EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2011: Peking Opera Preview

PREVIEW: The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh International Festival 2011

Photo: Liu Haifa

What do you get when you cross an Elizabethan playwright with a traditional Chinese opera troupe? This is not a joke, but one of the exciting cultural fusions set to grace this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.  EIF Director John Mills’ vision is to explore the bonds between Europe and Asia, making Shakespeare adaptations a natural choice. The programme features several cultural translations of the Bard’s works, including the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe’s lavish production which reimagines Hamlet as The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan. It’s a thrilling idea, the transformation of a dark, verbose European tragedy into a characteristically Chinese blend of acrobatics and martial arts, music, singing and graceful ritual dance, flamboyant costumes and vibrant painted faces.

Interestingly Shakespeare has only recently become well recognised in China. Nineteenth century European missionaries made his name known, but Chinese versions of his plays were not available until the early twentieth century. Cultural Revolution clamp-downs followed hot on the heels of the 1967 publication of his complete works, resulting in the book being banned. Fortunately the political climate is more relaxed today - China’s economy and population is booming, and its arts scene is developing and shifting in response, reinvigorating ancient artistry with new influences, often taken from the Western literary canon. Alongside the Bard, the choice of whom is reflected in innumerable copied Tudor buildings, popular playwrights also include Ibsen and Beckett.

Peking Opera is one of some three hundred regional types of opera, and according to Dr Ashley Thorpe, a lecturer in theatre at the University of Reading, it’s the nearest China has to a 'national drama'. Such performances have deep roots in Chinese culture; the founding of the first dramatic school, the Pear Garden, was by Emperor Ming Huang in 740 AD, although the tradition of Peking Opera came together around 250 years ago.

As a sumptuous, sophisticated art form it occupies a similar place to that of classical opera here, although actors are required to dance, sing, fight and perform acrobatics, all within the same performance. This type of opera is highly symbolic, with vivid colours of make-up and costumes denoting emotion and rank, for example yellow represents strength and is also worn by emperor characters, while red indicates courage.

In keeping with tradition, the performance at the Festival is delivered in Mandarin, and the wealth of symbolism, the accompanying music, and gestured movements both clarify the story and give audience imaginations a good workout. To make matters even clearer, English supertitles are also provided.

So what can we expect from this show? Dr Thorpe encourages audiences to anticipate something very different. In contrast with much of traditional Western drama, Peking Opera is about far more than plot. It’s a showcase for actors’ skills, and appreciation of their wide-ranging talents is a crucial part of the experience. And since visits to these shores by high calibre Chinese opera troupes occur just one or twice a decade, The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan is a rare chance for Edinburgh audiences to glimpse this uniquely Chinese art form.

The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan
Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe

Friday 19 and Saturday 20 August, 8pm, Sunday 21 August, 3pm
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

The Edinburgh International Festival runs from 12 August – 4 September. Browse the programme and book online at www.eif.co.uk

Written for the Edinburgh International Festival.

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2011: The Tempest

THEATRE REVIEW: The Tempest (Squeaky Door Production Company) at theSpace @ Niddry St, Edinburgh Fringe 2011

Glittery dust sparkles in the air of the sweet isle as Ariel and her lusciously eye-lashed spirits cavorts into the audience, pulling us deep into Shakespeare’s world as if bewitched by Prospero himself. Skilful physicality and playful use of Shakespeare’s lines bring humour, originality, and accessibility to the Bard’s final work, engaging and captivating children and adults alike. The acting is first class, with Miranda particularly notable as an unsocialised, cringingly forward young girl, sniffing and jumping on the perplexed visitors to her island, and the hilarious drunken Stefano with his attempts to curl up on the laps of unsuspecting audience members. A vivid, comical riot of a show.

 

The Tempest is playing until Aug 13th at theSpace on Niddry St, Edinburgh. For more information visit the Fringe website.

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2011: Shakespeare for Breakfast

THEATRE REVIEW: SHAKESPEARE FOR BREAKFAST: THE COLLEGE YEARS (C Theatre), Edinburgh Fringe 2011

“Simply Macbeth, better than all the rest” sings the schoolboy king, gently strumming a guitar. Not quite the best, but it is pretty good. In its twentieth year at the Fringe, this cult show has cannily reworked the Bard’s tragedy into a short, lively romp with sock-puppets, witty songs, and audience participation. The school setting works well: Macbeth becomes an artistically sensitive musician with a convincingly ambitious cheerleader Lady, while the choice of a stroppy pair of fortune-telling Goths to play the witches is truly inspired. Although after a while the constant iPhone jokes become irritating, this show is a good laugh for older kids and adults, with moments of genuine hilarity. A refreshingly comical take on an old favourite.

Shakespeare for Breakfast runs until Aug 29th (not 16th Aug) at C Theatre, Edinburgh. For more information visit the Fringe website.

Written for ThreeWeeks.

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2011: The Good Doctor

THEATRE REVIEW: THE GOOD DOCTOR (Theatre Alba) at Duddingston Kirk Manse Garden, Edinburgh Fringe 2011

“Man is the only living being with the ability to laugh” the Chekhov proudly proclaimed half way through this presentation of darkly comic vignettes. It’s a statement which encapsulates the writer’s raison d’ecris, the desire to amuse which lies at the heart of his work, and grants his witty short stories their eternal appeal. Theatre Alba’s selection of tales is taken from the adaptations by playwright Neil Simon, touching on a satisfyingly broad range of subjects like prostitution, the ridicule of Russian bureaucrats, and the Moscow acting scene.

Although initially stiff, a little too poised and polished, the Good Doctor himself soon relaxed into a sensitive but solid portrayal of the playwright as the laughs began to flow. At any rate, this was more than made up for by the rest of the cast; highlights included a moving portrayal of a starstruck actress and her soaring reading of the close of “Three Sisters”, the sycophantic sneezer Tchervyakov, and the unforgettable hilarity of the trainee doctor chasing a fearful Orthodox priest with toothache round the marquee, pliers in hand. All in all a cracking Am Dram performance that certainly exercises that uniquely human disposition to laughter.

Runs from 2^nd – 6^th Aug. For tickets and more information visit the Edinburgh Fringe website.

First impressions: Edinburgh

Haggis pie and fish tea in the same street; this could only be Scotland. I was walking along South Clerk St, a busy main road which eventually comes to the Royal Mile and North Bridge via an odd assortment of kebab shops, charity shops, a precariously-stacked used bookshop, cute cafes and health shops, poundstretchers and Tescos. This experience really encapsulates Edinburgh; glorious gothic and neoclassical architecture sullied by its grim blackened stonework, a huge range of art galleries and slic eateries thronging the dirty streets, and overcast skies hanging heavy in its people's hearts. It's clear that Edinburgh needs its Festival, if only to shake it from its winter gloom and remind the city that summer is upon it. I felt, walking the streets, as if this were a city in waiting. The tourists, backpackers and arts peeps had just pulled into town, replete with bulky musical instrument cases, giant rucksacks and braided hair. The locals seemed to hover to one side, curious or annoyed at the influx. They were many, but still the city had a hushed feel, patiently quiet, as if everyone was waiting for "it" to begin. Curious.

I wandered a little more, seeing the touristy sights; the castle, the Calton Cemetery with its strange vacant rooms dedicated to the dead, the Calton Mount with its expansive views. I reflected from this viewpoint. Evening was beginning to fall, the sky growing a darker grey. But out over the sea was a splinter of falling light, a brightness over the water. Like the city below the sky was grim, foreboding, but not without beauty. My brief daliance with the city had shown me ugliness, but also great potential. There is gold here, but to find it will take more exploring.

Strange happenings in a Suffolk field

PERFORMANCE REVIEW: AN EDIBLE COMPASS at the Musuem of East Anglian Life

Photo credit: Pacitti Company 2011, photos by Caroline Guthrie

 On a cloudy Saturday at the end of July a big friendly crowd of East Anglians gathered in a field. We were there to feast and to be filmed, sharing and nibbling goodies created from the On Landguard Point Cookbook, an online collection of recipes contributed by locals. This was a public performance of a unique kind, with participants being simultaneously actors and collaborators in the creation of the film, and observers of the film-makers, with their strange equipment and phrases. As one expects in film-making there was plenty of lingering and confusion, but the atmosphere was pleasantly jolly as camaraderie built among the feasters sharing cookies and chatter with their new friends. By the time the camera passed by on the second take we were all naturals, happy to “perform” as per our instructions, some passing plates of food, others blowing kazoos or merely conversing animatedly.

This lively performance banquet was part of An Edible Compass, a whole weekend of events held at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket, Suffolk. The past week has been devoted to making 205 scarecrows, one for each of the countries participating in next year’s Olympic Games, which will be filmed after dark. The weekend culminates on Sunday with The Ring, another opportunity for participants to be caught on film at a crazy-sounding event which takes place on a large circle cut from turf, and features horses, drawing, lots of guitarists and plenty of cake.

All of this footage is just the beginning for On Landguard Point, an exciting project to create a film depicting what “home” means for the residents of the East of England. The next few months will see Pacitti Company creating a whole series of public events, allowing thousands to participate and feature in the final film, set to be realised in spring 2012 as part of the Cultural Olympiad celebrations. These events include Dig and Sow, running from the 27th of August to the 18th of September, which subject the gardens of locals to 205 archaeological excavations led by Carenza Lewis of Time Team fame, as well as the premiere of a new musical work by Michael Nyman, On Landguard Point, at the Spa Pavilion in Felixstowe on the 23rd of September. In the words of Helen Lax, Regional Director of the Arts Council England this is our opportunity to “be the stars of a feature film”, an Olympic-inspired chance to present the country’s artistic and cultural life alongside the sports. It’s a great chance for everyone in the East to get involved, especially given that many of the big public events, like the Dig and Sow, are free.

In all On Landguard Point is a fascinating project, a string of enticingly eccentric events which offer a chance for us to contribute to something special, creating something about where we are from. It is performance, but not as most people know it, and for this reason, along with the chance for your moment of fame, I’d highly recommend going along. If unique and unconventional is your bag, get yourself along to some of these events.

Originally reviewed for "The Public Reviews". On Landguard Point will be creating a range of public events across the East of England until the 25th of September