| Love in the Time of Climate Change: Running the Silk Road |
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| Culture | |
| Thursday, 22 May 2008 | |
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Silk Road chronicles the journey of a group of London friends, which includes a British Chinese, British Iranian, and British Pakistani. They have gathered together to support the British Chinese character as he decides to run all the way to China, an "alternative" torch relay of sorts, in support of the environmental relief causes to which his girlfriend is passionately devoted. A love story, that's what Sirett calls the play he has written as his character is running out of love, and together with his friends, they are willing to face trials and tribulations as they journey across the diverse landscape of the ancient Silk Road. The concept emerged according to Sirett, when Tse first approached him with the idea of tying in stories of the Silk Road trading route with the coming 2008 Beijing Olympics. In doing research for the play, Sirett came across "The Classic of Mountains & Seas", a collection of Chinese mythical tales written over 2000 years ago. A story that abounds with bizarre creatures and magical cures for numerous ailments, Sirett uses The Classic of Mountains & Seas to add a mythical twist to the expedition to China. The play is also reminiscent of Chinese folk tale of the Monkey King in Journey to the West, but the opposite direction is travelled in this case. Considering the story takes inspiration from the myths of Mountains & Seas, which have creatures with human heads on snake-like bodies and foxes with nine tails, the staging of the play is vital to encompassing the larger than life elements of these fables. Puppetry and Chinese opera are elements that Sirett uses to try to bring out the theatrically of the piece.
Performed by classical actors of the Beijing Opera, the two opera sectionswere written by Sirrett and translated into Mandarin. They will incorporate the use of puppets in the form of kites. Despite the fact that some theatergoers may never have seen Chinese opera, or understand the meaning of the precise movements on stage, Sirett still believes that the opera sections will still be accessible to the audience. "I like to think they [opera sections of the play] enhance the experience of going to the theatre...it's a visual feast," Sirett said. Because of the massive tragedy of the earthquake in Sichuan, China, Sirett will be rewriting his script to incorporate the quake as the characters will find out and react to the disaster as the timeline of the play takes place through the year of 2008 and the Beijing Olympics. Dealing with the upcoming Beijing Olympics and the actual torch relay is something that Sirett is hoping to face head on in his production, especially considering it has become a spectacle in real life with Free Tibet protestors, police, and fans facing each other down. Controversial, chaotic, and downright confusing at points, Sirett is not afraid to deal with these issues brought about by the relay, as he pointed out the alleged racism remarks made to British Chinese and other British East Asian performers during the relay portion in London. Although he spoke of trying to find stories that the audience would not be so familiar with, by incorporating what is happening at this very moment in time, in ways it becomes a play that viewers can relate to as this is what is currently happening in their lives. Sirett wants his audience to be intrigued and even become inspired to discover other theatrical art forms such as Chinese opera. Despite its fantastical and theatrical portions, Running the Silk Road according to Sirett is a simple story of the times we live in. "It's not a polemic at the end," Sirett stresses. "It's a story about ordinary people." For more information about Running the Silk Road check out the link for Yellow Earth Theatre. Running the Silk Road in London Book online www.barbican.org.uk Pamela Yau |
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Who hasn't heard of a story about running thousands of miles
for love and of course-for the polar bears? Paul Sirett, the Olivier nominated
playwright, in collaboration with David Tse Ka-Shing, Yellow Earth Theatre Company
director, has created a play, Running the
Silk Road, which does just that in a production sponsored by China Now and as a part of The City of London Festival. Everything is in place for the makings of this
2008 Jack Kerouac, On The Road, for
the "eco-friendly" in Silk Road. 
"I've had a crash course in Chinese opera in the last 12
months," Sirett admitted, as this is the first time he has ever used Chinese
opera in any of his plays. | < Prev | Next > |
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