[3] His plays are characterised for their dramatic and social commentary,[4] use of simple metaphors and multiculturalism themes,[5] and have been staged locally and internationally.
He moved to Beijing with his mother in 1947,[5]: 386 and spent nine months in transition in Hong Kong before being called to Singapore at the age of 10 by his businessman father.
When the student unrest ended in 1957, Kuo returned to Singapore to attend the English-medium Pasir Panjang Secondary School.
[6]: 12 His early years in Hebei and Beijing had led to his acquiring of his trademark Beijing-accented Mandarin, which he once described as "like having a BBC accent in English", and which advantaged him as a broadcaster.
After Kuo finished high school in 1959, his experience in broadcasting and bilingual advantage from his education enabled him to secure a job as a translator/announcer in Melbourne with Radio Australia, where he worked for three and a half years.
[7] In 1963, he took up an intensive, two-year drama programme with the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in Sydney, while working in technical theatre at the Old Tote.
[5]: 390 Upon returning to Singapore in 1965, Kuo and Goh founded the Practice Performing Arts School (PPAS) on 1 July that year, providing professional dance and drama courses.
"[7] One of the plays, titled The Struggle (1969), was written by Kuo to reflect the social turmoil resulting from rapid urban reconstruction and inflow of multinational investment, but its performance was banned by the authorities.
[5]: 391 Critics also noted that Kuo's early plays characteristically displayed a clear-cut distinction between the "good" (tradition and class unity) and the "bad" (exploitative capitalists).
[4]: 139 The campaign resulted in the proliferation of original works based on real-life stories of labouring people, including The Fishing Village.
[4]: 139 The growing force and increasingly political nature of Chinese theatre culminated into the 1976 massive leftist purge,[7] where hundreds, including Kuo, were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act.
He also wrote a monologue "No Parking on Odd Days" a story of a Singapore man who faced the fines he get from the traffic police.
Other plays such as Kopitiam was also recognised[6]: 31 The Coffin has since been adapted and performed numerous times both locally and internationally, in countries such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, China,[6]: 31 Japan[3] and France.
[11] In 2015, Mama Looking For Her Cat was selected by The Business Times as one of the "finest plays in 50 years" alongside productions by Goh Poh Seng, Michael Chiang and Alfian Sa'at and others.
[16] Kuo founded The Substation in 1990 from a disused Public Utilities Board power station at Armenian Street, with the aim of nurturing local artists[3] and to serve as a community-funded, non-profit[17] arts centre for workshops, concerts, lectures and exhibitions.
[18] He first visited the station in 1985, and, with advice from architect Tay Kheng Soon, submitted a proposal to the Singapore government to set up an arts centre.
[1]: 200 In the three-year course, students are trained in areas encompassing acting, performance, theatre theory and the practice of working across linguistic and cultural boundaries.
Its curriculum includes courses in Acting Approaches, Movement, Voice & Speech, tai chi martial arts, and meditation and immersions in Theatre Traditions.
[16]: 407 Kuo also collaborated with directors and artistes from Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China in projects, including Stan Lai, Li Jiayao[5]: 398–399 and John Saltzer.
Since the 1980s, they have been performed in Asian countries, including Hong Kong, Malaysia and China, as well as in Australia, the USA, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.