Walking through the tall, green and plastic bamboo plants that form a ‘curtain’ to the outside world, the audience are greeted by a large red table in the centre of the performance space at which three pandas are seated, shuffling a deck of cards. The audience are guided to join them, and thus begins a somewhat different night of theatre at the Brisbane Festival.
It takes a little time to realise three women are not actually pandas, but friends dressed as pandas – but in this almost fairytale setting, anything seems possible.
Using a card game called Fight the Landlord (or Do Di Zhu) as the starting point, the cast tackle many modern themes that aren’t just pertinent to China, but to modern society as a whole.
Through their use of humour and cute panda costumes, the production touches on serious issues facing Generation Y, with a distinctly Chinese bent – rising property prices, the meaning of work, the search for love and meaningful relationships.
It seems obvious, but given the way much of the news about China is reported in Western media, there are times where people can be forgiven for viewing the nation as a monolith rather than as a place filled with individual people.
Throughout the play, the trio form a different dynamic – from a group of friends, to a real estate agent and house hunters, and a couple on a blind date (plus Mum).
An international collaboration between Ireland’s Pan Pan Theatre and Beijing’s Square Moon Culture, Fight the Landlord is performed in Mandarin, and as can be the case with all translated work, sometimes other layers of meaning are lost in the literal translations.
However, it’s a good sign when the laughter of people with an understanding of the language is followed by those who are catching up on the surtitles on the screens.
While there are the inevitable technical problems with the surtitles occasionally being out of step with the words being spoken, this is something which will probably be smoothed out as the nights go along.
Chinese absurdist theatre might not be everyone’s cup of tea – but if you are looking to taste something short, sharp and bittersweet, Fight the Landlord is worth a look. However, it is recommended you sit in the inner ring of seats – the chairs are more comfortable!
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
Fight the Landlord
Pan Pan Theatre and Beijing Square Moon Culture Ltd (China/Ireland), presented in association with Carriageworks and OzAsia Festival
Written by Sun Yue
Directed by Gavin Quinn
Designed by Aedin Cosgrove and Gao Yiguang
Produced by Zhaohui Wang
Performed by Sun Yue, Wang Jinglei and Zhu Yutong
Performed in Mandarin with English surtitles
Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane
24-28 September
Brisbane Festival 2013
www.brisbanefestival.com.au
7-28 September
