15/3/2023
Jointly funded by Nottingham Confucius Institute and Arts Council England, “Moon Rabbit and Other Stories from China” successfully toured across Nottingham from 28 January to 16 February. A total of 30 performances were held at Lakeside Arts Djanogly Theatre, six libraries, six primary schools and two special education needs schools during the three-week period, reaching over 2,500 children and their families!
Adapted and directed by Toby Hulse to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit, this magical piece of storytelling theatre is another fantastic Lakeside Arts production. It recounts some of the extraordinary myths and folk tales of China and East Asia, ranging from the origin of the moon rabbit, the legend of the dragon, the story of Hou Yi shooting the sun, to the story of the carp leaping over the dragon's gate.
With music composed and performed live by Ling Peng, the storytelling was performed by two professional actors: Robin Kohr and Fenfen Huang. Their creativity, humour and energy kept the audience spellbound throughout the 50-minute performance. They brought the charm of traditional tales and legends to life, with a thematic undercurrent emphasising how our actions have consequences that can be both positive and negative and that we all need to work actively to preserve harmony in the world.
Feedback from the audience was overwhelmingly positive. Here are just some examples of what they had to say after watching the live show with music, wonder and surprise:
“Captivating show for all ages. Well-acted and told. The concentration and silence of the audience showed they were engaged.”
“We loved it! My daughter laughed so much! Lovely atmosphere too”
“Fantastic. The joy of storytelling and repetition for the children – and the music was wonderful”
”I can’t believe how good the acting and composing of the music was. Thank you all of you.”
“Really brilliant. Engaging, funny and very creative!”
NCI was proud to be part of this successful storytelling theatre project. It was our honour to work alongside Lakeside Arts and the production team to identify suitable Chinese stories and fund the project in partnership with Arts Council England. We look forward to working with our partners to bring more creative programmes showcasing Chinese culture and engaging with local communities.
~ENDS~
Posted on Wednesday 15th March 2023