Teochew opera

Teochew opera (Chinese: 潮劇; Teochow: diê5 giah8) or Chaozhou opera, Chiuchow opera (especially in Hong Kong), is one of the many variants of Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Chaoshan region. It is popular in eastern Guangdong, southern Fujian, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting. Teochew opera, among all Chinese regional theatre traditions, is one of the forms that places the strongest emphasis on clown roles, even more so than Peking opera, which is already known for valuing its clown characters. It is one of the rare Chinese opera genres in which clowns frequently serve as the protagonists, as seen in roles such as the ferryman in The Tale of Su Liu Niang, excerpt Peach Blossom Takes the Ferry, Jin Zhang’s wife (金章婆) in The Tale of Lady Golden Flower (金花女) and Li Laosan in The Firewood Shed Encounter (柴房會).