CHUNXIANG'S SCHOOLROOM PRANK, THE PILLOW DREAM to Play Edinburgh Fringe
One is traditional. One is contemporary. Both begin with Kunqu. Both productions are performed with Chinese and English surtitles.
From the classical comedy of Chunxiang's Schoolroom Prank to the contemporary dreamscape of The Pillow Dream, Jingkun Chinese Arts will present two contrasting visions of one of China's oldest theatrical traditions at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Performances will take place on August 25 and 27.
This summer, Jingkun Chinese Arts arrives at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with two productions exploring where Kunqu has come from - and where it might go next.
Presented together, Chunxiang's Schoolroom Prank and The Pillow Dream offer audiences two very different encounters with Kunqu: one rooted in the traditional repertoire, the other reimagining its theatrical language for the Contemporary Stage.
Tradition: Chunxiang's Schoolroom Prank
One of the most beloved comic scenes from the Kunqu repertoire, Chunxiang's Schoolroom Prank brings the wit, rhythm and elegance of traditional Chinese opera to Edinburgh.
At the centre of the story is Chunxiang, a mischievous young maid whose quick wit turns a rigid schoolroom upside down. Through teasing exchanges, lyrical banter and comic mischief, order gradually gives way to playful chaos.
Performed in the refined vocal and physical language of traditional Kunqu, the production brings together music, stylised movement and humour in a vibrant staging. Accessible even to audiences encountering Chinese opera for the first time, Chunxiang's Schoolroom Prank offers a lively introduction to the grace, precision and comic spirit of this centuries-old theatrical tradition.
Contemporary: The Pillow Dream
If Chunxiang's Schoolroom Prank looks towards the living traditions of Kunqu, The Pillow Dream asks what those traditions might become.
What if you could live an entire lifetime in a single dream?
A young scholar rests his head on a magical pillow. In the brief time it takes for a pot of millet to cook, he dreams an entire life - ambition fulfilled, status achieved, love found and lost, fortune gained and overturned. Then he wakes. The millet is still cooking.
A new contemporary Kunqu theatre production, The Pillow Dream brings the poetic and symbolic language of Kunqu into dialogue with minimalist contemporary theatre. Performers move fluidly between characters and identities; simple objects continually transform in meaning; and the boundaries between dream and reality begin to dissolve.
Behind the ancient dream lies a strikingly contemporary question: if success, status and identity can disappear as quickly as a dream, what are we really chasing?
One Tradition, Two Possibilities
Together, the two productions represent Jingkun Chinese Arts' approach to presenting Chinese traditional theatre internationally: preserving the integrity, technique and character of the traditional form while also creating space for it to evolve.
Rather than treating tradition as something fixed in the past, the company sees Kunqu as a living theatrical language.
In Edinburgh, audiences can experience both sides of that idea: the humour and elegance of Kunqu as it has been performed for generations in Chunxiang's Schoolroom Prank, and a new theatrical world emerging from the same artistic roots in The Pillow Dream. One is traditional. One is contemporary. Both begin with Kunqu. Both productions are performed with Chinese and English surtitles.
Get Broadway News on WhatsApp
Receive the latest updates, breaking news, and exclusive coverage from Broadway directly in WhatsApp.
|
Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical Gilded Balloon Patter House (8/05-8/29) |
|
Elvis in Chaos Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street (8/07-8/15) |
|
You Are What You Eat theSpace on the mile (8/07-8/22) PHOTOS |
|
|
Count Arthur Strong - And Its Goodnight From Me! EICC (5/30-5/30) |
|
Friendliest Gilded Balloon (The Nook) (8/08-8/31) |
|
Copycat Pleasance Dome (Jack Dome) (8/05-8/31) |
|
Thermodrama Summerhall (8/07-8/31) |
|
It Couldn’t Get Worse; or, The Margarita Boat Tour Incident theSpace @ Venue 45 (8/24-8/29) |
|
Mark Thomas: 40 In Stand Up Years The Lemon Tree (9/24-9/24) |
|
William Street Dunedin Theatre (8/16-8/21) |