Theatrical Expertise Meets Literary Craft in Choa-Johnston’s Historical Narratives.
Simon Choa-Johnston, a notable playwright and director, has released two novels centered on his family’s history. Born in Hong Kong into a Eurasian family with a history spanning five generations in the region, Choa-Johnston’s heritage forms the backdrop of his literary works. His great grandfather, Emanuel Raphael Belilios, was a prominent opium merchant in 19th-century Hong Kong, originally from a Sephardic Jewish family in Calcutta, India. Belilios made significant contributions to Hong Kong, including philanthropic works like founding the Belilios School for Girls.
Emanuel’s marital life, having two wives, Semah from Calcutta and Li, a local woman, and their descendants, including Felicie Belilios who married Choa Po-sien, plays a central role in Choa-Johnston’s narratives. Simon, the fifth child of Pauline and Thomas Johnston, is a direct descendant of this lineage.
After his education at St. Joseph’s College in Hong Kong, Choa-Johnston moved to Canada, studying at McMaster University before transitioning to a career in theater. He worked extensively across Canada as a director and playwright, contributing to CBC, the History Channel, and other broadcasters. His career also includes roles as Artistic Director at various Canadian theaters and engagements at the Stratford Festival and the Banff Centre.
Choa-Johnston’s novels, “The House of Wives” (2016) and “The House of Daughters” (2022), explore his rich family history. The former, published by Penguin Random House, became a Globe and Mail bestseller, exploring the lives of Emanuel and his wives in the late 19th-century Hong Kong and Calcutta. The latter, a sequel published by Earnshaw Books, continues the family saga into the next generation and was awarded at Vancouver, Canada’s Jewish Book Festival for fiction.
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