Bilingual Musical Cho Cho Wins Two Australian Arts in Asia Awards
A collaboration between the National Theatre of China, Playking Productions and Arts Centre Melbourne to create possibly the world’s first bilingual musical theatre production, Cho Cho, won two of the inaugural Australian Arts in Asia Awards which were presented by the Australian Minister for the Arts, The Hon Tony Burke MP in Sydney on August 1.
The new Awards “recognise, celebrate and promote the significant number of Australian artists engaging in Asia, contributing to stronger, deeper and broader cultural links with Asian nations” and Cho Cho won both the Theatre Award and the Partnership Award.
“We are thrilled that our work with the National Theatre of China and Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner of Playking Productions has been honoured in this way,” said Arts Centre Melbourne Chief Executive Judith Isherwood. “It takes courage to cross cultural boundaries and seeing the show in Beijing at the start of the year was a truly exciting moment for us all.”
“It’s wonderful having such great partners, who are leaders in their fields in their respective countries, to go through the exhilarating creation of something entirely new and to end up with a sensational piece of theatre that’s a world first,” said Playking Directors Carrillo Gantner and Ziyin Wang Gantner
Cho Cho moves the story of Puccini's Madame Butterfly to 1930s Shanghai (and from opera to music theatre) and is a re-working of the 1980s work Cho Cho San, developed by Australian writer Daniel Keene and director Peter Wilson. This new interpretation of the Madame Butterfly story, through the lens of that production, has seen the development of a new script, score and design.
Cho Cho opened at the National Theatre of China in Beijing in January 2013 and was the finale of the Shenzhen International Arts Festival in March. It will play in Sydney at The Concourse in Chatswood from September 24, at Arts Centre Melbourne from October 2, and then will begin its second China season in November ahead of an Australian tour in 2014.
Cho Cho is possibly the first truly bilingual (Chinese/English) musical. The script is in Mandarin and English and is surtitled in both. The creative team is totally cross-cultural, comprising Australian Director, Peter Wilson and Production Designer, Richard Jeziorny; and Chinese composer, Cheng Jin and Lighting Designer, Wang Qi.
The cast comprises Chinese and Australian actor/singers Wang Zheng (Butterfly), Scott Irwin (Pinkerton), Dong Wen Liang (Luo Shu), David Whitney (Sharpless), Du He (Gu Ma) and Danielle Barnes (Kate/Bar Singer), puppeteer Han Xing and four musicians. Polish/Australian actor/director Lech Mackiewicz is the rehearsal director for the Australian production.
The creation and production of Cho Cho is regarded as a model project of international cooperation by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, which has already made two major special grants to support National Theatre of China's participation in this joint venture.
The Concourse, Chatswood
From 24 September
Bookings: theconcourse.com.au/events
or phone Ticketek 1300 795 012
Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse
2 – 6 October 2013
Bookings: artscentremelbourne.com.au
or phone 1300 182 183