Asia Series Vol.4: China
“Love‚Äôs Labour‚Äôs Lost”
Written and Directed by Xiaoxing Sun
October 28th — October 29th
VenueSuperDeluxe
Dates10/28 (Sat) 14:00*
10/29 (Sun) 18:00*

*Post-show talk

Box office opens 1 hour before. Doors open 30 minutes before.
Running Time45 min.
LanguagePerformed in Chinese with Japanese surtitles
TicketsUnreserved seating / Minimum of one drink order of ¥700
Advance: ¥2,500 / Same Day: ¥3,000 / Students: ¥1,600 / Other tickets available
Early Bird Discount¥1,800
Festival Pass (5 Performances)¥2,000
Festival Pass (3 Performances)¥2,200
Students
Student ID required
¥1,600
High School Students and Under
Student ID or proof of age required
¥1,000
Photo: KillaiB

Step inside the chaotic bedroom of Chinese millennials, a fantasy world where the real and the virtual intersect.

This play by a leading figure in cutting-edge contemporary theatre in China portrays the lives of young people addicted to the Internet and pop culture. It shares its title with the Shakespeare comedy about young nobles who take an oath not to court women. Set in a room bursting with strange and colorful items bought online, the female inhabitants have fun with absent companions by live streaming their existences via their mobile phones and computers. Though the wanton chaos of their daily lives might well repel us, for these girls it is their ideal world. As the time passes almost as if no one is watching, the divisions between stage and audience, the virtual and the real, slowly fade away.

Photos

Performances at F/T
Photos: Hibiki Miyazawa (Alloposidae)

Video

Artist Profile

Xiaoxing Sun

Playwright, Director, Critic

Born in 1986, Xiaoxing Sun graduated from Central Academy of Drama and teaches theatre at Tianjin Conservatory of Music. His book “Re-Theatre: The Independent Theatre Cities Map” introduced the fringe theatre scenes in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. He formed the theatre company en? (What has happened? How does it come to this?) in 2015. His recent work includes “Cyber Theatre Project” (2016). He also participated in the symposium “Beijing, China: The Contemporary Fringe Theatre Scene” at F/T14.

Cast & Creative

Written and Directed byXiaoxing Sun
Performers, Visual Designers:Neng Neng, Hei Hei
Music:Xu Ming
Production Coordinator, Interpreter:Wu Zhenzhen
Stage Manager:Jia Zexuan
Technical Manager:Eiji Torakawa
Assistant Technical Manager:Chizuru Kouno
Stage Manager:Ken Hasuki
Stage Assistant:Shiori Onodera
Sound Coordinator:Akira Aikawa (Sound Weeds Inc.)
Props Coordinator:Hikari Osanai
Publicity Design:Taichi Abe (GOKIGEN)
Photographic and Video Documentation:Takashi Fujikawa, Hibiki Miyazawa
Program Coordinator, Technical Interpreter, Surtitles Translator:Hitomi Oyama
Production Coordinators:Yuko Takeda, Akiko Juman (Festival/Tokyo)
Interns:Nagisa Inoue, Hoen Go, Ayano Kobayashi, Hitomi Nomoto
  
Front of House:Yukari Goto (TEAM#BISCO)
Special cooperation fromSuperDeluxe
Presented byFestival/Tokyo

Asia Series Vol.4: China

Chinese Millennials

Every year at Festival/Tokyo, the Asia Series showcases an Asian nation’s performing arts and visual art. The fourth edition of the series focuses on China, especially the nation’s millennial generation born between the 1980s and 2000s.


This generation grew up after the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976 and the start of the economic reforms in 1978. Today comprising 30% of the population of China, the millennials are a leading force in consumer trends. The generation has been online ever since it can remember as well as absorbing aspects of pop culture from America, Europe and Japan. It is no longer usual for young people in the big cities to have received education overseas and this kind of experience stimulates many artists to develop a critical stance toward contemporary society in their work, which is nonetheless rooted in their own nation’s history and culture.



Asia Series

Each year the Asia Series chooses one country in the Asian region and showcases examples of its performing arts, music, visual art, and more. Launched in 2014, the inaugural series presented South Korean performing arts, followed by Myanmar at F/T15 and Malaysia at F/T16. The fourth iteration of the series focuses on China. The showcase is curated based on research into the local arts scene, social conditions, history and culture. In this way, it conveys what is shared and differs within contemporary Asia, forming a foundation for sustainable exchange premised on the diversity of language and culture.