On the final night before the troupe of Shanghai dancers returned to China, I had the good fortune to attend the final performance of Strange Tales from Laoizhai. Inspired by the Qing Dynasty era work, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, this physical theatre show takes you on a surreal journey through dream-worlds, each stranger than the last.
The static-like sound of compressing limbs fills the air as our first characters emerge onto the stage. They move not like humans, but rather as insects, their carapaces the black, futuristic gowns that cling to their bodies like liquid metal. Every outfit is carefully curated to match each tale – there is a sense of plentifulness in the wardrobe choices.
Even through the strange, surreal language of dance that at times proves incomprehensible, there is a certain universality running its thread through every story. We recognise the struggle of a woman to keep her husband faithful, an egotistical grab for power that comes before the fall, even the joyful life cycle of plants as they are watered and nurtured.
While the show is inspired by an 18th century work of writing, it feels refreshingly modern, fracturing gender boundaries, questioning societal hierarchies with such ease that at times one can forget the immense effort and work required of the dancers, their bodies pushed to the limits of what seems humanely possible.
The show culminates in a monk becoming absorbed into a stone, a huge human mountain that consumes him, and finally with the stage collapsing in on itself. This final motif breaks the audience out of their trance, everyone shaking themselves and wondering whether what they saw was real or simply a shared hallucination.
Strange Tales from Liaozhai ended on 15 August.
Photo credits to Mike Singleton
