Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress Makes a Return

PUBLISHED August 11th, 2017 03:58 pm

Singapore Repertory Theatre and the Esplanade will be restaging one of Singapore’s most successful original musicals from 8 August to 27 August 2017. With three sold-out runs and over 100,000 tickets sold, Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress returns for fans and those who missed out on a chance to see it, promising to be the cultural event of the year.

What really happened in the Forbidden City over a century ago? Who was the real Dowager Empress? Was she the Dragon Lady of myth or a misunderstood victim of circumstance? This is the tale of a young concubine scheming for survival and love amidst the political intrigue of the Forbidden City, following her rise to become Empress and ends with her as an ageing Dowager fearing for her safety.

Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress is based on the actual events when American portrait painter, Kate Carl, was invited to Beijing in 1903 to paint the portrait of the Empress Dowager. The painting still exists as part of the Smithsonian collection in the US. The painting, together with a book by Steven Segrave called “Dragon Lady”, served as inspiration for the creators of Forbidden City. The musical was first staged in 2002 as part of the Esplanade’s opening. There were sold out shows when it was re-staged in 2003 and 2006.

Local star Kit Chan will reprise her role as the Empress Dowager Cixi, with Cheryl Tan as the young imperial concubine Yehenara, and Sheila Francisco as the elderly Empress. Other cast members include West End star Earl Carpenter (Les Misérables) and Broadway star Stephanie Leigh (Mary Poppins) as well as Singapore’s very own Broadway Beng – Sebastian Tan, who provides some “comic relief” as one of the Recorders.

The production features a moving soundtrack written by Cultural Medallion winner Dick Lee as well as the creative talents of Olivier award-winning lyricist Stephen Clark, London-based director Steven Dexter (who worked on other SRT productions – A Twist of Fate and The LKY Musical). The production will be brought to life with beautiful and vivid sets by set designer Francis O’ Conner.

The production will be brought to life with beautiful and vivid sets by set designer Francis O’ Conner. London-based Singapore designer Yang DeRong, who was responsible for the costumes and art direction of the National Day SG50 Parade 2015, had the challenge of creating sumptuous period costumes from the last Chinese Dynasty that spanned several decades.

For those unfamiliar with the history, here’s the gist: the Manchu Empress Cixi (born in 1835) was credited with bringing China to the modern age over her nearly half a century rule. At the age of sixteen, in a nationwide selection for royal consorts, Cixi was chosen as one of Emperor Xianfeng’s numerous concubines. She started her life in court as a low-level concubine but rose up the ranks after giving birth to the emperor’s only child. When the Emperor died in 1861, their five-year-old son succeeded to the throne. However, her son died while still a teenager and after his untimely death, she appointed a nephew as heir apparent, and once more ran the government. After he became the Emperor Guangxu, she retained an advisory role that quickly blossomed into full control.

When Cixi took over the reins, she encouraged the country to open up to the modern world. She fought against monumental obstacles to change China. Under her, the ancient country attained virtually all the attributes of a modern state: industries, railways, electricity, the telegraph and an army and navy with up-to-date weaponry.

She abolished gruesome punishments like “death by a thousand cuts” and put an end to foot binding. She inaugurated women’s liberation and embarked on the path to introduce parliamentary elections to China. At the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington DC, there are old photos of the empress in silk robes embroidered with butterflies, dragons and flowers, with gems and pearls and six-inch fingernails adorned with gold – a feminine image which does not show her power of rule.

Cixi reigned during extraordinary times and had to deal with a host of major national crises: the Taiping and Boxer rebellions, wars with France and Japan—and an invasion by eight allied powers including Britain, Germany, Russia and the United States. She died in 1908 and three years after her death, the Qing Dynasty collapsed.

 

So forget watching Netflix dramas at home and enjoy the live experience of this epic historical musical at the Esplanade. Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress is a portrait of a woman: from a concubine to a monarch, as the absolute ruler of a third of the world’s population, and as a unique stateswoman.

Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress is running from 8 to 27 August 2017 at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Tickets are priced from $48, available via SISTIC.

All photos courtesy of the Singapore Repertory Theatre.