Over 500 people attended performances of Zheng He-When the Dragon Ships Came at Central Hall, Edinburgh organised by the Confucius Institute for Scotland in the University of Edinburgh, in association with SCEN on 9th June.
Students and staff from 17 primary and secondary schools, as well as the evening audience of adults and families, found the production to be quite magical and were enthralled by the powerful story-telling and entrancing staging.
Zheng He-When the Dragon Ships Came relates the tale of the fantastic journeys of this famous Chinese explorer who with his fleet of more than 300 enormous ‘dragon ships’ sailed via Indonesia, India, and the Arabian Coast to Africa – almost 100 years before Columbus set sail for America. While every child in China knows the story of Zheng He’s travels, here, his adventures remain largely unknown.
This production has won many plaudits for its innovative set design which features interaction between the screen and the action on stage. The animated films, video clips, shadow images and masks form a constantly changing visual narrative while the multi-lingual audio and musical score ensure that audience members are fully engaged by the production