一九七○年代泰國曼谷商業潮劇之劇團更迭與劇目發展

Commercial Teochew Opera in Bangkok: Troupes and Repertoire Development in the 1970s

一九七○年代泰國曼谷的商業潮劇演出，由三地劇團共築而成：（1）香港：一九七一年計有香江、國聲、新天彩三個潮劇團，最後訪泰。（2）新加坡：一九七一年五月，歷史悠久的新榮和興潮劇團，戰後首度訪泰。（3）曼谷：一九七三年初，賽寶豐潮劇團在新杭州戲院開鑼，首開戰後曼谷本地潮劇團常駐戲院演出之例，此後，賽榮豐、東南亞玉樓春、新藝、老寶順興、天藝等潮劇團相繼成立，輪番在不同戲院同時演出，此乃是一九七○年代曼谷商業潮劇之主流，其劇目發展，可釐析為五項：（1）錦齣的穿插運用、（2）歷史題材長連化、（3）長連戲編創與在地化、（4）新編時裝劇目與在地實事、（5）港臺電視劇影響之劇目。各團長期拚臺，從劇目可見各自優勢：「玉樓春」大量編演歷史演義長連戲，長於鋪敘及分連演出，「賽榮豐」及「新藝」之強項則為新編時裝劇目，甚至將本地新聞事件搬上舞臺。曼谷潮劇從業人員在離散原鄉之後，仍持續產製，為海外戲曲傳播在地化之極佳例證。相較於海外華人社區，長期商業演出多為來自中國／香港之劇團，曼谷潮劇團遲至一九七○年代，尚能以本地人才大量編演潮劇，展現長期商業演出之新意，俱見其創作力之豐沛，是為泰國商業潮劇最後的榮光。此後潮劇逐漸從流行娛樂退位、亦漸失鄉音的凝聚力。

Opera troupes from three regions staged commercial Teochew opera performances in Bangkok, Thailand during the 1970s. Hong Kong troupes, namely Xiang Jiang, Guo Sheng, and Xin Tian Cai, visited Thailand in 1971; the longestablished Singapore troupe Sin Yong Hua Heng visited Thailand for the first time after World War II in May 1971; and the Bangkok troupe Sai Bao Feng debuted in the New Hangzhou Theater at the beginning of 1973. Sai Bao Feng was the first local Teochew opera troupe after the war to have a residence at a local theater. Troupes that were founded afterwards, such as Sai Yong Hong, Dong Nan Ya Yu Lou Chun, Xin Yi, Lao Bao Shun Xing, and Tian Yi, took turns performing in different theaters and dominated commercial Teochew opera performances in 1970s Bangkok. The development of these troupes’ repertoire was analyzed on the basis of (1) the interspersion of opera excerpts; (2) historical stories rendered in extended plays; (3) the reinterpretation and localization of extended plays; (4) the creation of modern plays and plays based on real local events; and (5) plays influenced by TV dramas in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Throughout an extended period of competition between troupes, the aforementioned troupes demonstrated their strengths through their repertoires. Yu Lou Chun reinterpreted and staged extended plays based on historical stories and excelled in narration and separate performances, whereas the strengths of Sai Yong Hong and Xin Yi lay in original modern plays, which even involved content drawn from local news. The uprooted practitioners of Teochew opera continued their productions in Bangkok, thus exemplifying the international dissemination of opera through localization. Different from the dominance of troupes from China and Hong Kong in long-term commercial performances staged in overseas Chinese communities in other regions, native professionals from local Teochew Opera troupes in Bangkok continued to create and stage many plays as late as the 1970s. By demonstrating their rich creativity in long-term commercial performances, these troupes embodied the final glorious days of commercial Teochew opera in Thailand. Since then, Teochew opera has gradually declined and lost its linguistic-based cohesion.