THIS REIMAGINING EXPLORES THE TOXICITY OF ONLINE OBSESSION IN THE FACE OF HUMAN TRAGEDY

An all East and South East Asian (ESEA) cast has been announced for Turandot at Grimeborn Opera Festival this August. This marks the first time in the UK that a professional production of Puccini’s final opera, which is set in China and has its roots in Central and East Asian literature, has a full cast from the Asian diaspora. A majority ESEA creative team spearheads this radical reimagining of Turandot, which tackles the opera’s orientalist tropes head-on, and examines the Far East’s contemporary role as a tech giant in the global landscape.

This reimagining explores the toxicity of online obsession in the face of human tragedy, as Calaf is lured into a virtual, addictive world by the imperious digital fantasy princess Turandot. This new production, part of Grimeborn Opera Festival at the Arcola Theatre, challenges racist stereotypes that paint East Asian women as subservient, cruel or hyper-sexual, as well as the use of Yellowface in theatre and opera.

The production is performed in Italian and is a co-production between British East and Southeast Asian (BESEA)-led Ellandar Productions and The Opera Makers for Grimeborn Festival 2023.

TURANDOT

Venue

Arcola Theatre
24 Ashwin Street
London E8 3DL

Performance Dates

Wednesday 23rd – Saturday 26th August

Performance Times

7:30PM on weekdays
3PM and 7PM on Saturday

Box Office

www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on

Ticket Price

£12-30

Running time

1 hour 35 minutes (no interval)

Age Guidance

12+

Content Warnings

Some violent/sexual imagery

CAST

Calaf James Liu 廖立志
Turandot Reiko Fukuda 福田玲子
Timur Michael CT Lam 林俊廷

Liú Heming Li
Feng Siyu Shen 沈思宇
Xiang Aina Miyagi Magnell 宮城 愛奈

Ming Salome Siu 蕭仲君
Mandarin/Baritone Ensemble Jacob Bettinelli 吳柏賢
Emperor/Tenor Ensemble Benjie del Rosario

Soprano Ensemble Mandy Liu 廖靜雯
Soprano Ensemble Anna Vienna Ho 何雅鈉
Alto Ensemble Priscilla Fong

Tenor Ensemble Andrew McClarty
Piano Thomas Ang

CREW

Director/Dramaturg Becca Marriott
Director/Dramaturg Iskandar اسكندر Sharazuddin
Musical Director Panaretos Kyriatzidis

Scenography Ingrid Hu 胡嘉倩
Video Design Erin Guan 关绰莹
Lighting Design Nao Nagai 長井懐央
Dramaturgy Consultant Mingyu Lin 林铭宇