SINGAPORE — Veteran Peranakan stage actor and female impersonator GT Lye, 79, will return to the stage after a 12-year hiatus — and it could possibly be his final curtain call.

The Gunong Sayang Association (GSA) will be presenting Kain Chik Dua Mungka (Double-Faced) later this month.

He will again be taking on the role of the matriarch Bibik Bisu who has to contend with her eldest son’s two wives. Female impersonators Kelvin Tan, 48, and Lee Yong Ming, 61, will also grace the stage along with Lye, playing the roles of maids.

(Kelvin Tan and Lee Yong Ming. Photo: GSA)

The production is a sequel to Menyesal (Regret) that was staged in 1986.

Dua Mungka was written by Frederick Soh over two months, who later consulted Lye on the “spoken structure” of the Peranakan language. Soh will also play Bibik Bisu’s eldest son, Chong Guan.

(The cast of Double-Faced. Photo: GSA)

“I think it will be very nostalgic for the audience because ultimately, they haven’t seen him (Lye) for 12 years... Also, the younger generation has a lot of interest in Peranakan culture,” said Soh during a media conference earlier this week.

Lye said the play could possibly be his “swan song”.

He said: “My health has not been very good; anything can happen.” But he later told TODAY that he will carry on as long as “his health permits”.

These days, he is also busy hosting fashion shows, making appearances on radio talks, cooking demonstrations and producing an upcoming 50-episode podcast about the Peranakan language. 

So far, he has completed the scripts for 30 episodes of GT Lye Podcast, which were done “within a month”. His co-host in the series is his 49-year-old grandniece.

Every episode will include a skit that Lye will act alongside paid actors, as well as explanations about the dialogue, Peranakan festivals, and proverbs. He also has plans to convert these into a book.

The first recording will take place sometime after the conclusion of the production.

Lye’s first stage experience was in 1984 as a male character in a Peranakan play by GSA called Pileh Menantu (Selecting daughter-in-law). He took on his first matriarch character in 1985 in Buang Keroh Pungot Jernih.

Kain Chik Dua Mungka (Double-Faced) will be staged at The Drama Centre from Aug 24 to 26, in Peranakan patois with English subtitles. Aug 24 is invitation-only. Tickets range from S$48 to S$68, excluding the Sistic handling fee and GST.