Discover the Wit, Imagination and Curiosity of Leading Chinese Artists at Huayi 2020!

Those born in the Year of the Rat are often described as witty, imaginative and curious. The Rat, after all, had out-witted the other 11 animals in the race to become the first animal featured in the Chinese zodiac calendar. As Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay ushers in the Year of Rat in 2020 with the 18th edition of Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts, we present a specially curated programme line-up that showcases the wit, imagination and curiosity of leading Chinese artists from Singapore and beyond.

Held from the seventh day of the Chinese New Year on 31 Jan till 9 Feb, Huayi presents some of the most dynamic forms of artistic expression that cut across a wide spectrum of works, from traditional to contemporary, and mainstream to cutting-edge. Esplanade also continues to commission and co-produce new works by Singapore arts companies and artists such as Toy Factory Productions, newly formed theatre company GroundZ-0, Singapore Chinese Orchestra and established sanxian player Jessica Lu.

Here are some highlights:

A Battle of Wits

Huayi 2020 kicks off to a great start with a commissioned work, 7 Sages of the Bamboo Grove by Toy Factory Productions which will take place at the 2,000 seat Esplanade Theatre. What if the seven sages from the three kingdoms era were alive today? How would they use their wit and artistry to save the people in a dystopic world ruled by an authoritarian organisation?

7 Sages of the Bamboo Grove (Photo credit: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay)

Or take matters into your own hands and pit your wits against the cast in Prism of Truth — a commissioned work by GroundZ-0. In this participatory theatre experience inspired by Rashomon, you get to figure it out and decide if there is one single real truth.

Prism of Truth (Photo credit: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay)

In another new work — Unspoken Melodies: Silent Film Classics — co-produced by Singapore Chinese Orchestra and Esplanade, audiences will hear how Chinese orchestra music is ingeniously scored and arranged for scenes from four Western classic silent films.

Unspoken Melodies: Silent Film Classics (Photo credit: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay)

The sanxian — a Chinese lute usually played as an accompanying instrument in ensembles and orchestras — comes to the forefront where it will be skillfully played in a new light in Strings of Time – A Sanxian Concert. In this East-meets-West concert commissioned by Esplanade, highly sought-after sanxian player Jessica Lu will lead a group of Singapore musicians to bring you an extraordinary audio-visual experience.

Strings of Time – A Sanxian Concert (Photo credit: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay)

Power of Imagination

The power of the arts lies in its ability to transport audiences into an imaginary world where anything and everything is possible. Travel back in time and imagine living in the world where the four legendary beauties — Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diaochan, and Yang Guifei — reigned supreme in The Four Beauties, an elegant and melodious performance of traditional pingtan (storytelling and ballad singing) by Shanghai Pingtan Troupe.

Find out how a family copes when their loved one is diagnosed with dementia through this moving and heart-warming theatre production, The Long Goodbye by Taiwan’s Story Works, who brought much intrigue and laughter to audiences with The Way of Zhuang Zi at Huayi 2019.

Veteran dancer of Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company, Qiao Yang reflects on her life as a professional dancer in this solo autobiographical work, Almost 55, where she proves to us that age is not a number to be feared.

As we kickstart a brand new 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac with the Year of the Rat, let us take stock of our life, reflect a little and look around us, discover the joy and positivity that the arts bring into our lives, and then take a big step forward with greater confidence to live life to the fullest in the coming year.

For the full line-up of Huayi 2020, please refer to www.esplanade.com/huayi