Review-Tales of Invisible Silk-Chinese International School
14-6-14
By: Stephanie Ip
Tales of Invisible Silk, performed by Bonsai Cacti, an experimental theatre group formed by the Chinese International School, is a colourful pastiche of stories, saddling ideas of culture and travel as its key themes. The show, about two hours long, consists of two original plays: The Reliable Adventures of Marco and Polo in the first half, and The Golden Peaches of Samarkand in the second. Both plays try to bring together notions of east and west, past and future, and each does this beautifully with anachronisms, witty cultural references from contemporary culture and highly stylised historical references.
The plots, both a series of winding stories, the first set during the Renaissance between Europe and the Middle East, the second between the Tang dynasty of classical China and modern China, are a bit too convoluted for a coherent synopsis. In short, Reliable Adventures is about brothers Marco and Polo, sent to explore the Wide Blue Yonder in search of a solution for Dante’s Inferno (accidentally let loose in Venice); Golden Peaches explains to a modern day golfer how he came to find a golden peach on the golf course and features poets Li Bai and Wang Wei, as well as Aladdin and his genie.
Written by Brian Mulcahy and directed by Xander Manshel, the plays are overall paced very well and each keeps the audience interested. Despite all the potential pitfalls of a high school play, the ultra-minimal (non) set and plain costume design (black t-shirts and leggings and bright Converse shoes) means that nothing can really let you down either - the students might stumble over their words or forget the words to the music but the plot transcends the actors. Much of the focus is placed on the narrative and it does not disappoint.
If I were to use one word to describe the show it would be humourous - and on lots of different levels. The humour in Reliable Adventures was witty, with occasional splashes of the absurd, wrapped up in what felt like rapid references to contemporary pop culture, and even internet humour. The writing in Golden Peaches, by comparison, is lighter and more slapstick.
Humour too was found in song and dance. Some of the actors might not be able to do either particularly well but, as though conscious of this, the production takes this in stride. Neither play takes itself too seriously and the music, sounding like saccharine pop songs of the 90s, may seem almost incongruous at first, but the plays would not be the same without them.
Ultimately the magic of this show is its captivation of the imagination. As with all the travelling of its characters across time and space, our willingness to go with them on their journey is its greatest reward.
Tales of Invisible Silk is playing at the Hong Kong Fringe Club through Saturday. For more information, click here.
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