EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - The Fool

BWW speaks to director Rao Xiao Zhi about his 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show The Fool.

What inspired the production?

The story of The Fool is initially inspired by top social media trending comments on news and current affairs, as well as by reality shows that have gained increasing popularity around the world. Both phenomena are collective behaviours and representations of people's growing worship of the entertainment industry and the so-called "self-media". This shapes a fraction of my perspective of the future.

So, you know, the reality show in "Royal United States" is set in an imaginary future. The Fool, and my other play Salted Egg, are part of the "Future of Paleness" series, which represents my understanding of the future in a mild but satirical way. Paleness, in Chinese language, has several meanings - it means mild, talking to oneself, and it is also 'dissolve of meanings'. Also in Chinese slang we call the fools "stupid egg" - maybe because it cannot be mended once the eggshell is cracked open. It's like you do something stupid, what's done is done. However, the egg is the container of new life - whether it is eaten or hatched depends on when we break the shell.

Who would you recommend comes to see your show?

A famous Chinese writer, Wang Xiao Bo, once wrote in his novel The Silent Majority: 'At certain stage of one's life, every day feels like April Fool's Day.' I suppose this concept applies to the philosophy of The Fool. To some extent, The Fool is a depiction of a phenomenon where people start following like sheep, generating polarised concepts and opinion leaders at the moment they come together as one entity. The Brexit is in some ways a grotesque exhibition of collective behaviour when a big decision fell upon the general public, and people might feel like its an 'April Fool's.

I would imagine those who are no stranger to such 'April Fool's Days' stage would love this play. I would also recommend everyone who likes challenges and creative work to come and watch it. It's like the metaphor of the egg again: only when the audience peels the egg shall he/she be able to see what's truly inside. I would like them to seek the answers themselves. To some extent, I think this play is collaboration between the audiences and us.

You describe your genre as 'Gentleman Comedy' - can you tell us a bit more about that?

This is an interesting question which I am asked a lot in China. British gentry is a very well-known class, and 'Gentleman Comedy' is actually connected to this cultural phenomenon. In most occasions, the gentlemen stereotypes are not related to comedies at all. They dress nicely, they are rich, calm and don't have the talent in being funny, but actually there is a subtle chemical relationship between the two - what if the gentlemen face oppression from obstacles in life and hit a comic effect? What would happen then?

Meanwhile, there is a link between my 'gentleman comedy' and the development and change in Chinese 'gentry culture'. We respect gentry, imitating them, while this process of imitation leads to some pretty good comedy material. I hope it could showcase ongoing changes in a rapidly evolving society, be it good or bad - a debate can never harm. I have developed two main series: In the series of 'Hello!' there are Hello! Robbery! and Hello! Lunatic! And the series of "Future of Paleness" includes Salted Egg and The Fool, which is to be performed at the Fringe Festival this year.

How has audience response been to The Fool so far?

It's been received really well in China. Since the premiere on 1 April 2015, it's been played on and off for over a year and has accumulated a big number of followers in cities of Beijing, Kunming, Shenzhen and Chengdu. Last year it was awarded in the National Top 10 Best New Writing Theatre Productions, while an invitational performance was given in National Theatre -Xian Feng Theatre as part of Beijing Fringe Festival in June. We use different actors and actresses in different cities of China; they are amazing, their acting will intergrate and fuse with the unique local culture - this is the main reason people from various cities love it. And to my surprise, lots of school drama societies in Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and Xiamen love the play - they often send me rehearsal photos and videos. I am always excited to watch these young people practise their creativity with this play.

Why did you want to bring this piece to the Edinburgh Fringe?

There are many reasons, but first of all is down to my personal preference, the second is probably its storyline and approaches. The Fool uses popular modern reality shows in its storytelling. You might know that reality shows are currently the thing in China, many of them are imported from the West - for instance, "Britain's Got Talent" is now adapted by China. So from this aspect, the format of a reality show has the advantage of removing culture and language barrier, as both Chinese and Western spectators would find the story familiar and easy to understand. Of course the "show" will be different this time - I wish to bring something as thought-provoking as humorous to the audience, to allow them to exchange their feelings and thoughts with the performers.

Timings and ticket information for The Fool are available on the edfringe website.

Photo credit: Tian Qiao Theatre

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