Joel Tan’s shape-shifting play, stirring up centuries of ghosts.
‘All of human history? It’s basically people taking things from each other’
A 1000-year-old statue of the Boddhisattva Guan Yin lives in The British Museum.
When it emerges that the statue was stolen from its original home, the museum attempts to deflect both the public response and controversial repatriation claims from the Chinese government.
As statesmen scheme and grease their palms, beneath the statue witches dance, a cleaner prays, and spirits weep. Guan Yin’s gaze falls over the broken shards of human life from empires old and new.
Joel Tan’s kaleidoscopic play unfolds the statue’s journey from China to Britain and back again. Directed by experimental theatre-makers emma + pj (Ghosts of the Near Future, Barbican), Scenes from a Repatriation question who can claim cultural artefacts – and why.
Cast
Kaja Chan, Aidan Cheng, Jon Chew, Fiona Hampton, Robin Khor Yong Kuan and Sky Yang.
Post-show Talk Tues 6 May
A conversation with writer Joel Tan. This event is free with a ticket to that evening’s performance.
Listings
Friday 25 April – Saturday 24 May
Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS
Monday – Friday: 3pm and 7.45pm
Saturdays: 2pm and 6.45pm