Visually rich, the dialogue is fast, the music modern and the result is emotionally engaging.
The Age
Click here to download the show's
programme.
A flooded stage, a Chinese-pop soundtrack, Mandarin rhyming slang
and online dating- Rhinoceros in Love leaves traditional
Chinese theatre somewhere in its dust.
Hailed as China's most successful play of all time, August 2012
marked Rhinoceros in Love's 1000th performance.
This modern-day classic from the National Theatre of China is still
going strong, playing every night in Beijing to packed houses and
touring to international festivals.
Revolutionary and refreshing, Liao Yimei's beautiful allegory
gives voice to the maladies of young, urbanised Chinese, lost and
in love. Weaving tragedy with humour, it tells the tale of
rhinoceros-keeper Ma Lu, a man who develops a dangerous romantic
fascination with his neighbour, the unobtainable Mingming. Ma has
done everything to win her heart. One night, Ma, mad and stubborn
as a rhinoceros, captures Mingming and holds her hostage in the
name of love.
Swept up in the rush of a turbo-charged consumer culture, the
20-year-olds in this absurd world find the path to true love in
Facebook profiles, credit checks and web searches for prospective
partners. What hope then is there for a humble rhino-keeper like
Ma?
Be captivated by this arresting work.
Writer: Liao
Yimei
Director: Meng Jinghui
Post-show talk: Mon 11 Mar
# In a nutshell: On-line dating, passionate contemporary
theatre, a modern classic.
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