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The puppet show "The Flower in the Mirror" Photo: Screenshot from website

 
The puppet show The Flower in the Mirror, a Sino-French collaborative creation, will premiere at Beijing Poly Theatre on June 21. As the third installment of QFunTheater's series, it is a stage presentation of cross-cultural exchange and integration between contemporary artists from China and France.

The production took three years to complete and rehearse. It debuted in Beijing as a representative play of the 2022 "Meet in Beijing" Olympic Culture Festival and toured in cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Guilin. In 2023, it even toured in France.

The play is a contemporary adaptation of the Qing Dynasty writer Li Ruzhen's novel of the same name, integrating puppetry, masks, multimedia, and sound. Children are the main performers in this play, expressing themselves freely and creating a world full of poetry and imagination.

In the story, the "flower fairy" is banished to the human world, becoming the protagonist Tang Xiaoshan. She embarks on a sea journey with her merchant uncle Lin Zhiyang, leading the audience through the eyes of Tang to encounter various amazing places.

The "flower fairy" on stage is a giant puppet operated by the children. The visuals combine the style of Chinese ink painting with the vibrant colors of European fairy tale illustrations. This was the first time for the children to perform on stilts. After professional training, they mastered the stilt-walking skills.

Another work by QFunTheater, the musical drama Shijing Haihai will have its global premiere at Beijing Poly Theatre on June 22 and 23, before heading to Paris, for an official tour.

As the sixth installment of the series, Shijing Haihai features eleven poems from the "Book of Songs," reflecting the challenges and confusion children face in their growth.

Through these works, QFunTheater showcases the intersection of ancient wisdom and contemporary children's souls, rewriting Chinese classical literature from a modern perspective.