Macbeth (2001; translated)
  • Autumn Execution (秋決; 2006; adapted)
  • Di Nu Hua (帝女花; January 2007; adapted)[9]
  • Field of Dreams (頂頭鎚; 2008), an original musical
  • A Flea in Her Ear (橫衝直撞偷錯情; 2009; translated)
  • Dr. Faustus (魔鬼契約; 2010; translated)[10]
  • Reverie on an Empire (一年皇帝夢; August 2011)
  • A Bowlful of Kindness (有飯自然香; 2012)
  • Footprints in the Show (一頁飛鴻; 2014, 2016), mixed with Cantonese opera
  • 1894 Hong Kong Plague (太平山之疫; 2016), an original musical
  • Speaking in Tongues (叛侶; 2020; translated)

As a set or costume designer

Awards

  • 1991 Artist of the Year Award from the Hong Kong Artists' Guild[6]
  • 1994 Outstanding Achievements of the Decade from the Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies[6]
  • 2009 Outstanding Translator Award from the Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Meyer-Dinkgrafe, Daniel, ed. (2002). Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 0203105907.
  2. ^ a b c d 黃穎津. "【戲劇人生】香港話劇團藝術總監陳敢權盼戲劇引導觀眾思考 自豪作品續流傳". Hong Kong Economic Times (in Traditional Chinese).
  3. ^ Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies (22 October 2021). 「香港編劇系列—線上對談」📌第一集：陳敢權 陳小東 第一個劇本的誕生. Retrieved 16 February 2026 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ 藝術當下 Artistic Moments (13 December 2021). 戲劇人生再體驗：第五集－台上台下陳敢權. Retrieved 16 February 2026 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Official Record of Proceedings of 9 March 1994" (PDF). Hong Kong Legislative Council. 9 March 1994.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b c d "Anthony CHAN Kam-kuen". Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  7. ^ "On Your Mark！── 陳敢權". 101Arts.
  8. ^ a b Tao, Siu-tip (2014). "An artistic director as an auteur in contexts: The case study of Dr. Joanna Chan of Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (1986-1990)" (PDF). Hong Kong Baptist University.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k https://njucml.nju.edu.cn/_upload/article/files/1a/19/08935a9547f498f24f39763e03cb/e1251ef4-6799-4e8d-a8f0-ae599cc248ef.pdf
  10. ^ "《魔鬼契約》". www.drama-archive.hk. Retrieved 13 February 2026.

Notes

  1. ^ Chinese 香港節戲劇創作比賽, lit. 'Hong Kong Festival Drama Production Competition'
  2. ^ Chinese 香港傑出創作劇, lit. 'Hong Kong Outstanding Original Production'
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