The British Theatre Playhouse is located in Singapore and opened its doors early in 2004 when we produced our first show, Alan Ayckbourn's “How The Other Half Loves”, in a dinner-theatre setting at Singapore's Shangri-La Hotel from April 27th - 30th. The production was a sell-out. In October 2004, the Playhouse produced Oscar Wilde's “The Importance Of Being Earnest” at the Jubilee Hall Theatre at Raffles Hotel, with a cast from the UK directed by Robin Herford. The producers were honoured to have the presence of The President of Singapore, His Excellency, Mr S.R. Nathan and the First Lady as well as Minister Mentor, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mrs Lee and Senior Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong and Mrs Goh in the audience. The great success of the Singapore show led to the transfer of the production to the Greenwich Theatre, London, in April 2005. In May 2005, we next presented Ray Cooney's hit farce "Funny Money" at the Shangri-la Hotel Singapore and then at the new Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, where it was sold-out. The emphasis of British Theatre Playhouse's programming is on comedy. There is a rich vein of comedy writing to explore in contemporary British theatre with the likes of Alan Bennett, Willy Russell, Richard Harris, Ray Cooney, Tom Stoppard, Alan Ayckbourn and, of course, the incomparable Nöel Coward. So, in April 2006 the Playhouse turned to the playwright who was known by all as 'The Master', Nöel Coward, with a production of his most famous play, "Private Lives". This celebrated the 76th anniversary of the original West End production on September 24th 1930. The play was presented, most appropriately, at Raffles Hotel, Jubilee Hall theatre. Raffles Hotel has long been associated with Nöel Coward through his stays there. Following Singapore, the production went on tour to Kuala Lumpur (Hilton Kuala Lumpur), Penang (Eastern & Oriental Hotel) and to Bangkok (The Oriental, Bangkok) with great success. For our November 2006 production we have contrasted Coward's elegance and sophistication with a rollicking British farce,  "A Bedfull of Foreigners" by Dave Freeman. The play, which ran for over eighteen months in London's West End, has all the ingredients of traditional British farce and makes for perfect, pre-Christmas entertainment for all ages and tastes! "A Bedfull of Foreigners" opened in Singapore at the Jubilee Hall Theatre (Raffles Hotel) on November 15th right through November 19th 2006 followed by a tour to Kuala Lumpur (Venue: Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Dates: Nov 22nd, 23rd and 24th). British Theatre Playhouse acknowledges that Asian audiences now have ever-increasing exposure to professional theatre of all kinds but that sometimes the resident talent-pool is small and the public therefore enjoys seeing fresh faces in shows. So our casting policy is largely focused on artists and directors from the UK. "Private Lives" for Tourism Award “Private Lives” has been nominated by the public for “Best Leisure Event” 2006 Tourism Award by the Singapore Tourism Board. Since 1985, STB has annually presented Tourism Awards to pay special tribute to hour individuals and organisations who through their dedication, ingenuity and professionalism, have made outstanding contributions towards maintaining Singapore's status as a premier tourist destination and developing the country's tourism industry.