Zoe Tay looking forward to play ‘weak’ matriarch character with arc spanning 24 years in The Little Nyonya spinoff

When you think of iconic female matriarchs in local dramas, Madame Chen from The Little Nyonya (2008), played by veteran actress Lin Yinzhu, would make the list.

Soon, there may be a new one to add to it — Liu Xiuniang, played by local actress Zoe Tay in the new drama Emerald Hill.

Speaking to AsiaOne at the imaging session today (April 23), the 56-year-old tells us that although she also plays the head of the household in the spin-off of The Little Nyonya, they are vastly different characters.

“Xiuniang is someone who is powerful and well-respected as the head of the household, but she is different from the mama (grandmother in Peranakan Malay) that Yinzhu played,” she shared.

“Yinzhu’s mama is someone who has dignity and is very domineering. Xiuniang is not domineering,” Zoe said.

She added that she would be playing the character from age 48 to 72, with more focus on her storyline between 48 and 62 years old.

Zoe will be sharing more scenes with local actress Priscelia Chan, 45, who plays Xiuniang’s handmaiden Ping Jie.

She said: “Xiuniang is not well and is quite weak, so she needs a lot of rest.”

Because of that, her character would be handing a lot of household management to her daughters-in-law, played by Jojo Goh, Jesseca Liu and Dawn Yeoh.

When asked about how she feels about participating in a highly anticipated drama, Zoe, who will start shooting in June, expressed that she looks forward to promoting the Nyonya culture.

“It is unique to Singapore and Malaysia. It’s a culture that accompanied our growth. In addition, Emerald Hill is a location that is iconic in Singapore,” she said.

She added that she is glad that this culture can be introduced to the audience using a “soft approach”.

“It’s the easiest to introduce a culture using a drama, such as their lifestyle, food, goodies, fashion and accessories,” she expressed.

“I hope that through this drama, more people can understand the Nyonya culture.”

Emerald Hill, which also stars Chen Liping, Chantalle Ng, Tasha Low, Ferlyn Wong, Shaun Chen, Romeo Tan and Zhang Yaodong, will start filming in May.

Jeanette Aw, who played Juxiang and her daughter Yueniang in the 2008 classic, will return to reprise her role as the latter.

Emerald Hill is expected to premiere in the first half of 2025.