‘Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, flitting and fluttering around. Was it Zhuang Zhou dreaming of the butterfly, or the butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou?’
Zhuang Zhou has spent most of his life pursuing the Dao, leading a simple life as a low-ranking official in the Lacquer Garden. When he becomes suspicious of his wife Tian, he decides to test her loyalty through sorcery and trickery.
The Beijing Central Academy of Drama retells the philosophical tale through a mix of shadow puppetry, traditional costumes and Yue opera narration. There’s elements of the Shakespearean farce in Zhuangzhi’s story- his cunning disguise as the Scion of Chu causes all sorts of mishaps- and the Yue narrators serve as a sort of Greek chorus, striking in appearance in blindfolds and bearing drums. The costumes and makeup are beautiful, and the dialogue is easy to follow with subtitles.
Puppets of ghostly faces, graceful fish, delicate butterflies and the characters themselves punctuate the action; it all adds to the dreamlike mood. The lines between dream and reality and life and death become blurred as Zhuang Zhou realises the devastating consequences of his tests.
Zhuangzi’s Dream is a fascinating, visually appealing show that’s an ideal family-friendly treat.
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Zhuangzi’s Dream is at C Aurora from 7-11 Aug.