One of China's most versatile directors, Li Liuyi injects a modern spirit into Peking Opera, attempting to create a new perspective in all aspects of the performance: script, music, directing and stage.

He chooses three heroines that are frequently played on stage and are recognized as “inheritance” and deliberately weakens the element of the plot and strengthens the psychological perspective of the characters.

In his first part of the Trilogy “Mu Guiying”, Li Liuyi was attracted to explore the inner world of this heroine, which has been always depicted as brave and resourceful, led the army to fight when she was pregnant and she even gave birth to her son on the battlefield.

“ Almost all the men of her family had died, leaving a group of women alone. They would certainly have missed those who were gone, and must have longed for love and peace. Mu Guiying is no exception ” said Li Liuyi, author and director of the play.

The play concentrates on the preparation of Mu Guiying going to war. The traditional Peking Opera setting of “one table, two chairs” is here transformed into “one tub, two chairs”, where the tub symbolizes the private life of Mu Guiying and taking a bath is for her a way to prepare for the battle and pray for blessing and protection.

In this play Mu Guiying meets the spirits of three different men of the Yang family: her husband Yang Zongbao, her father-in-law Yang Liulang and grandfather-in-law Yang Jiye, all of whom had died in battle.

Yang Zongbao encourages Mu to fight and defeat the enemy. Yang Liulang regards death on the field of battle as a glorious end. Yang Jiye, the eldest character, hates war and hopes Mu would lead the Yang's family to a peaceful farmers' life in the countryside.

In the second part of the Trilogy “Hua Mulan”, Li Liuyi sees Mulan, which has lived all her live disguised as a man, in a different light. In Li's play, Mulan wants to regain the consciousness of herself as a woman. That desire creates a struggle between her wish to acquire her true identity and her obligation to fight as a man. The same setting is used as in “Mu Guijing”, one bath and two chairs. To take a bath is for Mulan a way to find herself, to wash off her warrior's disguise after the battle. Hua's father rejects Hua's idea of finding herself through a bath, for Hua is already a man, a soldier, who will be seen as cheating the emperor by revealing her real gender. Meanwhile, Zhang Guan and Li Dai, two ghosts who fought under Hua's direction, feel humiliated to learn that Hua is a woman.

The last part of the Trilogy “Liang Hongyu”, is in process at the moment. It will be ready by March 2008.

The original music, scored by well-known Chinese composer Guo Wenjing is one of the highlights of both plays.

Employing basically the same traditional instruments as for Peking Opera, Guo developes a new style, which is highly subtle and dramatic.

Nine musicians in “Mu Guiying”and four musicians in “Hua Mulan” develop new timbres on the traditional instruments, such a jinghu (two-stringed bowed instrument), yuequin (four strings plucking instrument), dizi (bamboo flute), gongs and percussion .

“ For a composer, different timbres are just like different colours for a painter” said Guo Wenjing.

The female role in both plays is masterly interpreted by Yingzi a traditional Peking Opera artist, who won 4 times the first place in the Hebei Drama Festival.

Group:
- “Mu Guiying”– 4 actors – 9 musicians – 11 staff (technical, make-up, costumes etc)
- “Hua Mulan”– 4 actors – 4 musicians – 10 staff
- “Liang Hongyu”- 4 actors – 6 musicians – 10 staff
For all three plays – 30 persons

Period:
- 25 May /15 June 2008