In a time when connections with communist China was restricted, Chinese theatre troupes that used to travel to and fro along the migrant ‘corridor’ were stranded. They faced enormous predicaments in sustaining their transnational performing tours. The former chapter brings us back to the native place Shantou where Chaozhou theatre troupes were transformed into a state-controlled propaganda tool to rekindle the diasporic connections through Hong Kong. Chapter 6 continues the story of Chaozhou theatre, drawing attention to its post-Hong Kong tour development that culminated in the circulation of Chaozhou opera films in Southeast Asia. The 1960 Hong Kong tour pointed to a niche market for quick-witted ‘cultural entrepreneurs’ who grasped the chance to further diversify their transnational practices through making, producing and circulating Chaozhou opera films in the Chinese diaspora in Singapore, Malaya and Thailand. By doing so, the ideological propaganda about the socialist theatre reform was turned into transportable commodities, being conveniently ‘transshipped’ to the lucrative Southeast Asian market. Therefore, this chapter reveals how new dynamics were being played out by state reformers, leftwing filmmakers and cultural entrepreneurs of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, who worked in unison to facilitate the transnational operatic nexuses amidst the Cold War torrents.

Singapore’s movie industry reflected the multiracial and multilingual nature of the local society, its unique geographical location meant that the nation is exposed to a diverse mix of regional and international influences over the years. This section traces the origin of Singapore’s movie industry to the Malay film production in the 1930s. The subsequent anti-colonial movement and Singapore’s independence led to the growth of local Chinese-language film and TV serial industry. The section also explores its over half a century’s history with particular emphasis on the Chinese language as well as the cinema operators.

Xiqu, also known as Wayang as well as Chinese opera, and Chinese dance and drama in Singapore, overcame their decline and entered a new phase of development in the recent years. The Chinese arts practitioners’ strong sense of cultural mission and their desire to achieve artistic excellence have provided solid resistance to the pressures of modernisation and globalisation. They are now evolving viable responses to these pressures in order to thrive. Globalisation and information technology are no longer seen as threats but as new opportunities to promote Chinese performing arts in a multicultural society.