REVIEW: Sound Strokes at Camden People’s Theatre 5 – 6 September 2026
‘...the perfect balance between creative experimentation and cultural preservation’ ★★★★
Over the course of 60 minutes, Sound Strokes successfully delivers on its promise to showcase the smooth and continuous evolution of a unique musical fusion between Chinese and Scottish music.
Hong-Kong based composer and performer Wan Xing expands the boundaries of the traditional Chinese musical instrument Guzheng by integrating world, folk and modern influences. With numerous awards to her name, her performance is a stunning harmony of graceful movement and beautiful music.
A Glasgow-based duo, harpist Eleanor Dunsdon and percussionist Gregor Black, redefine the limits of traditional music through an innovative mix of jazz, folk and classical influences creating a distinctive sound built around the harp, bodhrán, percussion, vocals, and electronics.
The award-winning performers reimagine traditional music, elegantly merging modern innovation with a deep respect for heritage. Out of a shared vision to breathe new life into the ancestral sounds of these instruments, emerges a cultural dialogue between the East and the West and the perfect balance between creative experimentation and cultural preservation is struck. Each instrument is given its own voice, featured at times in solo performances, and at others in intimate duos and trios.
From the ethereal and breezy opening piece to the passionate women’s working songs that combine Scottish folk music with the song of Chinese women uprooting a flower, the trio’s performance shifts into a revolutionary upbeat tempo. Wan Xing then performs a solo piece which she composed earlier this year and ‘Traces of Qi’ is inspired by the forces of energy
that flow throughout the four elements of nature.
Another shift occurs from a gentle performance into a fervent fiery one when the trio interpret the ‘Fire’ element. A soundscape evoking a vision of majestic fire horses galloping through vast open fields appears before disappearing into the horizon as the music faded away. ‘The Ways of Water’ performance is also a piece in multiple movements exploring the therapeutic properties of water as a means to cure insanity.
Special sound effects accompany the uplifting and wild musical performance: sound waves crashing on shores, water washing on pebbles, birds singing after a chaotic creative rush. We return to the simplicity of nature. The final performance is a conversational piece between the Chinese Guzheng and the Scottish harp, the mutual curiosity of two cultures exploring one another with wonder, until they find a connection.
Through a blend of spoken narrative and evocative music, the interpretation of the four classical elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, the audience are completely immersed into a vivid world of color, movement, and sound.
The performance is visually enriched by Qiu Yangzi’s artwork ‘Soil Remembers’, a 10 metres-long fabric canvas that drapes the backdrop and is created from Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Hong Kong sourced soil. The use of traditional photographic techniques in the artwork blurs geographic and cultural borders, seeking to create a visual landscape turning brushstrokes into melodies and sound waves into visible form.
Returning from a successful run at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe, Sound Strokes performed only two London performances but their music will continue to bring joy following the launch of their album ‘Waves of Tradition’.
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Music Director/ Zheng Wan Xing (She/ Her)
Bodhrán/ Drum Gregory Black (He/Him)
Lever Harp Eleanor Dunsdon (She/ Her)
Visual Artist Qiu Yangzi (She/ Her)
Producer Sky Sum (She/ Her)
Production Manager Cynthia Cheung (She/ Her)
Project Coordinator Natalie Chan (She/ Her)
Sound Engineer Ewen Green (He/ Him)
Photo Credit: Cheung Chi Wai
Sub-Edited by Harry Speirs
