REVIEW: MOUNTAINS AND SEAS - SONG OF TODAY at Omnibus Theatre 2 – 6 December 2025
‘The ancient, contemporary and futuristic blending harmoniously together on western soil.’ ★★★★
Mountains and Seas – Song of Today 山海 · 今日之歌 is presented by artists director-designer-performer Xie Rong, writer-musician-performer Daniel York Loh and composer Beibei Wang and commissioned by and co-produced with Kakilang. It far exceeds being merely a piece of theatre blending poetry, movement, live music, and visual art in the form of live painting, digital projection and AI animation. It is a theatrical experience, a thought-provoking, highly intellectual and magical dive into imagined worlds, tapping into the ancient vision that emerges from the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ (山海經,
Shanhaijing), an ancient Chinese classic text from the 4th century BCE. The text is largely a geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a fantastical compilation of myths, beasts, heroes, folklore and landscapes.
The imagined world was ethereal, strange and otherworldly, an elaborate design collaboration between Xie Rong, Yiran Duan (Yi Craft Studio) creating costumes and jewellery and Danni Zheng & Ao Lei contributing to the lighting, visuals and set design. Yunnan’s blue dye was predominant and so was the blue colour of the laser beams serving to create a serene dream-like atmosphere. On one end of the traverse stage, Chinese drums, cymbals and gong await under a giant imposing bamboo weaved face mask.
‘There is no civilization. Only mountains and seas’. The voice of the Innocent, the Dreamer echoed throughout timelines, the universe and parallel worlds, seeking, questioning and yearning for the meaning of life and the essence of humanity in a world stained by corruption and the greed for power, control and moral wrongdoings. The state of the 21st century planet is under threat. The global climate crisis, the spread of fascism and existential dread - anxiety about the insignificance of one’s existence - is on the rise.
She - yes, the Innocent is a female - stood tall in her resolve to face and overcome life’s challenges and mysteries. Jennifer Lim commands a strong stage presence as the narrator and performer in splendid traditional Yunnan costume, jewellery and headpiece. Embodying simplicity, naivety and optimism, she journeyed across parallel worlds, encountering several mythical creatures along the way, hoping they can help her come to an understanding of human existence.
The search begins with conversations with a mythical creature, played by Xie Rong (aka Echo Morgan) adorned in a stunning costume, bearing antelope horns. The artist-performer Rong later reappears as Mother Nature, with a powerful rendition of nature at the mercy of human aggression and exploitation. Other mythical creatures are played by two dancers Tash Tung and Fan Jiayi, whose solo and duo performances fusing dance, acrobatics, contortions and narratives was an emotive visual spectacle.
The Beijing Opera vocal, of singer-performer He Song Yuan wearing a dazzling attire, also playing on the percussion and guqin, was simply majestic. Performances from live musicians Daniel York Loh (guitar and harmonica) and Chen Yu Xiao (xun/xiao, Chinese flutes) were transcendental and mystical, with politically charged spoken word lyrics of York Loh rising from the depth.
This ambitious, audacious, genre-defying cross-disciplinary production by an ensemble of talented artists, portrays the richness and ancient wisdom of Chinese culture, with the ancient, contemporary and futuristic blending harmoniously together on western soil. I must admit that I could not be more proud of my Chinese heritage, after seeing this new work. Mountains and Seas – Song of Today 山海 · 今日之歌 is at Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre from Tuesday 2 to Saturday 6 December.
Review by Melanie Lam
Created by Xie Rong, Daniel York Loh and BeibeiWang
Venue: Omnibus Theatre
https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/
Photographer: Jamie Baker. Lighting Design: Danni Zheng and Ao Lei. Art Direction: Xie
