Zhangzhou's Huang Yamei Gezi Opera Troupe In Action

On the same day I watched Zhupu Xiangju opera troupe performing in one corner of Zhangzhou, I chanced upon another troupe staging their performance in another location of the same city. This other troupe I saw was Huang Yamei Gezi opera troupe. They're said to be not too bad too, but more Taiwanese-influenced. The main sheng of the troupe especially, though sang in typical Zhangzhou accent, has got a strong Taiwanese opera feel. The troupe's main actors are not too bad, but I can't say the same for their minor actors.

The show they performed on that day is titled "Empress of Two States". It's about the Emperor of Jin dynasty who was utterly uninterested in politics and hence suffered a humiliating defeat in war and had to marry off his Empress to the King of the invading tribe.

Huang Yamei Gezi opera troupe performing on a makeshift stage; though the stage looks dilapidated, the quality of their performance still surpasses some of the shows I've watched locally

Unlike Zhupu Xiangju opera troupe, this troupe uses projection scenery; this form of backdrop has got the advantage of being unrestrained by the size of the stage, but it takes up quite a bit of space, which could be freed up to hold props or set aside for actors to change costumes and do their makeup (the actors had to do makeup by the side of the road!)

The main sheng of the troupe; she took on 2 roles: Emperor Sima Jinlang and his son Emperor Sima Shuanglong

Almost every troupe, if not all, have got LED subtitle display machines by the side of the stage to facilitate understand of what the actors sing and say (however, sometimes whatever that is displayed may not really reflect what the actors are singing or saying!)

I don't like the actor performing the role of the eunuch because he's very restless on stage

See what I mean? I'm not sure if he'd dozed off or just closing his eyes to rest; whatever the case, this is just not acceptable for me.