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We’ve been at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe！
We’ve been at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe！
We have proudly brought our meticulously crafted Kunqu Opera production The Covetousness to the world’s largest arts festival — the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — for a five-day run.
Adapted from a rarely performed scene in Tang Xianzu’s Ming Dynasty masterpiece The Nanke Dream, this production has brought back a nearly lost gem of Chinese theatre. With only fragmentary scripts and oral accounts surviving, our team has spent months researching ancient scores and historical materials, reconstructing the piece with scholarly care and artistic integrity.
It has been a dream on the edge of waking, where loyalty has clashed with destiny. Performed by a huadan (female warrior) and hualian (painted-face male role), the piece has broken conventional casting, blending intense physicality with emotional depth — a rare portrayal in the world of Kunqu Opera.
This has not just been a revival, but a reawakening of a forgotten cultural dream.
📣 Performed with English & Chinese surtitles.
Director | Cheng Rong
Performer | Wanjin Li as Xiaofan, Songyuan He as The Fourth Prince
Composition | Yuxiao Chen
Producer | Ruizhe Wang; Sound Manager | Corey Lyu; Production Assistant | Qingyang Hu; Stage Manager | Tong Yi; Development | Yuxuan Wang, Linquan Ma; Custume | Yi Youming; Movement Support | Danlei Xu; Scenic Coordinator | Min Kuang; Tranlator | Dr Jiadong Zhang; Artistic Coordinator | Yudi Cao
Support | PEKIN OPERA NORDIC RESEARCH AND CREATION ASSOCIATION, UK Chinese Opera Association (UKCOA)
We‘ve also offered an immersive Chinese Opera Workshop, where you’ll step into the world of The Covetousness — paint your own opera face, learn a short movement sequence, try on traditional costumes and props, and experience the elegance and vitality of Kunqu firsthand.
Jingkun Chinese Arts is a UK-based organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional Chinese Opera and performing arts, both in the UK and internationally.
Jingkun Chinese Arts is a UK-based organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional Chinese Opera and performing arts, both in the UK and internationally.
👉 For business collaborations and ticketing inquiries, please Contact us.
The Pillow Dream: A World-First Revival in Progress
The Pillow Dream: A World-First Revival in Progress
The experimental Chinese opera The Pillow Dream, restored, reconstructed, and adapted by Jingkun Chinese Theatre, is currently in creation. It has been based on Tang Xianzu’s celebrated play The Handan Dream, reconstructed from a nearly lost script and ancient musical scores — a world-first revival. Its prototype version premiered at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and we are continuing the full-scale creation and reconstruction. The completed production is expected to premiere at the end of 2025, followed by a global tour. Stay tuned.
The Covetousness is on tour
The Covetousness is on tour
Our latest original production is now touring across the UK, bringing the elegance of Chinese opera to audiences near and far.
Welcoming Peking Opera & Kunqu Artists and Musicians
Welcoming Peking Opera & Kunqu Artists and Musicians
Jingkun Chinese Arts warmly invites professional performers of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera, as well as musicians experienced in traditional Chinese theatre music, to join us.
Whether you specialise in any role type (Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou), or play instruments such as jinghu, percussion, yueqin, or others, we welcome your passion and artistry.
📩 Please visit our Join Us page to learn more.
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