Category: Cathay Playhouse

Cathay Playhouse present THE MESSAGE, a play, based on the 2005 novel by Mai Jei, at the Lend Lease Darling Theatre Quarter, Darling Harbour. 27th Oct – 30th Oct. THE MESSAGE, is a play based on the novel by contemporary Chinese novelist, Mai Jei. It was produced by an Australian/Chinese Sydney based company Cathay Playhouse – I have seen other productions over the past years. This play is the first almost contemporary work that I have seen. The novel was published in 2004 and was made into a successful film in 2007. Set in the city of Nanking in 1942,…

Cathay Playhouse presents PALACE OF DESIRE (adapted from a television series) in the Everest Theatre, the Seymour Centre, Sydney. The Cathay Playhouse completes ten continuous years of production with this adaption of PALACE OF DESIRE for the theatre from a Chinese television series (Dramaturgy by Gordon GUO Zi-Qing). The work is a large historic epic played and created, supported by a passionate and disciplined volunteer group of amateur artists. Like the other work that I have seen in past years: DE-LING and EMPRESS DOWAGER (2010) and the famous, THUNDERSTORM (2012) by Cao Yu, the look of the production is quite…

  Cathay Playhouse present THUNDERSTORM by Cao Yu at the Tom Mann Theatre, Surry Hills. Cathay Playhouse is a Chinese theatre company that have just completed nine years of presentation in the city of Sydney. I attended, two years ago a performance of DI LING and EMPRESS DOWAGER CI XI by HE Ji-Ping, and was charmed and impressed. Firstly by the play, performed in Chinese with sub-titles, and, secondarily with the passion of the collective of, mostly, young artists, committed to the production, on stage, backstage and front-of-house. This year the company presented THUNDERSTORM by Cao Yu. I knew of it,…

      CATHAY PLAYHOUSE present DE LING & EMPRESS DOWAGER CI XI by HE Ji-Ping at the Tom Mann Theatre, Surry Hills. The CATHAY PLAYHOUSE is a mostly non-professional theatre organisation (95%). I decided to write about my experience with this company because it represents a part of our community that does not have much exposure or encouragement outside its own cultural population. According to their mission statement as presented in the program notes, CATHAY PLAYHOUSE aims to present exceptional Mandarin drama as a way to promote Chinese culture as a part of Australia’s Multi-cultural society. More movingly its…