Chess

On Saturday I went to another Fringe show, Chess at the Universal Arts Theatre. This Taiwanese production of a Chinese story was a fantastic performance with spectacular costumes, based on the same story as Farewell My Concubine. I particularly liked the "bad guy" whose face was concealed by a mask all the way through, and it was only at the end the audience discovered he had been played by a woman. The dancing was beautiful, and the time seemed to pass so quickly - I could hardly believe that an hour had passed when it came to the end. The beginning and end of the show reminded me very much of Mong Yeon which I saw last week, with figures in white robes moving slowly around the stage.

Some reviews I read said that the English explanations given by the maids during the performance were difficult to understand. I didn't find this the case. By listening carefully I was able to make out most of what they said. The only thing I felt was that they gave away a major part of the plot too early.

I think there should have been an announcement at the start that cameras were not allowed (there was one about mobile phones). There were so many people taking photos that it became distracting (OK, so I was one of them at first, but I quickly realised that it was not fair to the rest of the audience). Someone did come round during the performance and told a few people not to use their cameras, but some continued to do so. The great thing was that there was a chance to take photos of all the actors at the end, as they came down and chatted to the members of the audience, so perhaps it could have been made clear to the audience at the start that this would be the case.

Later I went to the Scottish Poetry Library, where they had an exhibition of poetry by a Scotsman, Gerry Loose, inspired by plants chosen by his Japanese friend Takaya Fujii. This was accompanied by calligraphy scrolls and ikebana arrangements in beautiful handmade pottery. Outside a poetry group were reciting their work while sitting on the steps.

Mong Yeon

Today I went to another show in Edinburgh: Mong Yeon (A Love in Dream). It was a beautiful, sad, moving performance, and was based on a 16th century letter from a woman to her dead husband. While walking on the Royal Mile beforehand I managed to take some photos of the performers from the show.

Beijing 2008

I drew this picture months ago but decided not to post it until the Olympics began. I'm very tired today as I got up to watch the team gymnastics at 3.30am! It was well worth it, though - I was on the edge of my seat wondering who was going to win.

A Day at the Fringe

Yesterday I went to Edinburgh to some events at the Fringe. First was a workshop called "Taste of Japan" led by Katie Chaplin who runs Japancrafts. She showed us how to fold an origami crane, and will send the finished cranes to Hiroshima so they can be laid at the peace memorial. She then demonstrated some of the intricacies of the tea ceremony, and finally showed how a kimono is put on. It was fascinating to see all the different layers and to see how the obi (belt) can be arranged into an elaborate shape.

I then went to a show called Osaka 1837 at C (Adam House) on Chambers Street. It was strange to be back in this building, as I'd worked there for a week during the Science Festival almost 15 years ago. Even though it was performed completely in Japanese, the story was easy to follow. The performance was a lot of fun and the audience were able to get involved by waving paper fans in time to the music.

Finally I went to the City Art Centre to the exhibition China: A Photographic Portrait. The 600 photographs by Chinese photographers, mostly in black & white, gave a fascinating view of everyday life in China through the eyes of the Chinese. There were also some videos by Chinese filmmakers. One of my favourite photos was of an old man standing in Tiananmen Square with his dead wife's photograph, fulfilling their dream of visiting there together.

Smoking!

Monday was the final day of the pottery course. Our pieces had all been fired and were white in colour. We created designs on some of them with masking tape, painted them with two types of slip, then peeled off the masking tape. Others we simply wrapped with copper wire and did not paint with slip. Then came the exciting bit! The pieces of pottery were placed in a large metal dustbin fitted with a gas burner, and heated to a high temperature. They were then lifted out and immediately placed into a metal container with sawdust, which created lots of smoke. The smoke coloured the areas of the clay that were not covered with slip.

Once they had cooled down we began to pick the slip off. In some areas the smoke had penetrated through cracks and bubbles in the slip, and left wonderful cracks and spots. Now all I have to do is remove the rest of the slip and add some wax to give a bit of a sheen.

Drum Drama

Yesterday I went to Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow which was hosting various activities to mark the opening day of the Beijing Olympics. Most of the activities were aimed at children, but there were some to interest adults too. I enjoyed the exhibition about the meanings of the designs of the olympic mascots, emblem, and torch. The highlight was the European premiere of Drum Drama, a performance featuring the award-winning China Jiangzhou Drum Arts Ensemble who were wearing stunning costumes. (I've uploaded some more photos here). They are also going to be performing in Edinburgh at the Fringe.

Later I went to the Lighthouse to see an exhibition called "Haptic" in which the the exhibits were items designed to appeal to the senses. The majority of these were by Japanese designers. They included juice cartons designed to look like fruit skins and a modern version of a shishiodoshi (deer scarer), made of glass and metal, from which a satisfying "ping" rang out every so often in the otherwise silent room.

Pottering about

For the past two days I've been at a pottery workshop. This is my first attempt at pottery and I'm having a lot of fun. We have been making vases from extruded tubes of clay and bowls coiled from strips of clay. The final day of the workshop is on Monday when we will apply our designs using masking tape to the biscuit fired pieces then they will be smoke fired.

End of day 1

End of day 2

Design ideas

Yo Chunhyang!

I came across these Korean performers on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. They were promoting their show Yo Chunhyang which I might go and see if I have time. I've already booked tickets for a couple of other shows and a photography exhibition. More photos here.