An interview with Singapore Peranakan Actor: G.T. Lye

An Interview With Peranakan Theatre’s Most Well Know Matriarch – G.T. Lye

In Singapore’s Peranakan theatre, there is always a colourful character, most of the time the protagonist of the play and more often than not, this character is the matriarch of the Peranakan family.

The matriarch of the Peranakan culture is not just your usual overbearing mother or strong willed mother-in-law, she is the epitome of “woman power”.

For someone who has made the Peranakan matriarch such a well respected (and feared) character in Peranakan theatre, G.T Lye was really a candid and warm person when I interviewed him. Through the interview, one could really feel his passion for Peranakan Theatre. In fact he is like your favourite Bibik, sociable and fun to talk to.

Question : When and how did you begin playing the role of the Matriarch in Peranakan Theatre ?

G.T Lye : In the past, Peranakan theatre was played by men but later women began playing female characters and that was the order of things. Men stopped playing female characters.

During the first Singapore Art Festival in 1983, Peranakan theatre returned after a lapse of almost thirty years. I was at that production which was organized by the Singapore Arts Council. I played a male character in the play while another woman played the Patriarch.

After she left the production, the president of the Gunung Sayang Association approached me to take on the role of the patriarch, despite much protest among the other actors, as they felt the audience could not accept a man playing a woman’s role. Still I put on the Kebaya to play the Matriarch in Gunung Sayang Association’s first theatre production in 1984 and became the Matriarch till today.

Question : What are the different kinds of Matriarch you have played, any favourite ?

G.T. Lye : I especially enjoyed playing the vicious ones (chuckles) but I love playing different ones. They are all unique characters with different story.

Question : The Peranakan matriarchs have strong personality, how did your fellow actors find you on stage and off stage ?

G.T. Lye : They cried real tears, not out of fear but it was because they got into their roles pretty well. Some told me they cried out of guilt because their characters required them to be nasty to me on stage and yet I was so gentle and nice to them off stage!

Question : What gives you tremendous pleasure as an actor ?

G.T. Lye : Bringing joy to people and making the audience feel connected with the characters I played. I remembered a production in the late 80s Menyesal
(Regret), I played a mother-in-law who was ill-treated by her daughter in law, she was later punished by heaven for her bad doings. That connected with the audience and such was the beauty of Peranakan theatre. We take everyday domestic issues and make it into a story where many see themselves in.

Question : What are the more memorable characters you have played ?

G.T. Lye : Another production in the 80s, in A Mother’s Pet, I played a blind mother who was sent to a old folks home by an unfilial son. He realized his mistakes and later asked for forgiveness. It was a big hit and lots of Peranakan theatre goers could remember this one very well.

Question : What is your next production going to be like ?

G.T. Lye : In the first of its kind in traditional Peranakan theatre, it’s a full four act play in English and Peranakan Potais. Why? Quite a number of the younger audience do not speak Peranakan. Moreover, subtitles are cumbersome and there were times the laughter had died down and some members of the audience still looked lost.

Question : What makes a successful Peranakan actor?

G.T. Lye : A good grasp of the character when connecting with the role. A good actor is versatile and should play many different characters to gain depth in their acting. As for the younger actors who wants to do Peranakan theatre, do your research in the culture and be willing to learn.

Question : Which is worst? The over-bearing mother-in-law in Cantonese soap opera or the matriarch in the Peranakan theatre?

G.T. Lye : Equally bad ?! Anyway, you would not find the nasty kind now in modern Peranakan household (laughs).
The matriarch is really the soul of the Peranakan play and despite having played so many, I am still not about to hang up my Sarong Kebaya yet.

Interview by David Liew
Photography by Eugene Tang
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