Southbank Centre’s new festival, China Changing profiles Chinese and Southeast Asian artists based in China and the UK. 

PAGODA YOUTH ORCHESTRA

Friday 16 December, 1-2pm, Central Bar at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Free

The oldest and largest Chinese youth orchestra in Europe, Pagoda Youth Orchestra perform their innovative music, fusing folk songs, reggae music and hip-hop.

HONG KONG DANCE COMPANY MASTERCLASS

Friday 16 December, 3.00- 4.45pm, The Clore Ballroom at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Age 16+, £8

Hong Kong Dance Company’s leading dancers Pan Lingjuan and Li Han present a masterclass on the company’s contemporary approach to Chinese dance, drawing on elements of martial arts, tai-chi techniques and traditional folk dances. The masterclass is suitable for experienced dancers aged 16 and over who are studying, recent graduates or emerging artists who are keen to learn new styles to influence their practice. Booking is essential and participants must fill in the form here to secure a place.

HONG KONG DANCE COMPANY PERFORMANCE

Friday 16 December, 5.00-5.20pm, The Clore Ballroom at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Free

Hong Kong Dance Company’s Principal Dancer Pan Lingjuan and Senior Dancer Li Han perform from the company’s recent repertoire, The Legend of Mulan and L’Amour Immortel.

NEW COLA PROJECT

Friday 16 December, 5.30- 6.00pm & 9-9.30pm, Central Bar at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Free

London-based songwriter, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Andy Leung with his New Cola Project, performing seamlessly integrated electronic beats, bass riffs and erhu solos in a cross-cultural sonic experience.

I, HAMLET

Friday 16 December, 6.00-7.45pm, The Clore Ballroom at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Free

Commemorating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare and Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, UNESCO Artist for Peace and one of China’s most renowned opera stars, Zhang Jun, presents his virtuosic one-man show I, Hamlet, a radical reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic rewritten with Chinese themes and performed in kunqu opera format. Followed by a Q&A session.

Commissioned by Shanghai China Performing Arts Festival

MOONGATE PRODUCTIONS: RE-IMAGINING A WEST END HIT

A WORK IN PROGRESS

Friday 16 December, 6.30-7.30pm, Level 5 Function Room at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall,£5

UK based creative hub Moongate Productions reimagine the traditional Chinese story and West End hit Lady Precious Stream, through live performance, film screenings and discussions. Including screenings of Lady Precious Stream, the talk of London at its premiere and The Orphan of Zhao Redux, this event looks into the British-Chinese take on a classic Chinese and its relevance for British audiences today.

CHINA FICTION BOOK CLUB

Friday 16 December, 7-8pm, Level 3 Function Room at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Free but ticketed

Participants are invited to learn how to translate a contemporary Chinese short story with award-winning literary translator Nicky Harman and a team of leading translators.

CHINA CHANGING OPENING KEYNOTE

Friday 16 December, 7.45-8.45pm, Weston Roof Pavilion at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, £5

A leading Chinese thinker gives a whistle stop tour of modern China, discussing everything from the arts and social change, to innovation and technology.

CHINESE ARTS SPACE PRESENTS PROJECT NEW EARTH

Friday 16 December, 7.45-9.00pm, The Clore Ballroom at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Free

Project New Earth celebrates the spirit and legacy of the 140,000 Chinese Labour Corps who helped the Allies win World War I through four parts consisting of two digital films and two live performances. A young Chinese woman discovers her ancestral contribution to Allied success in music-dance-spoken word film Heroes Within and the stories and bodies of the CLC are brought into life in dance-music film Lunar Corps. Contemporary dancers explore distant journeys, monotony and nostalgia in homage to the CLC in the performance Missing Parts and Singer-actors supported by the UK Chinese Choir and Southbank Centre’s Voicelab who weave together Chinese folk and English World War I songs in Song Unsung, a moving dramatic performance focused on two men separated from their family, lovers and friends due to the war.

FOUND IN TRANSLATION: PHENOMENAL FICTION

Friday 16 December, 8.30-9.30pm, Level 5 Function Room at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, £5

A discussion on some of the leading contemporary writers from China looking at the best-selling books and online literature that’s changing the way people engage with fiction in China. Authors include adult realist fiction writer Yan Ge; Xiaolu Guo, a Chinese-British author and expert in contemporary Chinese fiction; and Chinese literary figurehead and translator Helen Wang.

QUE SERA, 些拉: LOUISE REAY

Friday 16 December, 9-10pm, Weston Pavilion at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, £5

Award-winning comedian Louise Reay makes comedy in Chinese – for people who don’t speak any Chinese at all. With only 7% verbal communication, Que Sera, 些拉 is a universal and touching story transcending through language barriers to be understood by all.

SEVER

Friday 16 December, 9.30-10.30pm, The Clore Ballroom at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Free

Made with support from Shanghai International Arts Festival R.A.W.
An Chinese tale told through film and set to a live musical performance by six-piece multi-instrumentalist group Xiban, with elements of Peking Opera. The performance is followed by a 30-minute set from Shanghai based band Xiban.

Commissioned by Shanghai China Performing Arts Festival and RAW Programme