On Friday night, a packed house at Oxford Playhouse rapturously welcomed in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. The audience was flying, from the moment the curtain rose on a lone acrobat to the glorious conclusion with the full cast on stage carrying an 18-metre illuminated dragon on poles above their heads.

A cross between circus, music hall and pantomime, with a master of ceremonies introducing each act, this was family fun for all ages. The two ‘dynamic lions’- red and gold creations with long bodies and huge masks, concealing acrobats in the manner of a pantomime horse – pranced around the Stalls to the delight of all, before mounting the stage and rearing on their hind legs.

In a moment of seriousness, the Vice Chancellor of Brookes University, hosting the Confucius Institute which supports this festive annual occasion at the Playhouse, took the stage alongside the Director of Sobell House, to unveil a life-sized ox sculpture, decorated with a dragon; one of 30 models that will be displayed around Oxford over the summer before being auctioned in aid of the Hospice.

Presented by Jinlong Culture and Performing Arts, the series of ‘turns’ that followed, which alternated Kung Fu displays, dances, Guzheng music (a form of zither), Taiji, and ‘Owen and Pandas’ (in reality acrobats in costume) showed physical skills, strength and humour.

Men and boys gave a splendid show of leaps, flips and somersaults, and demonstrated martial arts using sticks, swords and spears. Their intense focus, control, swiftly changing dynamics and balance were impressive. The women and girls, elaborately costumed, danced with fans and parasols, and in one dance used their long sleeves to enhance and extend their movements. Their supple backs, extensions and manipulation of props reminded me of rhythmic gymnastics. Three of the dances claimed regional origins: the Dai folk water dance from Yunnan, a dance from the neighbouring, contested, Chinese province of Tibet, and a dance attributed to Mongolia (across the border from China).

Owen and the Pandas delighted the audience as he juggled standing on a large ball, then on a chair wobbling perilously on top of the ball. A high-spot was the enormous giant panda that balanced in a side-plank on one arm before bouncing on its head, and, very alarmingly, bouncing head-first off the stage to be helped through the pass door by a stage technician.

The performance concluded as the illuminated dragon, with glittering head and tail held high in the air paraded through the auditorium and back onto the stage, accompanied by wild applause.

Maggie Watson

17th February 2024

You can find out more about Jinlong Culture and Performing Arts here