Out of a deep black stage, the faces of six female singers appear, each lit from above with a single spotlight. Snatches of song rise from them, passing from one to another and building in power and depth, becoming a wall of sound. They are joined by six male singers, and the sounds of percussionists from the wings. Behind them, puppeteers manoeuvre a gnarled, humanoid figure into shape.
This is the UK premiere of the often astonishing, sometimes frustrating Book of Mountains and Seas, a work of vocal theatre inspired by early Chinese myths dating back almost two and half thousand years. It tells four stories – two creation myths and two about the ultimate futility of human striving and revenge.
The myths share themes with ancient Greek tales, most notably the Titan Atlas and the ambition of Icarus. They are all rooted in the earth and the environment, and humankind’s place in the natural world, challenging us to ask whether we show sufficient respect for what should be the awe-inspiring natural order.
Something of the unknowable strangeness of such ancient origin tales certainly comes through in this performance. It is sung in a mixture of Mandarin and a fictional language, lending it an otherworldly feel. The percussion ranges from delicate to oppressive. The puppetry conjures primeval, abstracted lifeforms that seem to have been hewn from stone and wood.
It is in this puppetry that some of the most astonishing visual scenes are rooted. A bird swoops and flutters over an endless sea. Ten suns loom over the audience, glowing ominously against the soft backdrop, almost sentient. A giant bursts from an egg, his body becoming the sun, the moon, the rivers, mountains and, finally, humans. There are hints of the animation studio Laika in some of the movement.
A set of driftwood-like pieces form the core of the puppetry. Sometimes they are used separately, representing the tiny twigs and stones dropped into the sea in a show of futile revenge by a tiny bird. At others they join to form an undulating sea serpent, or a giant striding over the Earth in pursuit of the sun.
The production’s constantly solemn tone and at times glacial pacing sometimes makes for slow going. Scenes frequently extend without any seeming visual or vocal progression. The spareness of the staging and vocal landscape means there is no room to hide and perfection is essential to create the right effect. Unfortunately this is not always achieved. While the visual effects were frequently impressive from the stalls, they would not always have worked so well seen from the balconies above.
However, at its best, Book of Mountains and Seas is a hypnotic experience, both visually and aurally immersive. When the staging, the vocals and the percussion come together in unison, the effect is truly otherworldly, or perhaps a heightened version of this world, making us look again at the natural environment we so often take for granted, and experience it anew.
Performed at The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh International Festival
Friday 15 and Saturday 16 August, 20:00
Running time: 1 hours 20 minutes, no interval
Music Director and Conductor: Miles Lallemant
Composer and Librettist: Huang Ruo
Director and Production Designer: Basil Twist
Lighting Designer: Ayumu ‘Poe’ Saegusa
Creative Producer: Beth Morrison
Sung by Ars Nova Copenhagen
Percussionists: Michael Murphy and John Ostrowski
Puppeteers: Emily Batsford, Lute Breuer, Ben Elling, Rosa Elling, Rachel Schapira, Ashley Winkfield