G.T. LYE
Veteran female impersonator
At 81, veteran female impersonator G.T. Lye is still fighting for the art of wayang Peranakan.
The theatre form might have disappeared for good had it not been for Mr Lye, who is credited with reviving it in the 1980s.
His first role was that of a father in Pileh Menantu (Choosing An In-law), a play about a typical Peranakan family, commissioned by the Ministry of Culture in 1984.
It was a hit. Seeing its success, the Peranakan Gunong Sayang Association took up the art form.
The next year, Mr Lye would take on his first matriarch role for the association in Buang Keroh Pungot Jernih (Let Bygones Be Bygones), a play about two bickering daughters-in-law and their eventual reconciliation.
His shows have entertained many dignitaries, including several ministers and the Republic's late presidents Wee Kim Wee and S R Nathan.
Mr Lye was in his 40s when he entered the theatre world, after a life full of twists and turns.
He was given up for adoption at birth to a poor family, after a soothsayer told his mother he would bring bad luck. Though eventually returned to his birth family, he never got along with them.
Despite this, he worked hard to earn a living, doing multiple jobs.
Today, he is an active champion of Peranakan arts and culture, both through play-writing and directing, and advising various organisations on related projects.
