Cathay: Three Tales of China

In October of 2000, director/playwright Ping Chong took audiences on a mystical journey through three Japanese ghost stories in the critically acclaimed Kwaidan. Now, in collaboration with the world-class puppet artists of the Shaanxi Folk Art Theatre, the magic of “the wizard of visual storytelling” (Star Tribune) reappears in an all new triumphant triptych that spans across China’s history: During the Tang dynasty, an emperor is forced to choose between his people and his one true love; amidst the horrors of World War II, a young boy struggles to survive during the Japanese occupation; and inside a modern day Chinese grand hotel, rap stars, businessmen, and tourists discover a mysterious, supernatural connection between themselves and the first two stories. Incorporating the use of traditional rod, shadow and full-size puppets, theatrical innovator Ping Chong presents Cathay: Three Tales Of China in celebration of China’s ancient past and tumultuous 21st Century emergence.