THE ART OF gender switching comes under the spotlight at presentations of Chinese opera.
The art form as it is found in Cantonese opera will be showcased by actress Koi Ming-fai in A Warring Couple on February 14, and The Dainty Gallant on February 15, at the Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall.
Actress Wang Peiyu and actor Liu Zheng, accompanied by the Tian Jin Peking Company, will showcase the art as it is found in Beijing Opera in two performances, on February 17 and 18, also at the Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall.
Cantonese actress Koi Ming-fai specialises in military and male scholar roles in Cantonese opera. In A Warring Couple, she will demonstrate her prowess in martial arts, and in The Dainty Gallant she makes an astonishing transition from a gallant knight into a charming lady.
The tradition of women playing men and men playing women goes back to 12th-century China, when men and women were forbidden to appear on stage together.
Some performers were required to play characters of the opposite sex, and out of necessity an art form was born.
In the 1930s, the Chinese government lifted the ban against men and women appearing on stage together. In 1949, gender switching was banned by the People's Republic of China.