Hungry Ghost Festival: Singapore’s Getai concert for the dead goes online during coronavirus pandemic
The studio lights dim, the band begins to strum, and it’s showtime for a Singapore getai live performance – a well-liked type of leisure in southeast Asia that options songs, skits and over-the-top costumes to rejoice the useless. Because of the coronavirus, as an alternative of being watched by a stay viewers of hundreds, the efficiency is going down in a studio and broadcast over the web. The livestream is a lifeline for performers like Febe Huang, who earns her residing staging getai together with her husband throughout the area. “When this pandemic hit, there were two or three months where we just didn’t have any income at all,” she mentioned. “We started selling things online so we had a little bit of a salary. And now this livestreamed getai has started.”
Getai veteran Wang Lei prepares to go on a stay streaming getai present at a studio in Singapore September 5, 2020.
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REUTERS
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Getai reveals are primarily held through the Hungry Ghost Festival within the seventh month of the lunar calendar, when spirits of the useless are believed to return to wander the Earth. Performers say with out the fun of a stay crowd, it’s not fairly the identical. “Every year it’s the same feeling — when the Hungry Ghost Festival comes, (everyone) is very happy. But this year just feels a bit empty. There’s no particular feeling,” mentioned Sam Loo, a veteran getai performer with 37 years of expertise.
Still, the web performances have confirmed vastly standard, with some attracting audiences of tons of of hundreds. Aaron Tan, founding father of an organization that produces getai live shows, mentioned the hope is that new followers drawn to the web performances will imply larger audiences for stay reveals once they reopen.
Getai veteran Liu Ling Ling prepares for a stay streaming getai present at a studio in Singapore September 5, 2020.
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REUTERS
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Ahead of a efficiency in a recording studio this weekend, caretakers from temples had introduced in statues of deities. There have been meals choices for the gods, with cans of Guinness beers and a bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu cognac. Brightly dressed performers cracked jokes and sang songs in Hokkien, the principle dialect of Southeast Asia’s Chinese diaspora.
The livestreamed getai have stored performers within the highlight at a time when so many different leisure occasions are cancelled. “So we treasure, we really cherish this opportunity,” mentioned veteran getai performer and comic Liu Ling Ling.
(This story has been revealed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Only the headline has been modified.)
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