Theatrical Elements

Theatrical Elements

Theatrical Settings

With the minimalistic style in general, the theatrical setting of Tales of Fool adopts the minimalism from Chinese opera and the aesthetic value of traditional Chinese art that emphasises the figurative beauty. Practically, an aesthetic activity is an act of constructing a figurative world based on the physical one. The former shines on the reality. According to Chinese aesthetics, such reality refers to what is “natural”. Its sense of reality does not stem from logic but existence. It is a world full of vitality and fun. The aesthetic activity is a mental endeavour that transcends reasoning.

The content of Singing and Reciting and Live Music

Written in ancient Chinese, the play is conducted with the traditional Chinese opera method of singing. Apart from recited parts, the dialogues also contain “Mandarin Chinese”, which refers to words with northern pronunciation in ancient times. The most prevalent example is how they change the pronunciation of “ke3 nu4 ye3” in Putonghua or “ho2 nou6 ja3” in Cantonese, meaning “we should feel furious”, into “ko1 naau1 je1”.

Each performance of Tales of Fools generates a unique music concert. Utilising manifold instruments, musicians produce live music that help unfolding the plots and evoking emotions of actors and audience.

Training of Actors and Arrangement of Characters

Apart from members of Théâtre de la Feuille, Tales of Fool involve traditional Chinese opera actors. Working together, the two parties had to acquire the dramatic technique from each other from the scratch.

Each of the three actors play varying roles respectively. The change of character is immediately recognizable when the actor put on a different colombina mask.

Apart from the Chinese opera method of “singing, acting, reciting and acrobatic fighting” , Tales of Fool features physical theatre, which has been a forte of Théâtre de la Feuille. Meanwhile, other than the characters, the actors also embody themselves as a variety of objects, scenes, and imageries. Blending with the minimalistic aesthetics of Chinese opera, their stunts provoke riveting delights.