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Benjamin Yeoh (1978 -) aka Ben Yeoh is one of the first British Chinese playwrights to have his plays performed and recognised in the UK.

Born near London, England his father came from Ipoh, Malaysia and mother from Singapore. Yeoh won a scholarship to Westminster School and went on to study Natural Sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, interestingly the same college as his father and grand father, and Harvard University as a Herchel Smith scholar.

Yeoh is also among the first generation of writers to have come from the Soho Theatre Young Writers’ Programme. He has also been on the Royal Court Theatre’s writers’ programme led in 2005 by playwright Jane Bodie.

His first play, Lemon Love, was performed at the Finborough Theatre, London (2001). Lemon Love is a revenge love story that involved a mystical older couple guiding and berating a younger couple in their stormy relationship.

Lost in Peru, was his second full length piece and was first performed at Camden People’s Theatre, London (2003) and was Arts Council of England funded. The play dealt with torture and interwove personal tragedies with those on a larger scale particularly 'the disappeared' in Latin America. The UK newspaper, the Guardian suggested that it ‘pushed the boundaries of form and style’ but also noted that it was a difficult play.

A reading of his third play called Yellow Men, at the time (2004), was performed at the Soho Theatre and was produced by Yellow Earth Theatre. It also received Arts Council funding . Yellow Men was renamed Yellow Gentlemen [1] and performed at the Oval House Theatre in February - March, 2006. Time Out applauded "...the vertiginous sense of possibility and regret present in Yeoh’s intelligent script."

Patent Breaking Life Saving, directed by Jessica Dromgoole was broadcast by BBC World Service in December 2006. The Places in Between, a dramatisation of the book by Rory Stewart, starring Greg Wise was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2007.

Nakamitsu won the Gate Translation Award and is due to be performed in 2007.

Yeoh has also had work on BBC Radio (The Inventor of Fireworks performed by David Yip)[2] and several readings of other works.

Contents 1 Relations 2 Plays 3 See also 4 External links

His grandfather, Datuk Yeoh Cheang Lee was the first non-European chairman of the Perak Turf Club [3], in Ipoh, Malaysia.

He is also related to actress, Michelle Yeoh, who was born and raised in Ipoh.

• Lemon Love, 2001
• Lost in Peru, 2003
• Yellow Gentlemen, 2006
• Patent Breaking Life Saving, 2006 (BBC World Service)
• Places In Between, 2007 (adaptation)
• Nakamitsu, 2007 -- Winner of the Gate Translation Award

• British Chinese
• Overseas Chinese
• List of overseas Chinese
• List of British Chinese people

• BBC radio documentary on British Born Chinese and interview with Benjamin Yeoh
• Guardian review of Lost in Peru by Lyn Gardner
• Online biography
• Plays listed at Dollee site
• Website of the play Yellow Gentlemen]