Immerse yourself in a beautiful 900-year-old Liyuan opera and a folk tale about love and loss

During the Song dynasty, Huang Wuniang—a young woman from the south—sits restless through the night, gazing at the moonlight and longing for her beloved Chen San, who has been exiled to a foreign county. As her memories unfold, the story of her fateful encounter with Chen San comes to life. Meanwhile, a group of young actors in the modern world find themselves a part of Wuniang’s story. Through an inventive operatic adaptation, festivalgoers now have an opportunity to engage with this classic in an entirely new way—a performance that passionately continues the legacy of this ancient art form.

Liyuan opera, with a rich history spanning 900 years, is one of the oldest surviving forms of Chinese opera, known for its timeless elegance and simplicity. The story of Chen San and Wuniang remains the most enduring and beloved classic of the genre.

Directed by Zeng Long, the son of renowned Liyuan opera master Zeng Jingping (a two-time Plum Blossom Award winner), with Hong Kong Cantonese opera artist Jason Kong as dramaturg, this production presents a rich, multi-layered experience that seamlessly combines traditional Chinese opera with the minimalist aesthetics of contemporary theatre.

【Parallel Time and Space in the Opera “Chen San and Wuniang” is a work from the 2023 Shekou Theatre Festival | Incubation Program and the 2025 Maritime Silk Road New Space | Theatre Incubation Program】

Meet-the-Artist session will be held after the performance on 21 Mar (Sat).

Advance bookings will start at 10am on 16 October 2025