The second installment of an ambitious three-part series by Toy Factory, A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Reverie follows its predecessor, The Beginning, from SIFA 2018 as Chun Yu Fen continues his fantastical journey into the Ant Kingdom.
The dream world is an often-explored motif in the greatest works of Ming playwright Tang Xianzu, including A Dream Under the Southern Bough. Hailed as the Shakespeare of the East, Tang’s romantic view of love and dreams were a foil against the feudal conventions of his time.
Bringing Tang’s lyrical play to the modern stage, Toy Factory presents the highly-anticipated second part of this tale in A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Reverie, as disgraced naval officer Chun Yu Fen falls asleep and is thrust into the Ant Kingdom.
In the ensuing 22 chapters of this wondrous journey, Chun finds himself in a situation beyond his wildest dreams, now betrothed to the Kingdom’s princess and the newly appointed governor of the Southern Bough. It appears to be a time for revelry – but trouble is brewing and inching ever closer.
From the vision of award-winning Goh Boon Teck, don’t miss this enchanting installment of Reverie, which meets its dramatic culmination in Existence, to be presented in SIFA 2020.
Performed in Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles
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31 May – 2 Jun 2019
Fri & Sat, 8pm
Sun, 3pm
Drama Centre Theatre
(2h 20m, with a 20m intermission)
For full festival line-up, please visit www.sifa.sg