Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre was established on January 23, 1995, through the merger of the Shanghai People's Art Theatre (founded in 1950) and the Shanghai Youth Drama Troupe (founded in 1957), becoming the only state-owned theatre company specializing in spoken drama in Shanghai.

Over the 29 years since its founding, the Centre has created nearly 400 stage productions, earning numerous national, provincial, and municipal awards, including the "Five-One Project" Excellence Award from the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the National Stage Art Excellence Project Award, the Wenhua Award from the Ministry of Culture, the Plum Blossom Performance Award from the China Theatre Association, the Cao Yu Script Award, the Golden Lion Award for Theatre, and the Magnolia Performing Arts Award. Since the completion of the Drama Building on Anfu Road in December 2000, the Centre has established the tagline "See a play, come to Anfu Road," and through a programming schedule of "new productions every month, rotating repertory every week, and performances every day," has built a brand identity that makes "watching theatre a way of life."