Since the 1950s, a large number of mainland Chinese literati came to Hong Kong, and coupled with the rise of local playwrights and repertory theatres, Hong Kong drama has flourished. Classic plays have been staged one after another, making Hong Kong an important drama arts centre in the Greater China region.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Library has been dedicated to collecting and preserving heritage of Hong Kong drama. Over the years, the Library has received generous donations from the community, resulting in a comprehensive collection that includes scripts, correspondence, teaching notes, house programmes, and drama reviews from renowned figures in the field, such as Yao Ke (1905-1991), Ma Kiam (1882-1959), Hu Chun Ping (1907-1960), Pao Hanlin (1919-2007), and Lee Woon Wah (1915-2006). The collection also comprises scripts, photos, and promotional materials from repertory theatres like the Chinese Drama Group of Sino-British Club of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. These valuable materials are now accessible to the public, offering readers an in-depth understanding of the development of Hong Kong drama. The Library has also organized the exhibitions “A Forgotten Memory of Hong Kong: Yao Ke And Modern Drama” (2018) and “Ma Hu Pao Lee Theatre – Looking at the Cultural Inheritance of Hong Kong Theatre through the Drama Collection at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library” (2024) to showcase this precious collection to the public.
To ensure wider accessibility of the Hong Kong drama collection, the Library has undertaken the digitization of these materials and launched the first phase of the "Hong Kong Drama Collection" in the CUHK Digital Repository. More items will be digitized and released for open access soon.
