Escaping From the Temple was derived from two famous Chinese Kunqu Operas: Longing For the Mundane and Going Down the Mountain. As far as the difficulty level is concerned, Longing For the Mundane is well known as the demanding one to perform for female artists. In his book My Country and My People, famous author Mr Lin Yutang once marvelled at the monologue script of the young nun in Longing For the Mundane that, "this is undoubtedly a top-notch literature in China."

 

 

Zhao Liang inventively presents the Kunqu Opera singing and dance performances simultaneously on the stage, featuring both the natural beauty of the former and the avant-garde dynamics of the latter. Such approach to incorporate "drama within drama" is very challenging. The role of the young nun is played out by two people, among whom Ms Dong Fei has been trained under the lineage of the great Peking Opera master Mr Mei Lanfang. She will play the role of Empty and sing Kunqu alive on the stage.

 

 

On a beautiful spring day, a young nun met a young monk and they fell in love with each other. Eventually, both of them left their temples and went down the mountain together. The ending is the climax of the story. However, is it an illusion of the young nun or a projection of the audiences for a "happy ending"? The amazing part of Escaping From the Temple lies in its open ending. The audiences may uncover one layer of the story after another...