Chinese children's plays staged in France and Scotland

Two Chinese plays, Flowers in the Mirror and Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), both entirely performed by children, were staged during the Avignon Festival, one of the biggest international contemporary live performance events, in the southern French city of Avignon and Paris, from July 7 to 25.

Flowers in the Mirror, a fantasy novel written by Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) novelist Li Ruzhen, was originally adapted and premiered in Beijing in January 2022.

Ben Cao Gang Mu, a play written by children, was inspired by the most complete and comprehensive medical book ever written in the history of traditional Chinese medicine by Li Shizhen — a Chinese medical scientist during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

French artists also participated in the two plays, adding new elements such as masks, puppets, and multimedia technology.

Both of the plays were coproduced by Qfun Theater, a troupe dedicated to children's theater education in China since 2013. From Aug 4 to 6, Ben Cao Gang Mu was also staged in Edinburgh, UK.

In 2019, Qfun Theater premiered its theatrical production, Zhong Kui, inspired by the Chinese folk hero who fights ghosts and hunts demons, during the Festival Off of Avignon, which kicked off a cooperation between the theater and French artists, bringing out the first collaborative production Flowers in the Mirror.