Chinese street opera celebrated in Titoudao

Singapore

THERE was a time when Chinese street wayang drew "more people than Jay Chou or Stephanie Sun", says 72-year-old opera artiste Oon Ah Chiam. "It was the most popular form of entertainment because there was no TV, no movies, no Internet. Many of us were big stars and we made people very happy . . . Now, wayang will die when we die," she says ruefully.

Not if her son can help it, though. Goh Boon Teck, founder of contemporary theatre troupe Toy Factory Productions, is restaging Titoudao next month. The play celebrates his mother's career on stage, as well as the art of street opera.