Sometimes a work can be avant-garde because it is traditional. Such is the case with Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams, a Kunqu Opera conceived by Hong Kong drama troupe Zuni Icosahedron and performed by Jiangsu Kunqu Opera House.

The opera is scheduled to premiere next year in Hong Kong but previewed earlier this month at the 153-seat Lanyuan Theater in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.

The set of Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams has just a table and two chairs, which was the norm for traditional Chinese operas, though stage designs are grander these days.

Also, there was no amplification so, like in the old days, it was an acoustic performance and the band played on the stage, behind a screen.

Mathias Woo is the director and producer of Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams.

"We want to get back to the basics with this Kunqu performance and highlight the original aesthetics of Kunqu and mankind," says Zuni Icosahedron's Mathias Woo, director and producer of the play.

"Putting the work on in this traditional way has turned out to be somewhat avant-garde."

Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) is one of the greatest playwrights in Chinese history, famed for works such as Peony Pavilion (Mudan Ting). But in Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams, he will be portrayed in a Chinese opera for the first time.

The drama centers on Tang as an old man. It opens with him walking along a mist-wreathed mountain trail at twilight, looking for a grave. He encounters characters from four of his plays, The Story of The Purple Hairpin (Zichai Ji), The Peony Pavilion, The Dream of Nanke (Nanke Ji), and The Handan Dream (Handan Meng) - collectively known as "The Four Dreams at Linchuan" (the hometown of Tang in East China's Jiangxi Province).

The characters tell him: "A grave is not a permanent home. You don't need a grave, and you don't need a tombstone. It is too small."

It was Woo's idea to create an opera that blends Tang's most famous four works, while playwright Zhang Hong suggested that the story should unfold with Tang's search for his own gravesite. As a result, the three-hour show leads audiences through one dream after another.

"Most old Kunqu plays have clear themes, while Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams leaves a lot of space for people to think," says Ke Jun, president of Jiangsu Kunqu Opera House, who plays the old Tang Xianzu and another character.

Ke has had roles in a number of avant-garde Kunqu operas, such as Faust and Fleeing by Night. Last year he performed at the House of World Cultures, in Berlin, together with a calligrapher.

"Kunqu should not be just a cultural relic. We are living today and we should perform for today's audiences. But first we have to find what we have lost in Kunqu," Ke says.

For Woo, Kunqu has many avant-garde elements.

"In a way Kunqu is conceptual. It uses a system of abstract symbols. For example, when a door is opened there needn't be a real door, but only the action of opening a door."

Woo says the relationship between him and the actors in Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dreams is equal, not like that of a director and actors in most modern dramas.

"I have learned a lot from actors and actresses in this show. What I do is to make sure of the general structure and give some advice on their acting."

The show also adopts some multi media elements. Sometimes texts and paintings are projected on the wall, as visual effects. Also, the lighting is more layered than in most Chinese opera performances, in order to focus more on the details of the acting.

"Compared to other Kunqu plays that I have seen, this play attracts me more," says Gao Shu, a graduate student of ethnomusicology from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. "It gathers some of the best parts of Tang's works. Though some new elements have been added, the essence of Kunqu is maintained."

Woo said that he would make some changes to Tang Xianzu's Dream on Dream, but will keep its acoustic form, minimal stage design and other basic features when it's performed at the 463-seat Theater of the Hong Kong City Hall next year.

Founded in 1982, Zuni Icosahedron has produced more than 150 original alternative theater pieces and multi-media performances.

Zuni is a color between blue and green and is also the name of a tribe of North American Indians, famed for their handicrafts. The icosahedron is a solid figure with 20 triangular faces.

Tang Xianzu (by Ke Jun) takes a rest while characters from his plays come to life in a dream.Photos courtesy of Zuni Icosahedron

(China Daily November 24, 2007)