Objects of desire

In 2013, Si worked with French theater director Luca Franceschi in Mirror, a play which combined Peking Opera with Italian comedy. Before that, Si had experimented with several other forms of art in which Peking Opera was used.

"Object theater performances require lots of body language, which is similar to Peking Opera. It's also challenging because there is no dialogue and I have to use objects to reflect the character, which is a new art form for me," says Si.

For mime artist Wu, object theater is also a new concept.

"It's an inspiring experience to act with the use of objects from everyday life," says Wu.

The 25-year-old Beijing native studied traditional Chinese folk art in Tianjin, such as xiangsheng or crosstalk, and kuai shu or oral storytelling with bamboo clappers.

He became a mime artist four years ago, when he founded his own Beijing-based company.

"All the objects are given a second life onstage. This will be interesting for audiences to watch."

Chinese musician Wang Li will also perform in the play. The musician is a native of Qingdao, Shandong province, but now lives in Paris. He will play the jew's harp, a lamellophone instrument.

"It will take everyone back to the echoes of their own childhood," says Saysombat.

To create a city scene, she started collecting objects last May from popular areas in Beijing, such as a big clothes market and an antiques market.

"We want to show Beijing in all its authenticity and to create feelings of association with the audiences," she says. "Those items were made in China and lots of them traveled halfway across the globe."

For her, the "Beijing objects" are a metaphor for migrating families like her own.

IF YOU GO

7:30 pm, June 19-20; 3 pm, June 21. Beijing 77 Theater, 77 Meishuguan Houjie (back street), Dongcheng district, Beijing. The shows will be free, for passes email: rsvp88@afchine.org.