The Pillow Dream

The Pillow Dream is a contemporary theatre work loosely based on Tang Xianzu’s Handan Dream. While it follows the core storyline of a scholar whose life unfolds within a single dream, the production approaches the tale through a modern theatrical lens. Traditional Kunqu elements—such as lyrical vocal lines, stylised gesture and fragments of operatic rhythm—appear as artistic textures rather than as a full operatic form.

The piece blends spoken performance, physical theatre and minimal staging to explore the shifting boundary between ambition and illusion. Instead of recreating classical opera, the production reimagines how its emotional and philosophical impulses can resonate on a contemporary stage. Dream in the Pillow becomes an inquiry into desire, awakening and the fragile architectures of the dreams we build around ourselves.

The production is currently in preparation for a 2026 touring programme.