Sometimes a work can be avant-garde because it is traditional.
Such is the case with Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams, a Kunqu Opera
conceived by Hong Kong drama troupe Zuni Icosahedron and performed
by Jiangsu Kunqu Opera House.
The opera is scheduled to premiere next year in Hong Kong but
previewed earlier this month at the 153-seat Lanyuan Theater in
Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.
The set of Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams has just a table and
two chairs, which was the norm for traditional Chinese operas,
though stage designs are grander these days.
Also, there was no amplification so, like in the old days, it
was an acoustic performance and the band played on the stage,
behind a screen.
Mathias Woo is the director
and producer of Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams.
"We want to get back to the basics with this Kunqu performance
and highlight the original aesthetics of Kunqu and mankind," says
Zuni Icosahedron's Mathias Woo, director and producer of the
play.
"Putting the work on in this traditional way has turned out to
be somewhat avant-garde."
Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) is one of the greatest playwrights in
Chinese history, famed for works such as Peony Pavilion (Mudan
Ting). But in Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams, he will be portrayed
in a Chinese opera for the first time.
The drama centers on Tang as an old man. It opens with him
walking along a mist-wreathed mountain trail at twilight, looking
for a grave. He encounters characters from four of his plays, The
Story of The Purple Hairpin (Zichai Ji), The Peony Pavilion, The
Dream of Nanke (Nanke Ji), and The Handan Dream (Handan Meng) -
collectively known as "The Four Dreams at Linchuan" (the hometown
of Tang in East China's Jiangxi Province).
The characters tell him: "A grave is not a permanent home. You
don't need a grave, and you don't need a tombstone. It is too
small."
It was Woo's idea to create an opera that blends Tang's most
famous four works, while playwright Zhang Hong suggested that the
story should unfold with Tang's search for his own gravesite. As a
result, the three-hour show leads audiences through one dream after
another.
"Most old Kunqu plays have clear themes, while Tang Xianzu's
Dream on Dreams leaves a lot of space for people to think," says Ke
Jun, president of Jiangsu Kunqu Opera House, who plays the old Tang
Xianzu and another character.
Ke has had roles in a number of avant-garde Kunqu operas, such
as Faust and Fleeing by Night. Last year he performed at the House
of World Cultures, in Berlin, together with a calligrapher.
"Kunqu should not be just a cultural relic. We are living today
and we should perform for today's audiences. But first we have to
find what we have lost in Kunqu," Ke says.
For Woo, Kunqu has many avant-garde elements.
"In a way Kunqu is conceptual. It uses a system of abstract
symbols. For example, when a door is opened there needn't be a real
door, but only the action of opening a door."
Woo says the relationship between him and the actors in Tang
Xianzu's Dream on Dreams is equal, not like that of a director and
actors in most modern dramas.
"I have learned a lot from actors and actresses in this show.
What I do is to make sure of the general structure and give some
advice on their acting."
The show also adopts some multi media elements. Sometimes texts
and paintings are projected on the wall, as visual effects. Also,
the lighting is more layered than in most Chinese opera
performances, in order to focus more on the details of the
acting.
"Compared to other Kunqu plays that I have seen, this play
attracts me more," says Gao Shu, a graduate student of
ethnomusicology from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. "It gathers some of the best parts of Tang's works.
Though some new elements have been added, the essence of Kunqu is
maintained."
Woo said that he would make some changes to Tang Xianzu's Dream
on Dream, but will keep its acoustic form, minimal stage design and
other basic features when it's performed at the 463-seat Theater of
the Hong Kong City Hall next year.
Founded in 1982, Zuni Icosahedron has produced more than 150
original alternative theater pieces and multi-media
performances.
Zuni is a color between blue and green and is also the name of a
tribe of North American Indians, famed for their handicrafts. The
icosahedron is a solid figure with 20 triangular faces.
Tang Xianzu (by Ke Jun) takes a rest while
characters from his plays come to life in a dream.Photos courtesy
of Zuni Icosahedron
(China Daily November 24, 2007)
