Lao Sai Thor Guan Teochew Opera Troupe

老赛桃源潮剧团
A Rare Collection - Lunar New Year Magazine

新年特刊

Amazing! Song lent me an old collection. It is none other than a Lunar New Year magazine dedicated to the local Teochew opera troupe, Lao Sai Thor Guan (老赛桃源潮剧团) . Song This magazine must be at least 50 years old. The magazie is still in good shape except for the rear cover page which was missing.

The cover page features Xiu Lan, 秀兰. I understand from my mother that Xiu Lan was one of the well known actresses during that time. In that magazine, GekChoo （玉珠），Poh Choo（宝珠）, Pei Xin (碧心) and Xiu Kee (秀枝) were featured too.

I remembered reading Nan Guo Dian Ying (南国电影), a regular publication by Shaw Brothers. I found it unbelievable to see such a magazine produced by Lao Sai Thor Guan. This means that the Teochew opera troupes in the 1950s to 1970s had rich contacts and resources. They would not hessitate to print marketing materials and publications to reach out to the audience.

From the picture collections, one could tell that Teochew opera troupes in the past had already explored different plots to attract audience. In that era of manual work and low technology, one would applaud Lao Sai Thor Guan for putting up shows like 晋宫秘史, 古塔奇缘 and 女侠白懿红.