Zuni Icosahedron’s ONE TABLE TWO CHAIRS theatrical performance
October 20 – 21, 2023
We are delighted to sponsor Hong Kong’s renowned theatre company Zuni Icosahedron (Zuni) in its Singapore tour to bring a triple-bill production "One Table Two Chairs" at the Studio Theatre of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Singapore’s prestigious arts institution, on October 20 and 21.
Inspired by the basic stage setting of traditional Chinese theatre, or Xiqu, where a table and two chairs on stage can represent different geographical locales in abstract form, Zuni has used the stage setting as a vehicle for cross-cultural collaborations and dialogues since 1990s. To date, over 100 theatre plays under the name of "One Table Two Chairs" project have been presented in different countries.
Bringing together Hong Kong, Singaporean, Indonesian and Japanese performers, the triple-bill production featured three short theatrical masterpieces. The first one "Legend According to Lao Jiu" paid tribute to the life of Mr Kuo Pao Kun, a pioneer in Singapore’s theatre, and traced his journey for search of self-identity. The second one "Tao of Water" led the audience through a mesmerizing journey of art tech inspired by Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee’s philosophy on the fluidity and infinite possibilities of water. The third piece "School of Thought" offered timely insights into the meaning of arts education at a time when The University of the Arts Singapore, Singapore's first arts university, had been inaugurated through an alliance of NAFA and LASALLE College of the Arts, and ready to welcome the first undergraduate student intake in 2024. After the performances, the actors stayed behind and shared with the audience their artistic journeys in a dialogue session.
The theatrical showcase was part of Zuni’s weeklong fruitful cultural exchanges in Singapore as it engaged NAFA’s teaching staff and students in a series of workshops, lectures and sharing sessions on various topics from art administration, performing and movement improvisations, to art tech and digital interventions.
The triple-bill production also kick-started a three-year strategic collaboration between Zuni and NAFA as the latter launched a new programme, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Contemporary Chinese Theatres (BACCT) in October 2023, with first semester slated to begin in August 2024. The three-year programme is the first of its kind in Asia, aiming to nurture versatile thespians with cultural, historical and artistic awareness in modern-day Chinese theatre. Zuni will help deliver parts of the curriculum, including an immersion trip to Hong Kong for students to learn Zuni’s unique methods in contemporary Chinese theatre. Both Zuni and NAFA will also establish collaborations across all of NAFA’s faculties, from research to using innovative technology in art-making. More details can be read here.
