Growing Up With Teochew Opera - 10

Teochew Movies Screened On Television

小银幕看香港潮剧电影

In the 1980s, one could watch Teochew opera movie every week. The previous SBC (not the current Media Corp) was so kind to screen Teochew, Cantonese and Hokkien opera movies. Originally, Teochew opera movies were screened on every Sunday afternoon.

Later, it was changed to Saturday evenings, and subsequently weekday evenings. Finally, it simply disappeared. We are die hard fans and would watch the movies every week. Even my two younger sisters who did not like operas would sometimes stayed at home to watch the movies.

Many of the Teochew opera movies were Hong Kong productions by 陈楚蕙, 方巧玉 and 曾珊凤. Some of the titles that were screened on TV were 四告状, 状元巡更, 美人蟹, 墙头马上, 孔雀东南飞, 双狮图, 共伞奇缘, 刘璋下山, 牡丹亭惊梦, 潮州女状元, 李子长活画, , 白骨美人, 二岁夫, 金叶菊, 包公会李后 and 扫窗会.

Besides 陈楚蕙, another Teochew male lead is 莊雪娟 from 东山潮音剧艺社. She acted in some very good movies including 双珠凤, 莲香戏鞋, 郭子仪拜寿, 一板打死江西王, 梁山伯与祝英台 and 刘明珠三审玉芝兰. These movies were screened on TV too.

I remembered my neighbour, the Hokkien grandmother in Toa Payoh, also loved to watch Teochew opera movies. We would always remind one another to watch the programme that particular evening. In 2004, I went shopping in Sengkang, Rivervale market and was extremely happy to buy one of 荘雪娟 Teochew opera movies 李三娘井边会. Though the quality of the VCD was not very good but I was very glad to have found that movie costing only $6. A set of CDs would cost no less than $45. I hope one day I can find 吴汉杀妻, 文武香球 and 郭子仪拜寿 . A picture of 井边会 and 郭子仪拜寿 performed by 东山潮音剧艺社.

It’s amazing to see so many Teochew opera movies produced in the 1960’s. See the following Chinese article extracted from a website on 'The Spread and Development of Teochew Movies in Hong Kong'.

1960年5月，香港著名人士何贤邀请广东潮剧团赴港演出，观众如潮，日夜爆满，在港九乃至南洋各地掀起了一股“有谈皆潮剧，无声不潮音”的空前“潮剧热”，又给香港潮剧的勃兴以有力推动。与此同进，还有香港“文华”、“鸿图”、“新联”和广州珠江电影制片厂先后在大陆拍摄的潮剧影片《火烧临江楼》、《苏六娘》、《告亲夫》、《陈三五娘》、《韩江花似锦》、《乳燕迎春》、《刘明珠》等，此期间也在香港及东南亚各地放映，酿成了一阵阵的“中国潮剧电影热”。这就更使潮剧的影响日增，愈来愈成为香港无数观众喜爱、痴迷的“热门戏”。
随着观众对潮剧兴味日浓，香港这期间除原有“新天彩”、“老正顺”、“中正天香”等几个潮剧团外，又先后出现“新岭东”、“中源和”、“天艺”、“升艺”、“荣和”、“乐声”、“艺星”、“玉梨春”、“一枝香”、“老源正”等多个潮剧表演团体。汕头商会创办的“韩江潮剧团”，这期间也连忙派人到广东潮剧团学习表演技艺，并从汕头市聘请潮剧导演蔡木雄（绍霖）到香港培训演员，指导排练，借以提高艺术水平。潮剧电影制作这期间也仍方兴未艾，甚至有了更大发展，除了夏帆继续与蓝田、李宏、方汉妆、白云仙等合拍《玉钗记》、《双玉鱼》、《林桂兰》、《秋恋》、《狄青大闹万花楼》、《龙井渡头》等.

“新天彩潮剧团”担纲演员陈楚蕙也先后与郑楚香、方巧玉、陈丽丽、曾珊凤等合作拍摄《后母泪》、《天仙配》、《扫窗会》、《刘璋下山》、《潮州女状元》、《双狮图》、《恩仇记》、《薛刚反唐》、《红鬃烈马》、《白骨美人》、《碧玉簪》、《春香传》、《孟丽君》、《严兰贞打破玉花瓶》、《墙头马上》、《李子长活画》、《金叶菊》、《吕蒙正》、《穆桂英招亲》、《仙姬送子》、《四告状》、《元宵案》、《红梅记》、《叔鸣嫂冤》、《红叶姻缘》、《共伞奇缘》、《状元巡更》、《生死恨》、《皇姑嫁何人》、《美人蟹》等多部潮剧电影.
“东山影音剧社”则以丁楚翘、庄雪娟、石玲、陈金枝、黄艳秋、卢淑娟、吴泽、陈瑛、陈文昌、李缘绒、林静仪、何亦曾、李美英等主演推出潮剧《刘明珠三审玉芝兰》、《胭脂女》、《天波楼》、《罗衫记》、《滴水记》、《田七郎》、《清官审诰命》、《双驸马》、《郑元和螃蟹歌》、《玉狮记》、《明珠宝剑》、《张古董借妻》、《大闹粉妆楼》、《吴汉杀妻》、《莲香戏鞋》、《双珠凤》、《喜门环》、《深山节妇》、《金玉奴》等影片，还有张兰芳、江山等主演的《汕头阿嫂》，以及陈丽丽与李怡红、向葵等主演的《挽面案》、《清官斩孝女》等等一批潮剧潮语电影，都是在此期间陆续面世。

Growing Up With Teochew Opera 9
Teochew Opera Troupes From Hong Kong
香港的潮剧团 - 新天彩潮剧团, 昇艺潮剧团

In the 1970s and 1980s, Teochew opera troupes from Hong Kong performed in Thailand and Singapore. Hong Kong’s 新天彩潮剧团 normally staged their performance in 新世界 New World in Jalan Besar (already demolished and a new condominium City Square Residences had been built on the same plot of land.) 陈楚蕙 appeared as guest performer at one time and only performed two titles, 红书宝剑 and 萧湘秋雨 . This was to land support to 方巧玉 who paired off many less popular ‘male’ lead during and was facing pressure and stiff competition from 昇艺潮剧团.

昇艺潮剧团 had many young and adorable actress like 陈碧霞 and Loh Quee Hong. They performed at the same time at the open space near Golden Cinema. There was one year, my mother and I had to choose to watch a performance from each troupe because of tight budget. We watched 双挂帅 played by 方巧玉 of 新天彩潮剧团 and 秦怀玉 by 昇艺潮剧团. I must admit that both the two troupes were equally good. Actually, we liked 秦怀玉 more as it contained the story line of 三 哭 殿 featuring how a princess of Tang dynasty lectured her son for killing the Prime Minister, whose daughter is the concubine of her father, the Emperor.

See a related article in Chinese from a website on the spread and development of Teochew Movies in Hong Kong.

六十年代中期以后，由香港进入泰国、新加坡等地演出的潮剧团体，以“艺星”剧团领先，继而还有“新天彩”、“昇艺”、“中源和”、“香江”、“乐声”等，使东南亚在“中国潮剧电影热”余温尚存之际，又再一出现一次相持时间很长的“香港潮剧热”。

“新天彩潮剧团”在泰、新等地演出次数最多，影响也最大。泰国先后就有“西舞台”、“西河”、“国风”等影剧机构（公司）相继聘请陈楚蕙及其所在的“新天彩潮剧团”分别在曼谷的“西舞台”、“西河”、“新华”等戏院演出。当时泰国华文报纸报道：“她（指陈楚蕙）之到来，一演就十几个月或半年，戏迷们不分日夜，每天都到后台求见一面，甚至在演期届临别之前夕，更见热切，有的赠衣物，有的赠金，有的赠钱，的的千言万语，喁喁喃喃，有的依依不舍，牵衣顿足……”，显见在观众中有很大的魅力。这期间，泰国主办机构有时还邀请“升艺”、“香江”、“中源和”、“乐声”等剧团到曼谷单独公演，或与“新天彩”唱“对台戏”，盛况更为惊人。这一阵潮剧“狂热潮”，在曼谷一直延伸到1972年泰方以“外汇”为理由，禁止香港潮剧团进入泰国演出，才暂告停止。

新加坡，陈楚蕙及其所在的“新天彩潮剧团”也曾多次前往，每次同样令“观众补票欣赏”，并“博得如雷的掌声”。尤其是1969年在新加坡演出《陈三五娘（下集）》（即《续荔镜记》）、《孟丽君》、《火烧临江楼》、《一门三进士》等剧目，时间长达两个多月，观众直不衰，许多人还将陈楚蕙当成“偶像”，争相在家里挂她的剧装照片。

1973年，新天彩潮剧团第三度南来，只少了一个陈楚惠（她息影剧坛，从商去了）；于是，观众就如一湖死水，激不起一点涟漪，票房纪录空前惨淡，连演了十几场，主办者眼看血本无归，却又欲罢不能；最的，还是重金商请陈楚惠从香港赶来助阵，才得扭转乾坤，挽回危局。陈楚惠又以《潇湘秋雨》、《红书宝剑》等剧目再掀高潮，往观者络绎不绝，由于向隅者多，竟还时时出现一些“隐形市场”炒卖入场券的事件，陈楚蕙因此被誉为“东南亚潮剧小生王”，“新天彩潮剧团”也获得了“香港长寿戏霸”的称号。

难道陈楚惠的演艺真的已经炉火纯青、超凡入圣了吗？她究竟有什么魅力，能够使戏迷为她而迷死？其实说穿了，也没有什么稀奇。首先，自从有了潮剧电景，陈楚惠主演的影片最多，是诸多潮剧电影明星中较为突出的一个，给观众留下了深刻的良好印象；其次，她对人态度友善，没有大牌演员倨傲放肆的气势，因她人缘很好，几度来新演出，接触面都非常广，不论富商巨贾、贩夫走卒，她都能坦诚相待，没有势力、贪婪或虚伪造作的恶习。凡是跟她接触过的观众，很快地便成为她的戏学，与她交往则引以为荣，视为乐事。所以，她的剧艺造诣虽非冠压群芳，却因戏迷对她有亲切感而建立了广泛的观众基础，这就是这所以称为"迷死"。

Growing Up With Teochew Opera - 8
New Local Teochew Opera Troupes In 1970s/1980s
七八十年代成立的职业潮剧班 - 潮起潮落

I recalled that Teochew street opera was at its peak in the late 1970s to early 1980s. If I were to use 潮起潮落 or 'The Rise and Fall of Teochew Opera Troupes in Singapore, that was the period of 潮起 or the golden age of Teochew opera troupes in Singapore.

In the late 1970s, new local Teochew street opera troupes like 中源和兴潮剧团 and 老玉梨春潮剧团 were formed. The actresses who played the male in each of the two troupes were from 织云潮剧团. I could tell because I watched their performance before. During that time, 织云潮剧团 had too many 小生 or male leads. Some of the common names are 月燕, 明琴, 莫尼, 钟喜坤, 珠华,淑真, 淑兰 etc. For a typical 4.5 hours perfomance, they took turn to perform. And at that time demand for Teochew opera was fantastic. I recalled there were plenty of opportunities to watch Teochew street opera. 中源和兴潮剧团 put up a very respectful maiden appearance, 刘璋下山 and 老玉梨春潮剧团 performed 绿牡丹.

In the early 80’s, another new opera troupe called 金鹰潮剧团 was formed. The main leads were from 新荣和兴潮剧团. They were 邓道兰 and 陈珍珠. They performed 斩十八翰林 and 屠夫状元 as part of their maiden appearance at Hong Lim Park where the opera festival was held. 织云潮剧团 also staged a 2 episodes performance called 仁义公主. I traveled from Toa Payoh to Hong Lim Park by bus just to watch the performances.

After the formation of 金鹰潮剧团, 新荣和兴潮剧团 was at the verge of folding up. Not only the key leads were gone, the shows they put up were very limited. If I recalled correctly, they invited one of the former lead actresses 陈巧娇 to perform a few months. That did not not create any significant impact as the shows like 女状元 and 渔女鸣冤 (I hope I remembered the titles correctly) did not excite the audience much.

In the early 80’s, another opera troupe 新一天彩潮剧团 got some financial backings and strengthen their pool of actors and actresses including inviting 细妹 who had quitted from 新荣和兴潮剧团 to come back on stage. They put up two performances, 借剑 and 秦原闯道. At that time, 细妹 had the habit of forgetting the lyrics and had to depend on the co-actors to help her with the singing. Some audience said they would not mind as Soy Muay had not been performing for many years. Later, she joined 金鹰潮剧团 as one of the many 小生. I saw her pefroemd in 柴房会 and 一门三进士 at Whompoa market and 刘明珠 in Ang Mo Kio.

陈楚蕙 and 张应炎 has also paired many times for the show 借剑. Besides the LP recording, 新天彩潮剧团 also performed this show in Thailand in the 1980's and staged the same performance in year 2004.

In the 90’s, there were two sub-standards opera troupes that were invited to perform mostly during the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival. 正天香潮剧团 would perform 碧玉簪 (The Jade Hairpin) every now and then. That 小生 was actually the one who played the role as 花旦 in 新荣艺潮剧团 previously. She was called 庄玉花. My mum said she was trained as a child-artiste in the 60’s by 新荣和兴 and later became one of the 4 beauties. Another troupe, 老富贵春潮剧团 only emerged in the 90’s I had little patience to watch their performance. Many of the actors and actresses were either too matured or overweight.

I shifted to Yishun in 1988. I traveled to a few places to watch Teochew opera as there were fewer Teochew street opera performances in Yishun. I traveled to temples in Ang Mo Kio, the Tua Peh Kong temple at Balestier and Whompoa market quite often in 1994/5. That was the time 细妹performed male lead at 金鹰潮剧团. The two popular shows, 柴房会 and 一门三进士 attracted a lots of people. I must confess that the standards at that time were on par with 织云潮剧团. 细妹had also made significant improvements in her acting skills. I also watched 老赛桃源潮剧团 performed 柴房会 at 粤海清庙 at Raffels Place in 1996. 柴房会 is also a popular 折子戏 amongst China Troupes. See picture below.

I am not a typical fan who monitored the schedules of troupes’ performance closely. So long as I was informed of the location, I would proceed if I had the time and pocket allowance to travel. One such source came from my eldest sister who worked in a factory and she had many friends who stayed in Toa Payoh. I personally think 织云潮剧团 and 金鹰潮剧团 were the better troupes as they have good looking 小生 and 花旦, and 老生 with good voice like 张应炎, 老丑 as good as 陈文昌 of 新天彩潮剧团, a lot of supporting actors/actresses to play the role as soldiers and maids, etc.

新荣和兴潮剧团 at one time was on the verge of being closed down after the key lead actresses left for 金鹰潮剧团. Gone are the days where we could see 九妹, 细妹 and 细细 performing 辞郎州. Then, 陈巧鸾, the manager of the troupe came to inject new life into 新荣和兴潮剧团. She was a very talented actress but think people commented that she was a bit proud. She played the role as 杨令婆 in 杨令婆辩十本 very well. The original performance was put up by 洪妙, a male actor from China, who disguised himself as 杨令婆.

I also watched her performed in 赵少卿, 张春郎, 春草闯堂, 南北双英 etc. Unfortunately, the troupe had folded up in 2001 as she claimed that the income was not enough to defray the expenses. It performed the last show in Yishun after a solid 174 years of history in Teochew opera. The troupe performed 万古流芳 [An Everlasting Legacy] as their final performance in Yishun.

See some newspaper collections on the last performance staged by新荣和兴潮剧团.

Actually, prior to 2001, many Teochew troupes were folded quietly. May be they were not as popoluar as 新荣和兴潮剧团 and it did not capture the attention of the media. Some of the troupes were 中原和兴潮剧团, 老三正顺潮剧团, 老中正顺潮剧团, 驼江潮剧团, 新荣艺潮剧团, 老玉梨春潮剧团, 老正天香潮剧团, 老一枝香潮剧团 etc. I think 潮落 or the fall of Tecohew opera troupes took place in the late 1990s.

Growing Up With Teochew Opera - 7

Teochew Opera And English Literature
潮剧与文学史

Over the next few years, 织云潮剧团 performed opera hits like: 穆桂英招亲, 斩韩信, 王宝钏, 一门三进士, 柴房会 etc. 穆桂英招亲 was produced as a several parts serial and screened on TV Singapure.

When I was in Secondary 2. the performance 王宝钏 was very appealing to me. For the subject English Literature, we studied Tom Sawyer, The Crocodile Dies Twice and many other books. However, I became so attentive when the teacher introduced the book ‘Lady Precious Stream’. It is actually 王宝钏 or better known as 红鬃烈马 nowadays. I had the advantage of relating the 4.5 hours performance by 织云潮剧团 to my literature book and the story line was very much similar to the performance. It did help me in understanding Lady Precious Stream and scored well for final term examinations. All these performances put up by 织云潮剧团 are popular movies of 新天彩潮剧团 too.

I considered myself very lucky yeh!

Growing Up With Teochew Opera - 6

Teochew Street Opera And Hungry Ghost Festival - 3

与潮并长

During the mid 1970s, I had no problem appreciating the performance and could really understand what they were singing. During peak season like the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival, every troupe would arm itself with two titles and perform the same two titles at different locations throughout the whole month. This was because it was very expensive to hire them during 7th month and each performance would only last two nights. The troupes would put up their best performance and invest in new costumes and headgears.

How did I know about that? Again, it was from those old uncles who stood in front of the stage. The moment someone on stage hung a notice (usually a rectangular blackboard) on the left side of stage facing audience, it would stir a moment of excitement as the audience would like to know whether the show was new or a repeat. I was amongst one of them. I would normally run to the nearby public phone and ring my mum about the title even though she might not be keen to come down and watch.

I would travel from marketplace to marketplace to get to know the pattern of street opera appearance for the whole of lunar 7th month within Toa Payoh. Sometimes, I would not mind seeing the same performance again if there was only one troupe performing because it was really very ‘shiok’. Take 26th and 27th day of the 7th lunar month as an example. I would watch 织云潮剧团 at my place. If I had seen the performance before, I would walk to Block 73 where another Teochew Opera troupe would perform. In the early 1970s, it was 新一天彩潮剧团. This happened only during the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival. I wanted to watch a variety of troupes since I had all the opportunities to see 织云潮剧团 more often than the others in Toa Payoh. Also, by doing so would allow me to know the shows that the other troupes had prepared and the standard of their performance.

Someone asked me whether I had ever seen the 斗戏 between two Teochew opera troupes. My mum and eldest sister told me something interesting. They said there was once an aunt in JB somehow knew the schedule and my mother and a few of us came over to Singapore to watch. One location was at the then Tik Pasat (literally means iron market) at Beach Road. The market had since been demolished and she said should be the site where Golden Cinema is currently located. 新荣和兴潮剧团 and 老赛桃源潮剧团 staged side by side. Obvious winner was 新荣和兴潮剧团. My mum said 新荣和 “ngia char boh” (beautiful women), 老赛桃 “tua loh koh” (loud drum beat).

Another location is by the name of a temple called 金兰庙. 织云潮剧团 and 新荣和兴潮剧团 entered into the 斗戏. In JB, they said somewhere in Sing San near Sing Lau Yah Ken ‘new temple in dialect’, Teochew, Hainanese and Hokkien opera staged three in a row to 斗戏.

I did my National Service in the early 80’s. That was the time the street opera troupes were most appreciated and signs of decline emerged. I remembered I was very excited if the 26th and 27th day of the 7th month coincided with weekends as I could book out to watch 织云潮剧团.

Think the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival is widely celebrated by Chinese in countries like Malaysia, Penang, Thailand and Hong Kong. The organizers would invite either their local street operas or invite some local pop songs singers to perform during the celebration. Other than the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival, Chinese also have many celebrations for their gods and deities in almost all the even months of the lunar calendar.

Growing Up With Teochew Opera - 5
Teochew Street Opera And Hungry Ghost Festival - 2

街戏与庆中元

During the 1970s, over at Lorong 5 Toa Payoh, 新荣和兴潮剧团 was the only troupe invited to perform at 修德善堂, during every lunar eight month. It was a very popular troupe during that time and it was my mum’s favourite troupe. Now that 新荣和兴潮剧团 had folded up, I understand that老赛桃源潮剧团 has taken over the slot.

My family stayed in Block 126 at Lorong 1 Toa Payoh. It is near the only wet market in Lorong 1. I was very happy because during that time, whenever there is a market or hawker centre, there would be local street opera performances because the hawkers and stall holders would pool their resources together to offer their thanks to gods and the 7th month good brothers. Like the temple at Lorong 4, this market has been inviting the same Teochew opera troupe to perform on the 26th and 27th day of the lunar 7th month every year. The first year in 1970 was packed with audience. It drew more than 1000 people to watch the opera performed by 织云潮剧团. This was the only Teochew street opera troupe that engaged the rope and pulley system where the actress could fly up and down on stage, mirroring what one could see in Chinese movies. The first ever performance was 胭脂魂, a typical movie by 长城 Movie production. There was a scene where the actress hung herself and 织云潮剧团 did it by rope and pulley system. They also controlled the lightings very well and the whole stage looked eerie.

织云潮剧团 and 新荣和兴潮剧团 were the heavenly kings of the Teochew street opera troupes. They were like NIKE and SWATCH. All the old and young fans knew them. I usually stand in front of the wayang stage and had the opportunity to hear old uncles and aunties telling stories about the show, about these heavenly kings personal life, etc. They had many supporters. There is no doubt that the number of supporters for artistes in the 70’s and 80’s is comparable to those who supported Superstar Search or Singapore Idol. I watched 张廷芳 by 九妹 in the day, and 辞郎州 in the evening. Still, I could not fully understand what they were singing but the actions tell. It was very much later that my mum told me 张廷芳 was a fugitive and married many women to escape from his enemies. I appreciated the plot of 辞郎州 much later after having watched it many times.

The photo below shows the two main leads of 织云潮剧团, ie 李淑真 and 珠华 taken in year 2008. To me, they still look good. The quality of their voice is still very solid.

There was an open space outside Block 68 Lorong 5 Toa Payoh where I went there quite often too. I remembered 织云潮剧团 performed that classic opera 三看御妹刘金定. There was another popular wayang performance place at a car park outside Block 102 (It is now very different as new blocks had been rebuilt. Just outside the Yellow Page building.) Lorong 2 Toa Payoh. I watched 老三正顺潮剧团 performed 七子救驾 (literally means 7 sons saved emperor, a story about the Yang’s warriors in the Song Dynasty). 老中正顺潮剧团 also performed there. 新荣艺潮剧团 performed 双龙争凤 (the plot is about Two Dragons Competing for a Phoenix) there and my mum and I watched that performance together. I could remember that the main leads were not that fantastic because the female lead was not slim enough and the actress who played the male lead had very small eyes. 老玉春香潮剧团 also performed 双枪陆文龙 at the same place. By the way, this 小生 who acted as 陆文龙 later moved to 老一枝香潮剧团 and played male lead in a few shows including 三驸马 and subsequently to 织云潮剧团 which I loved her role as 李太白in 唐宫秘史. In 2004, I saw her performing in 老赛桃源潮剧团 as male lead in the show 烈女斩夫 and 铁 面 海 瑞 or better known as 怒 斩 玉 面 狼 in China.

One wondered why there were so many opera performances in different parts of Toa Payoh. There are many temples, markets and food centres in Toa Payoh. Some temples were relocated to this place with villagers from different kampongs under the resettlement programmes in the 60’s/70’s. One possible reason for them to relocate to different parts of Toa Payoh was because it was one of the newest HDB town that time. As the temples would invite local street opera troupes to perform during the birthday of different gods, these temples also became the new locations for watching opera. The temples, market places and hawker centres in Toa Payoh also invited opera troupes to perform during the lunar 7th month festival. Hence, there were many opportunities to watch opera shows in Toa Payoh as compared to the time when people stayed in rural areas.

It appeared that Teochew street opera was more popular in Toa Payoh. It was followed by Hokkien opera. Like that market in Lorong 1, Blk 127, the organizers would invite Teochew opera troupe to perform during seventh month and Hokkien opera during the eight or tenth. The organisers had to take turn because the market had hawkers of different dialect groups. I remembered there was a particular year where a Hokkien stall holder became the 炉主 (akin the Chinese god appointed him to take care of the event the next year) and he objected to engaging 织云潮剧团 for the subsequent year. There was strong protest because no one could guarantee if 织云潮剧团 would return again if not awarded the performance contract for one year. At that time, it was very difficult to engage a popular troupe if no prior arrangement had been made. Finally, out of peer pressure, 织云潮剧团 continued to perform at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 market even up till today. It was rare to see Cantonese opera and it was only staged at Lorong 4 or Lorong 7 Toa Payoh. Such troupe was specially invited from Hong Kong. As for Yishun, you find more Hokkien opera than Teochew opera. There is one temple near Yishun swimming complex, they only invite Hokkien troupes. I don’t know the reasons.

All along my favourite troupe from that day I knew how to appreciate street opera till now is still 织云潮剧团. I heard from my parents that this was the only troupe that sent their musicians to learn from 新天彩潮剧团. The way they beat the drum is very similar. Their titles were very unique. They put up performances which were adapted from Chinese movies including 胭脂魂 and 神雕侠侣 from 长城公司 in Hong Kong. There were no other Teochew street opera troupes that performed shows adapted from movies. They also put up performances like 雪飞王子 which no other troupes had done so.

Growing Up With Teochew Opera - 4

Teochew Street Opera And Hungry Ghost Festival - 1

街戏与庆中元

During the lunar 7th month hungry ghost festival in the l970s, I would go out for wayang performance if there were opera troupes performing in the nearby blocks. How did i get to know the details? You wondered. During that time, the organisers would paste a red A1 size red flyer/poster stating the dates, the name of troupe and the location. We would definitely go out if the performances took place over the weekends. You could still find such A1 poster nowadays but is confined to areas in the market place.

There was a wet market located at Lorong 4 Toa Payoh between Block 92 and Block 95. It was a regular place for street opera. We went there very often as it was very near our flat. I remembered watching 刘璋下山 and 雷峰塔 (Madam White Snake) by 老正天香潮剧团.

For 刘璋下山, we waited patiently till close to 10 pm to see the actress who played the male lead 刘璋. My eldest sister was with us and she knew the plot very well. The first two hours featured how the Han Emperor struggled to retain power and how 刘璋 escaped from death when he was a small boy. Then 刘璋 grew up and was trained by his master to be a very skillful swordsman. Unfortunately, he was inexperienced and saved his enemies instead and later had to behead his father to gain trust from the Empress. 陈 楚 蕙 also performed the role as 刘璋 in the movie 刘璋下山 with 曾珊凤. These two photos of 陈楚蕙 were taken when she peformed in the then Palace cinema in Katong more than 2 decades ago. I heard she regretted having performed there because many fans did not find the location convenient and she must have reaped in the least profit for the time and effort put in.

Many opera troupes like 老玉春香潮剧团, 新一天彩潮剧团, 新荣和兴潮剧团 also performed at the market place at Lorong 4 Toa Payoh. When there were opera performances, the place was very packed and one could hardly move.

There was one day when 老玉春香潮剧团 was performing there, and I stood at the back of the opera stage to admire the actor/actresses painting their faces. I was so happy when one of the actresses asked me to buy her a packet of 7-UP. She spoke in Teochew and I did not know what the hell was ‘Chek Hee’七喜 as I did not have the luxury of having extra pocket money for soft drinks. I went to the nearby coffee shop and repeated what she told me. Then I realised it was actually 7-UP. She invited me to go on stage but I was too shy and declined. In Teochew opera, during the first day of the show, the troupe will perform 六国大封相 and followed by 京城会. These are standard ceremonial pieces of performance that are performed by every opera troupe on the first day of the 2-day performance. Some troupes choose to perform 十仙庆寿 instead of 六国大封相.

In the evening, all Teochew opera troupes will commence their show with a shorter version of 京城会 before they perform the show.