Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre | TIAN HACKS THE COFFIN (RE-RUN)

Description

Dream • Illusion • Coffin Break (Revival)
*Revival within three years of the premiere adaptation

26 and 27 August 2026
Evening show: 7:45pm
The performance lasts approximately 100 minutes, with no intermission

The story of 'Zhuang Zhou Tests His Wife' has been widely performed in various Chinese opera genres across the country. Dream? Illusion? Coffin Break is most similar in concept to Beijing opera. It centers around Ms. Tian, and is triggered by Zhuang Zhou, King孙of Chu, a widow, and a pair of old and young butterflies, through the scenes of 'Fan Destruction', 'Funeral', 'Matchmaking', 'Surprise Transformation', and 'Coffin Break'. The performers showcase the 'singing, acting, chanting, and fighting' of Chinese opera in the roles of 'Sheng, Dan, and Chou', on a minimalistic stage. Summarizing the three different endings of the three performances in 2024, this revival allows the audience to experience the 'sadness' and 'joy' of Ms. Tian's fate.

Synopsis
'I wish to face adversity together, but the butterfly nightmare has become a disaster. How unexpected that the test of the illusory Zhuang Zhou's wife should turn into a metamorphosis, and that the weak wife would want to break the coffin to save her husband, setting off a thousand-foot tidal wave.' Zhuang Zhou attained the Tao and, upon encountering a newly widowed woman grave-sweeping, decided to test his wife Ms. Tian by pretending to be dead and encoffined. He transformed into King孙of Chu, and, accompanied by the old butterfly disguised as a servant and the young butterfly as a book boy, went to pay his respects. Ms. Tian developed an affection for King孙and, through the servant's matchmaking, decided to remarry. Unexpectedly, King孙was suddenly afflicted with a headache and said that the brain marrow of a dead person could cure it, so they pried open Zhuang Zhou's coffin to extract his brain. Suddenly, Zhuang Zhou jumped up and blamed his wife. At this point, will Ms. Tian live or die? Will it be a tragedy or a happy ending...

Decorated by:
Jennifer Cheng as Ms. Tian
Hong Hai as Zhuang Zhou
Hebe Chan as Widow, Ms. Tian's stunt double
Huang Kerou as King孙of Chu, Zhuang Zhou's stunt double
Will Wai as Old Butterfly, Servant
Deng Haipeng as Little Butterfly, Book Boy
Jian Ying, Kwong Cheng-kun as Sacrificial Paper Figures