MOUNTAINS AND SEAS - SONG OF TODAY 山海 · 今日之歌 Premieres at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham

Performance artist Xie Rong, writer and actor Daniel York Loh, and composer and musician Beibei Wang have come together to create an electrifying interdisciplinary new show that strikes to the heart of human experience. Mountains and Seas - Song of Today 山海 · 今日之歌 premieres at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham from 2 to 6 December.

The show's starting point is the seminal 4th-century BCE text, The Classic of Mountains and Seas, reimagined directly from its mythological roots into something urgently contemporary.

Inspired by its insights into the connections between myth, nature and science, writer Daniel York Loh has created a poetic, fiercely political script exploring climate crisis, activism and rising global fascism. The action opens with a provocation before unfolding into fifteen fragments. There is a constant tension between past and present throughout. He asks: "'What if my art tears us apart?"

Director and designer Xie Rong has brought the ancient text's fantastical compilation of myths, beasts, heroes, folklore and landscapes to life through stunning AI animations and live performance. The lion and the cat are travellers on the plain, the phoenix is the seeker, the jade bird is a figure from the past. A fusion of a winged horse and a bird with horns is the warrior. A being - half god, half human - is torn between heavenly duty and mortal struggle. Finally, the painter is the ancient root that threads everything together.

Award-winning composer Beibei Wang has created a dynamic new sound-score. Her music grows from the idea of 五行 - the Five Elements - metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. For her, music is about energy and transformation rather than structure. Every tone carries movement, and every movement contains its own silence. Played live, the on-stage sound-world keeps evolving, unstable, sensitive, alive.

Xie Rong and Daniel York Loh are both on stage - Xie Rong as painter and performer and York Loh as musician (guitar and harmonica) and performer. They are joined by Jennifer Lim (narrator and performer); Tash Tung (dancer and performer); Fan Jiayi (dancer and performer); Chen Yu Xiao (xun/xiao, Chinese flutes); He Song Yuan (Beijing Opera vocal and guqin). Beibei Wang will play percussion at the preview performance. Working closely with Xie Rong on the design are Yiran Duan of Yi Craft Studio creating costumes and jewellery, and Danni Zheng and Ao Lei contributing to lighting, visuals and set design.

Beyond the stage, from 11 November to 7 December a gallery wall at Omnibus Theatre will display portraits of each performer and their own artworks, illustrations by Xie Rong and the show's graphic designer Yang Can and small textile works from Yi Craft Studio. On 2 and 3 December, tea ceremonies - a ritual to draw the audience into the world of Mountains and Seas - Song of Today - will take place before the show.

Need more UK Regional Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...