Turning traditional Chinese poetry into modern theater

Chinese theater director Tian Gebing

"We discussed the plan for nearly a year. I drew inspiration from traditional Chinese calligraphy and ink paintings to create the visual design. I wanted the audience to join the adventure," says Iliou.

Composer Kurek who collaborated with Tian on Decalogue last year, uses a variety of instruments such as the guitar, bass, clarinet and violin to depict "wonderland" as well as to express the many moods of the characters.

"I also worked with Beijing-based experimental musicians who helped me create the soundscape," Kurek says.

Speaking of his latest work, Tian says: "We try to make every abstract line of a poem concrete. For example, when a poem line talks about a farewell, we could create a funeral scene."

The others Tian invited for the project include his longtime partner and choreographer-dancer Wang Ya'nan, who has been working with Tian since 2001 and costume designer, Ma Defan, who has designed costumes for movies, including Chinese director Zhang Yimou's The Love of the Hawthorn Tree and White Deer Plain by director Wang Quan'an.

Born and raised in Northwest Shaanxi province in the 1960s, Tian, who is in his mid-50s, is a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing.

On what he hopes to achieve through his work, Tian, who has been involved in Beijing's independent theater scene since the late 1980s, says: "I want to create an atmosphere that changes the impression about poetry. With music, contemporary dance and multimedia technology, the audience will have a new perspective on old Chinese poetry."

If you go

7:30 pm, Aug 27. Theater of Beijing Exhibition Hall, 135 Xizhimenwai Dajie (Street), Xicheng district, Beijing. 4006-228-228.