This Saturday, the "Malam Pusaka Di Ruang Kota" cultural arts series is set for an early Chinese New Year reunion with the Teochew Puppet and Opera House.
It will be hosting a special live performance by this traditional arts troupe from George Town in Penang. Cultural organisation Pusaka has been working with the Teochew Puppet and Opera House for nearly 10 years now.
Princess Baihua Bestows Her Sword, an iron-rod Teochew puppet opera show, will be brought to life at the Black Box, Publika in Kuala Lumpur. For those who cannot attend, the performance will also be streamed live on Pusaka’s Facebook page.
This Chinese puppet drama will be performed by master puppeteer Ling Goh (aka Goh Hooi Ling), who has more than 30 years of experience in the traditional Chinese heritage arts, specialising in opera and puppetry.
Ling Goh, the founder and director of the Teochew Puppet and Opera House, is looking forward to better days ahead in 2022. The opera troupe is steadily finding its touring rhythm again after being hit hard by the pandemic lockdowns.
“We hold around 180 shows a year, at temples for celebrations and festivals or local events and shows in Kuala Lumpur,” Ling Goh was quoted as saying in a The Star interview in December 2020.
The pandemic practically wiped out the Teochew Puppet and Opera House income stream. Touring was out of the question during the lockdown months. It has been a challenge for Ling Goh and her opera troupe to keep afloat, but this resilient community of traditional artistes are now focused on the recovery road.
A live show in Kuala Lumpur goes a long way to lift the spirits of this puppet opera community.
Never short on drama
Princess Baihua is a classic Chinese tale of sacrifice, vengeance, and romance following the story of imperial spy Haijun, as he infiltrates the court of King Ngee Liak resulting in palace intrigue and epic battles.
The Teochew Puppet Opera is a heritage that dates back all the way to the Qing dynasty in the central plain of China. They depict famous romance and ghost stories from the Qing, Ming, and Tang dynasties.
On stage, the Teochew marionette puppets are operated with three metal rods which allow for more variations of human-like movement thus they are called "three-dimensional" puppets. A troupe consists of nine members divided into groups of three to handle puppets, sing and play musical instruments.
“Our group comprises people as young as 15 and as old as 78 and it has been our only source of income for decades. Most of us are housewives," added Ling Goh.
The musical ensemble uses traditional instruments similar to a Teochew opera ensemble: gongs, drums, cymbals, yanqing, erhu and the yehu The complexity of the puppet movement requires great skill to operate, skills that Ling Goh and team have learned since they were children.
Ling Goh is the fourth generation custodian of a long line of traditional opera performers, specialising in Teochew opera and puppetry. She is also the daughter of Toh Ai Hwa, founder of the now-defunct Kim Giak Low Choon Puppet Troupe which was recognised as a Living Heritage Treasure by the Penang Heritage Trust.
Ling Goh will also be hosting a workshop talk (register here) before the show this Saturday at 3pm where she will discuss topics such as Teochew puppetry’s origins, aesthetics, and techniques of the lost art.
Malam Pusaka Di Ruang Kota is a series of cultural evenings featuring performances by masters of living traditions from throughout Malaysia.
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