Chinese opera hits big in small theaters

A similar balance between tradition and experimentation drives Life, Death and the Skull. Its writer and producer, Feng Minyi, has long explored ways to expand Cantonese Opera's possibilities without abandoning its foundations.

The idea emerged during a 2021 conversation with veteran Cantonese Opera actor Peng Qinghua about how Cantonese Opera might work in a small theater.

"I didn't think small-theater opera should mean moving a large-scale production into a smaller space," Feng says. "We wanted to find our own way of understanding it."

A frequent theatergoer with a particular interest in musicals staged in small theaters, Feng was drawn to their flexibility and potential to experiment with storytelling and character.

The conversation turned to Resurrection of the Skeleton, a tale associated with philosopher Zhuangzi of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) that has inspired different interpretations in traditional storytelling and theater. It explores a provocative question: Is being alive necessarily better than being dead?

The idea connected the story's supernatural premise with a more personal question about death and the bonds between people. Feng sketched the initial outline in about 15 minutes.

For Feng, the subject also touches on a personal loss. She entered the Cantonese Opera profession after the death of her great-aunt who helped raise her and who was a veteran of the art form.

That experience gave the play's questions about mortality particular resonance.

"In Chinese culture, death is often something people avoid talking about. It can seem frightening or even sinister," she says. "But death is something everyone has to face. I wanted to show life's many different sides, rather than make the subject unbearably heavy."

After the production premiered last year, the response encouraged her to continue in that direction. A woman brought her elderly mother to see the show. Afterward, they said the experience made death seem less frightening. Other audience members have spoken about finding a way to come to terms with the loss of a beloved pet.

For Feng, who studied classical Chinese literature rather than receiving formal training in playwriting, the creative process has been an opportunity to explore what Cantonese Opera can express beyond the familiar world of talented scholars, beautiful women and historical rulers.

She believes the genre can engage with questions of human nature with the same depth as spoken drama, while retaining the distinctive qualities of traditional opera.

Veteran actor Peng plays the leading role, Zhuangzi. As director of the Shenzhen Cantonese Opera Troupe, he has performed in major Cantonese Opera productions and films throughout his decades-long career. This is his first time playing in a production tailored for a smaller theater.

"We want the play to help people heal," says Peng, who was born into a family with a long tradition in Wing Chun, a style of kung fu. "In a way, it has healed us, too.

"Small-theater performance demands greater intimacy and subtlety," he says. "I have to find a balance between preserving the stylized techniques of traditional opera and making the performance feel natural.

"At the same time, being closer to the audience allows you to convey emotions in a more direct and personal way," he adds.

For these creators, younger audiences offer an important reason to keep exploring.

"Small-theater productions tend to attract young people who are often more open to unfamiliar forms and more receptive to the ideas behind a work," says Feng.