Chinese Opera in the Diaspora from 1949

Abstract

This chapter offers the first systematic documentation of the performance of Chinese opera amongst Chinese communities in London. Drawing upon primary research, the author records how Republic of China embassy staff began their own Peking opera society after they lost employment following the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Concurrent with the influx of Cantonese immigrants to Britain in the post-war period, Cantonese opera groups were established. These groups provided an opportunity for immigrants to socialise around a shared interest. The chapter then describes the more recent activities of the UK Beijing Opera Society, and the London Jing Kun Opera Society, both of which involved non-Chinese in performances. The author argues that if the first societies constructed a sense of community through the study of Chinese opera, the involvement of non-Chinese in the latter societies reflected the diasporic conditions of its performance, positioning Chinese opera as a hybrid form.