Gezai xi In Singapore: Oral Transmission, Improvisation and Dependence on “Fixed Texts”

This study explores traditional Chinese oral performance in a contemporary urban environment and is based on fieldwork on gezai xi in Singapore between 2004 and 2018. Gezai xi is a genre of highly improvisational plays performed in Hokkien (Minnan 閩南) language. While the genre was quite popular in Singapore from the 1930s to 1970s, the later language policy of privileging Mandarin and English over local languages and dialects has challenged the relevance of gezai xi performance in Singapore. How do performers of recent years learn gezai xi? What is the role of oral transmission, improvisation, and dependence on “fixed texts”1 in the education of young performers and in their daily preparations for the stage? Reading and writing seem to play only a minor role in the process of putting on a play. However, how individual performers learn their art and prepare for performance depends on the performer’s degree of literacy. In the period after the 1970s, the dependency on aural and visual “fixed texts,” such as cassette-tapes, CDs, and videos, has had a great impact on education and rehearsal practices, while written or printed texts – apart from the taishu [stage outline] – seem marginal for this art.