A film, dance, music and drama performance celebrating the life of Anna May Wong
Performances: 7.45pm, 30th & 31st March
Linbury Studio Theatre
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD
Piccadilly Revisited is a film, dance, drama and music performance inspired by the life and loves of Hollywood's first Chinese film star, Anna May Wong, and the classic British silent movie Piccadilly (1929) in which she played a starring role.
To a backdrop of a full showing of Piccadilly, through dance, film and drama, a performance unfolds that uses Wong’s role in the film as the counterpoint for a meditation on, and celebration of, her life. A specially composed score, which fuses Chinese and East Asian traditional elements and instruments with contemporary Western classical approaches, is be performed live, binding all these elements together.
Wong was a celebrated actress who worked with Dietrich and Olivier, graced the pages of Vogue, Tatler and Vanity Fair, and the song These Foolish Things was written for her. Chinatown Arts Space is delighted to celebrate her achievements in this, her seminal film directed by E.A. Dupont.
‘Bold, beautifully crafted... one of the truly great films of the silent era’ - Martin Scorsese
>> Watch an extract of the film Piccadilly (1929)
Piccadilly Revisited is presented by Chinatown Arts Space and features dancers Yuyu Rau, Quang Van and actress Calita Leong Rainford as Anna May Wong
Music composed and performed by Suki Mok and Ruth Chan
Choreography by Sin-Man Yue and Anh Nguyen
Video sequences by Shan Ng and O Zhang
Costumes by Jenny Ng Matthews; Set by Wai Yin Kwok; Lighting by Douglas Kuhrt
Written by Alice Lee and David Tse Ka-Shing
Directed by David Tse Ka-Shing, assisted by Uma Thongman Jackson
Tickets: £12, £10, standing £5
Concessions incl students and ROH Access Scheme £8
from Royal Opera House Box Office on 020 7304 4000 or at www.roh.org.uk
I was also at one of the shows, and I thought the production was rather awful. And many of the people around me, many of them were Chinese creative people, clearly felt the same. We all felt the best bit of the evening was the original film, and the inclusion of the other elements made it into a little of a mess.
The lead, and the two dancers did fantastically well to make an impact in their rather limited roles. The set design was simple enough and elegant, although I'm not sure what the two white "sculpture" were on the stage. Music was inoffensive but too repetitive and generic (and clearly under rehearsed). The director's political agenda is clear. However the production in its current form is simply flawed and does not work.
I was at the performance yesterday evening and felt a real connection with the production.
Masterfully created, the muilti media element was seamless and created a thought provoking element.
The young Ana May Wong character provided a real edge within the short film.
The costumes, dancing, lighting, film, and backdrop left me feeling I am so fortunate to have seen this.
One other thought......
In 1929 when the film was released the predjudices were so awfull.....what has changed?
In my opinion we needed strong people like Ana May Wong, Sydney Poitier and Omer Sheriff to path a way for todays muilti layered societies.
They played roles which were stereo-typed by the industry and also by there own cutures.
Well done to the cast and crew
Thank you for sharing
Christopher Tracy
Post new comment