Hong Kong’s renowned avant-garde theater company, Zuni Icosahedron, and Singapore’s pioneer arts institution, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), are set to co-present the triplebill production “One Table Two Chairs” to kick start a three-year strategic collaboration and endorse NAFA’s new programme, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Contemporary Chinese Theatres (BACCT). The degree is conferred by the University of the Arts Singapore (UAS), where NAFA is a founding member. Zuni Icosahedron’s signature experimental production will premiere in Singapore on 20 Oct 2023 (Friday), at NAFA’s Studio Theatre.

Sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Singapore, this production marks the first-ever collective effort by three directors from different generations of the company and will run for four performances under the One Table Two Chairs exchange platform: Co-Artistic Directors Danny Yung and Mathias Woo, as well as Singapore’s very own Liu Xiaoyi, currently an artist-inresidence of Zuni. Together, they will showcase three interdisciplinary experimental short works.

Endorsing NAFA’s new BACCT programme, Zuni has committed to collaborate with the academy in delivering parts of the curriculum. This includes an immersion trip for students of the programme to visit Zuni in Hong Kong to learn about the acclaimed theater company’s unique methods of creating contemporary performances. Both seminal institutions will also establish collaborative relationships across all of NAFA’s faculties, to research and develop new ways of engaging technology in art-making.

Created by Danny Yung, the “One Table Two Chairs cross-cultural exchange platform” was inspired by the fundamental stage setting in traditional Chinese theaters. The table and chairs 3 symbolise the relationships between spaces, individuals, social classes, and various scenarios. Since its inception in 1997 as part of “Journey to the East” Series conceptualised and curated by Danny Yung, One Table Two Chairs has evolved into a framework for cross-cultural dialogues, creative collaborations, and dialectical thinking for exchange and development. Over the past two and a half decades, this conceptualised contemporary version of the project has evolved numerous creations, development, and movements worldwide, including Liu Xiaoyi’s Emergency Stairs and its Southernmost Festival in Singapore.

For the showcase in Singapore, Yung will present a piece paying tribute to the legendary late Kuo Pao Kun, titled “Legend According to Lao Jiu”. Mathias Woo’s “Tao of Water” is inspired by Kungfu star Bruce Lee’s motto of water and the “Tao Te Ching” to explore and experiment Asian philosophy with cutting-edge theatre technology. Meanwhile, Liu Xiaoyi will bring “School of Thought” to the stage, offering insights and questions about art education and art institutions at the moment in line with the recent launch of the UAS.

The three directors exhibit distinctive artistic styles and approaches in theater making, at the same time, sharing a common commitment in fostering regional cultural exchanges that stays attuned to the evolution of theater forms and technology. Danny Yung was the one who conceptualised and coined the “One Table Two Chairs” as a cross-cultural exchange platform for contemporary artistic expressions, promoting extensive experiments and exchanges across different media, genres, cultures, generations, and regions”.

For the first piece, Legend According to Lao Jiu, Danny Yung created this to mark the anniversary of pioneer of Singapore theatre Kuo Pao Kun’s passing. Kuo Pao Kun was known for his classic, Lao Jiu, which follows a child in Singapore and his journey in search of identity. Performed by Choy Yu Tin Martin (Hong Kong) and Chuk Yin Man (Hong Kong), Danny Yung then presents three stories which form a dialogue with the story of Lao Jiu as a tribute to Kuo, bringing together seemingly disparate elements of Mak Young, Cantonese Naamyam, and the idea of casinos being legalised in Singapore.

The second piece, Tao of Water, is directed by Mathias Woo, who stands as a paragon in the realm of theatrical technology exploration. Performed by Liu Chun Kin (Beijing/Hong Kong) and David Yeung (Hong Kong), Tao of Water adapts the AI-generated voice and images of Kung Fu star Bruce Lee’s motto about water in a 20-minute theatre experience. As Mathias explains, “Western thinking is about the comparison of absoluteness, but the Tao Te Ching is about the comparison of relativeness. The performance fuses existing stage technical setup and new art-tech development of gaming software and hardware for experimentation to present “relativeness”. It incorporates various sounds and forms of water. Many logics in the Tao Te Ching can be the ways that guide our thoughts and behaviour. Beauty coexists with ugliness; expensiveness co-exists with non-expensiveness.”

Finally, the third piece, School of Thought, is directed by Liu Xiaoyi. Performed by Didik Nini Thowok (Yogyakarta) and Makoto Matsushima (Tokyo), School of Thought represents Liu Xiaoyi’s reflections upon the realm of artistic education. Over the span of the past two decades, Liu, through the exploration of artistic education, has ceaselessly pondered the interplay between creativity and education. This work stands as an exercise stemming from these contemplations. Collaborating with Didik and Matsushima, the three of them jointly delve into the annals of the history of body training and the evolution of the stage. Through this lens, they embark on a discourse that extrapolates upon the prospective trajectory and evolution of Asian art education. The corporeal embodiments of contemporary dance and Javanese dance draw nigh on the stage, akin to phantasms, then recede; they brush against each other, yet hesitantly recoil from full contact. Their actions appear to reflect upon their own training history, while also casting their gaze toward the future of Asian cultural exchanges

With NAFA launching its innovative degree programme, Zuni’s visit to Singapore serves not only to endorse the BACCT, but also to lay the foundation for future partnerships with the academy. NAFA and Zuni will formalise their collaborative relationship through a Memorandum of Understanding, paving the way for deep-seated cooperation in areas such as engaging technology for art-making, to prepare students for an ever-evolving arts landscape, equipping them for future technological progressions.

Setting the precedence through the collaboration, Zuni aspires to bring together artists from diverse backgrounds such as the veteran contemporary dance artist Makoto Matsushima from Tokyo, and the cross-genre star performing artist Didik Nini Thowok from Yogyakarta for a series of workshops, talks, and seminars. Both NAFA and Zuni are committed to explore the development of cultural exchange and arts education in Asia.

One Table Two Chairs plays at the Studio Theatre, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, 151 Bencoolen St, Singapore 189656 from 20th to 21st October 2023. Tickets available here