Chinese Whispers

The company follows a centuries-old Yue opera tradition — in which women enact all roles and the dances follow typically Chinese aesthetics. The five-member,all-woman cast is also a tribute to the controversial protagonist who loves one man but marries another,and tries to control both men’s lives with tragic results. “The Yue tradition,unlike other opera styles in China and the West,focuses on the mental attitude of the characters. There are many moments when the characters are alone on stage,revealing their anguish in solitude. It is like a Chinese painting in which there are many empty spaces,unlike western paintings that are full of colour and figures,” says director Zhan Min,55.

The play premiered in China in 2006 with the Norwegian Hedda getting a Chinese makeover,wearing water sleeves and using the double sword — a symbol of love in China — to kill herself rather than a gun as in the original. A spectacular scene has Hedda burning a manuscript,her dance juxtaposed against the flying ashes. Though Min uses dramatic light and sound effects,the stress is on fine acting. The stage is bare except for a wall with doors,and a group of seven musicians. “The actors,all around 30-years-old,are professional opera performers,” adds the director. Would language be a problem? “It wasn’t in Norway,the land of Ibsen,where the play was well received,” he answers. “There will be a screen running sub-titles in English,but we hope it’s the performance that will strike a chord with the audience.”

The play will be staged today and tomorrow at Kamani auditorium at 7 pm. Contact: 9958111319

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