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Stock props include chairs, tables, lanterns, candles, fans, wine jars, and cups. For example, a horse whip represents a horse, while flags and banners with cloud and wind prints represent gales. Stage props are kept to a minimum and often used symbolically. The musicians are seated at both sides of the stage. The backstage where performers dress and rest is separated from the main stage by a scenic backdrop called shoujiu which is made of embroidered silk. Wayang is performed on a makeshift wooden stage that can be easily assembled and dismantled. A canopy supported by poles shelters the stage from the elements. Chaoju is known for its clear and tender singing style, fan-playing and acrobatic stunts, while yueju is easy to understand and reflects reality. Gezaixi (“folk-tune opera”), the most popular type of fujianxi, is based on folk tales of the Fujian province and is described as having a characteristic “crying' melody.

The differences include the use of various local dialects and styles, although they may share similar costumes, tunes and stories. The three main genres of wayang in Singapore are those from the three largest Chinese dialect groups in Singapore: fujianxi ( Hokkien opera), chaoju ( Teochew opera) and yueju ( Cantonese opera), each with its own distinctive features and characteristics. 16 As a result of these post-war developments, coupled with factors such as the government’s push to replace Chinese dialects with Mandarin as the lingua franca among the Chinese, the westernisation of the population, and the ageing and dwindling audience, wayang slowly lost its appeal as a form of mass entertainment among the Chinese community. 15 In the 1970s, with Singapore’s rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, the staging of wayang was permitted only at designated sites in a bid to minimise noise and public disturbance as well as traffic congestion arising from these performances. 14Ĭhinese opera continued to be performed at indoor venues and in the streets during the Japanese Occupation (1942–45), but the depressed economy and social and political unrests in the decade of the 1950s and ’60s contributed to its decline. They were located mainly in Chinatown, such as Lai Chun Yuen at Smith Street (which the Cantonese colloquially called Hei Yuen Kai meaning “theatre street”) and Heng Wai Sun and Heng Seng Peng at Wayang Street ( now known as Eu Tong Sen Street). Wayang’s popularity subsequently resulted in the building of dedicated theatres. However, such measures were met with protest, and wayang continued to flourish as the controls were eased. The government attempted to curtail wayang performances through measures such as the 1856 Police and Conservancy Acts which restricted assemblies, processions and street operas. The popularity of wayang soon rose to such a level that the large crowds at these performances worried the authorities.

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11 Such performances were probably free to watch, as the opera troupes were engaged and paid for by businessmen or temples and associations. 10 These Chinese immigrants later built temples for worship, and wayang would be staged outdoors on the temple grounds for the amusement of deities and as a form of respect during the celebration of deities’ birthdays and customary festivals. 9Ĭhinese street opera was introduced to Singapore by Chinese immigrants who arrived in the latter half of the 19th century. He described the show as “groups of people carrying shrines, flags, and banners, among other objects, and were accompanied by the playing of cymbals and gongs”. 6Īlthough the first recorded use of the Malay word wayang to refer to Chinese street opera was in 1887, 7 the earliest description of wayang dates back to as early as 1842, 8 when Charles Wilkes, Commander of the United States South Seas Exploring Expedition, was in Singapore and observed various ceremonies performed by the Chinese to celebrate Lunar New Year.

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5 Wayang is now considered an important part of Chinese heritage and culture, and is performed by both professional and amateur opera troupes. 4 Since then, the popularity of wayang has waxed and waned, in no small part due to modern developments. 3 This traditional Chinese dramatic form was brought to Singapore by immigrants from China in the 19th century as part of their religious rites. 2 In Mandarin, Chinese street opera is known as jiexi (“street show”). Wayang, a Malay word meaning “a theatrical performance employing puppets or human dancers”, 1 commonly refers to Chinese street opera in Singapore, although it is also used in reference to other forms of opera such as wayang kulit.