Mu Dan Gui Min Theater Troupe`s Performances in Singapore in the 1960s

Abstract

太平洋戰爭結束後，臺灣歌仔戲重啟前往東南亞商演的通路。1964年由臺南陳飛山與黃喜以南部「中華興」成員為班底，再邀集北部11 位藝人組成的「牡丹桂閩劇團」，最常在臺灣歌仔戲史中被提及，因其成員俱都是南北著名藝人。審視「牡丹桂」與之前相繼被邀請的「新台光閩劇團」（1962）與「柏華閩劇團」（1964），其實有着相當的關係網絡，可由此檢視星馬的請戲機制與劇團的演員組合模式。本文結合報刊史料、期刊論著的「文獻」耙梳整理，戲單、照片與唱片等「實物」的蒐集考證，實地田野與口述歷史的「文化人類學」材料的訪談紀錄等「三重證據法」的研究策略，耙梳整理1960 年代臺灣歌仔戲班，受邀出國公演的運作機制、成員組織、演出場域、劇藝類型與唱片錄製等歷史圖像，建構「牡丹桂」在新加坡的演出印記，為臺灣歌仔戲的東南亞海外傳播填補歷史縫隙。

After the Pacific War, the Taiwanese kua-a opera resumed its commercial performances in Southeast Asia. Mu Dan Gui Min Theater Troupe, because many of its members were famous actors and actresses, became a theater troupe that figured most prominently in the history of Taiwanese opera. It was founded in 1964 by Chen Feishan and Huang Xi. Their basic members were enlisted from the Zhonghua Xing Theater Troupe of Tainan, and additional eleven ones from the North. Upon examining the inter-personal relations between members of Mu Dan Gui, New Taiguang (1962), and Baihua (1964) Min Theater Troupes, one may detect a certain network that will help us explore the troupe-hiring mechanism and patterns of troupe members` composition in Singapore and Malaysia. In this study, I employ the ＂triple evidence＂ strategy. By integrating evidences from newspaper archives and journal articles, actual objects such as photos, vinyl records, and theater bills, field investigation, and oral history interview records, I sort out the history of the mechanism of Taiwanese kua-a opera troupes` overseas performances, composition of the troupe members, the theater environment, genres of opera, and vinyl recordings in Singapore. I reconstruct the historical scenario of Mu Dan Gui`s engagements overseas and bridge up gaps of its dissemination history in Southeast Asia.