A highly visual, physically explosive, celebration of the power of our imagination.

 

 

Where to find those ancient fantastic fairies and beasts？Why does that girl in the cafe have fox tails？Are those gossip colleagues haunted by snake with nine heads？Somewhere deep inside us live the stories of our people.

 

 

Stories begin with us, we pass them from generation to generation and they eventually form an essential part of who we are. But what happens when we stop telling stories?

 

 

The Classic of Mountains and Seas provides inspiration for this original production, set in modern day Shanghai. The world has lost its way, the balance is off. The seas are raising. The Earth is cracking. Beneath the busy Shanghai shopping malls the old gods are waking up.

 

 

Rich is an international award-winning theatre maker, writer, deviser and movement director. He has been directing professionally since 2000. Rich is currently making 'Shan Hai Jing' a large scale touring production being developed in Shanghai.​

 

As well as creating over 200 original works for small and mid-scale touring, Rich has worked with several top devising companies including Hoipolloi, New International Encounter and Gecko. Rich has been involved in the creation of over 35 five-star Edinburgh Fringe Festival productions.

 

 

In 2008 Rich began making and touring work with Gecko Theatre. As an Associate Director for Gecko, Rich has worked on 'The Overcoat', 'Missing', 'Institute', 'The Time of Your Life' and 'The Wedding’. He toured internationally for over 10 years, throughout Europe and to countries including China, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia and Mexico.

 

In 2016, Rich directed 'The Dreamer' in Shanghai. The show is a co-production between Gecko and The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. The Dreamer is an original physical theatre production for midscale touring, developed with support from The British Council. The Dreamer visited the UK in 2017 and will tour China, New Zealand and internationally in 2019.

 

Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre (SDAC) is Shanghai’s one and only national theatre company. Located in China’s financial capital, the company houses a large group of top skilled and highly experienced theatre talents, including: playwrights, directors, actors, technical designers, etc. SDAC also owns three versatile theaters of various sizes totaling 1000 seating capacity.

 

Every year, SDAC presents more than 800 theatre performances including company in-house productions and external Chinese or international touring productions, reaching more than 300,000 audiences around the world. Upholding core values of artistic development with a global outlook, SDAC aims to serve as the leading model for China’s performing arts industry, create works that center on people, and continue its development into a world-renowned first-rate modern theatre company befitting Shanghai’s status as an international cultural metropolis.  

Associate Director: Fang Ge
Producer: Tang Shi
Designer: Sang Qi
Composer: Dave Price[UK]