Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters

EVENT DESCRIPTION

In 1983, one year before its official establishment, the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe visited Hong Kong and created a headline-making cultural event by staging Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters. The following year, the now fully-fledged troupe toured the same opera within Zhejiang Province to wide acclaim and an eponymous screen adaption was subsequently released nationwide. Ever since then, Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters has gone through numerous reiterations and been performed over 1,000 times as the troupe’s signature production.

Written by the renowned dramatist Gu Xidong, Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters is one of the most celebrated works in the Yue opera repertoire. Thanks to its enduring popularity, the crowd-pleaser has also been transplanted into various other xiqu genres including Peking opera. Throughout its 40-year history, the troupe has continuously refined and updated this iconic opera, and now it is making a triumphant return to the Hong Kong stage for two nights, featuring two star-studded casts.

The duo casts bring together two generations of talent. The first performance is headlined by the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award winners Cai Zhefei and Zhang Yiqing, along with National Class One Performers Xu Guofang, Wei Chunfang and Zhou Yan, as well as the young performer Chen Haifeng. The second performance stars National Class One Performers Xu Guofang and Li Xiaowen, along with promising young performers Chen Haifeng, Chen Lijun, Li Yunxiao and He Qingqing.

This programme is co-presented by the China Theatre Association and WestK, and is part of the 5th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Chinese Theatre Cultural Festival.

In addition to Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters, the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe will present two other productions: Su Shi and The New Butterfly Lovers.

27–28 April 2025 (Sunday to Monday) – 7:30pm

Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, without intermission