Theatre

Following The Outcast General and the award-winning Tears of Barren Hill, Danny Yung’s closing sequel in his Experimental Traditional Opera Trilogy is a revamp of the kunqu solo act Flee by Night. The classic act is one of two surviving acts from the play, The Legend of the Precious Sword written by Mid-Ming playwright Li Kaixian, as an allegorical rebuke of the corrupt leadership. The hero Lin Chong, a character from the Chinese classic novel, Water Margin, was an honourable and loyal instructor of the imperial guard, who was tricked by malicious officials into violating the law. He had no alternative but to join the band of Liangshan outlaws. In a perilous flight, he found himself alone in the dark of night. Overwhelmed with anger and frustration, the hero wept over his fate.

In this venture, Danny Yung brings us back to the past and the origins of Chinese opera. He asks: How has Chinese opera evolved into a way for artists and audiences to show resilience in tumultuous times in the face of their social and political discontent? How do the intelligentsia express dissent through the performing arts? How do artists question the ideologies behind the establishment? How does the small theatre stage influence society at large? By interpreting and re-interpreting Lin Chong against the backdrop of different historical periods – from the mid-Ming dynasty when kunqu became popular to the lingering death of the Southern Ming empire; from the Literary Inquisition of the Manchuruan regime to the fast descending semi-colonial state of China in the late 19th century; and from the Maoist revolutionary frenzy to the state- censored “hexie”(harmonious) society – Lin Chong’s flight will make us painfully aware, not only of the present, but also of ourselves.