NOT SO LOUD

SLIPPERY MOUNTAIN is one of the oldest Chinese fables: the story of Mulian, a monk on the verge of enlightenment who faces the ultimate test of will – escorting his mother to hell for former misdeeds against Lord Buddha. But she says she is innocent…

Working off a 1980s text by mainland authors Qi Zhixiang and Yang Xiaoxong from a translation by Martin Merz, the play had its first Not So Loud outing in Hong Kong one year before the 1997 handover as a bilingual production with a Cultural Revolutionary setting, a modern score blending in Western musical elements by Jon Dee Mac and a revamped script incorporating a Greek chorus ‘spectator’ whose commentary on the action ensured that even the most unseasoned non-afficianado could understand some of the more basic Chinese Operatic conventions.

12 years later, SLIPPERY MOUNTAIN was re-incarnated, this time in London’s New World Restaurant (just off Shaftesbury Avenue) as part of the China in London and China Now! festivals for the year of the Beijing Olympics. Bringing together Western trained vocalists, instrumentalists and actors with singers and musicians from the London Jing Kun Opera Association and the International Centre for Beijing Opera, authentic Peking Opera performance was melded with Western style clowning to create a new and dazzling synthesis of styles – and, in keeping with the form’s tea-house traditions, audiences were served tea and dim sum before the show started – an edifying experience in every sense.

For more information and details of touring/sponsorship opportunities, contact Tom Hope
(mobile +44 7770984612 email tom.hope@notsoloud.net)