Jin Lian

Synopsis

A fresh take on a classic tale – and a classic art form

Pan Jin Lian is the notorious femme fatale of classic Chinese literature: once a cautionary archetype of lust and greed, now a sympathetic figure navigating the consequences of patriarchal coercion.

As a maid in a wealthy household, Pan Jin Lian rejected the advances of her employer and, in retaliation, was married off to a street vendor with dwarfism. Now in the prime of her life, her dreams of romantic marriage crushed, she meets the dashing and upstanding Wu Song, igniting hope that fate has granted her a second chance. In the month that follows, Pan Jin Lian is swept away by her longing for a different life, pulling her ever-nearer towards drastic action. On a snowy day, she sets the table to meet Wu Song and face her day of reckoning...

Taking inspiration from its complex protagonist, Jin Lian breaks with convention and complicates what’s expected of it – both in the medium of Cantonese opera and in the story’s message. In an intimate small space, with audience seated on three sides of the stage, the character of Pan Jin Lian breaks the fourth wall both physically and metaphysically: she wanders across the stage and into the audience, revealing her complex life circumstances through dreams, stream of consciousness, flashbacks, and interludes.

A break from tradition in both storytelling and format, Jin Lian is the spark to ignite deep philosophical questions about morality and human nature – and, hopefully, a deeper exploration of Cantonese opera and its contemporary possibilities.

Artistic Consultant: Zhang Manjun, Wang Shaojun
Playwright: Chen Yunsheng
Director: Hu Jiawei
Cantonese opera adaptation: Chen Jinrong

About the Artist

Duan Drama Studio

Founded in 2020 by renowned Cantonese opera performer Jiang Wenduan, Duan Drama Studio is dedicated to the continued development of the Cantonese opera art form and its dissemination. Its black box production of Jin Lian premiered in the year of its founding, attracting both veteran fans and a new generation of young people unfamiliar with the art form. Duan Drama Studio is both reverential to the traditions of Cantonese opera and grounded in contemporary life. Its productions blend modern artistic concepts and aesthetic pursuits into the ancient expressive formats of Cantonese opera. Through its efforts, the studio hopes to see classical Cantonese opera enter a modern context, integrating itself into both popular aesthetics and the modern market.

Jiang Wenduan (Lead Actor)

Renowned Cantonese opera artist Jiang Wenduan is a National First-Class Performer and recipient of the 25th China Theatre Plum Blossom Award, one of China’s highest honours in theatre. She is also recognised as a provincial-level inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage. She has been awarded the title of Outstanding Expert by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2016) and numerous accolades including the Gold Award at the Guangdong Provincial Theatre Performance Competition, and First Prize in Performance at the Guangdong Arts Festival. 

Celebrated for her elegant stage presence, nuanced acting, emotional expression, and lyrical vocals, Jiang performs a wide range of Cantonese opera roles, including guimen dan (young, refined female), qingyi (virtuous female), and daoma dan (female warrior) roles. She has starred in numerous acclaimed productions, including The Legend of the White Snake, The Reincarnation of the Red Plum, The Purple Hairpin, The Love Story of Fan Li and Xi Shi, The Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat, The Fragrant Dream of the Tang Palance, A Match by Dongting Lake, The Storm in the Mountain Village, Dongpo and Chaoyun, and Guanyin’s Compassion for Weituo, among others. Through these roles, she has cultivated a reputation as one of today’s most beloved Cantonese opera performers. 

A versatile artist, Jiang has also appeared in a number of Hong Kong television dramas, including Ambition, Supercop, Plain Love, Legend of the Condor Heroes, and Detective Investigation Files. She has recorded and released Cantonese opera films, music videos, and karaoke productions and has toured across the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macao, and the Chinese Mainland..

Li Weicong (Lead Actor)

Li Weicong is a National First-Class Performer and a leading young wenwu xiaosheng (civil and military male role) performer at the Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Theatre. He trained under the renowned Cantonese opera performer Chen Xiaohan. Li currently serves as Deputy Head of the Guangzhou Red Bean Cantonese Opera Troupe and Vice Chairman of the Guangzhou Dramatists Association.

Since graduating from the Zhanjiang Arts School in 1997, Li has become one of the most prominent Cantonese opera performers of his generation. His major works include Double Embroidered Fate, Three Times Angering Zhou Yu, Qingshui Riverbank, Li Bai, The Spirit of Loyalty, Generals of the Yang Family, The Legend of Lo Mun Zung, Princess Changping, Three Changes of Command, The Peony Pavilion, The Purple Hairpin, and The Heroic Thief and the Top Scholar, among others.