A Stone’s Throw

A Stone’s Throw is the first-ever physical theatre piece combining Chinese and Australian performers under a Chinese director, with distinctive improvised and composed music featuring Chinese and Western elements. It has already been selected in the Melbourne Fringe Hub live stream spots and will do a show season from November 25th to 28th this year.

Inspired by an Australian story ‘The Birth of the Butterflies’, the piece creates a parable set in a land of idyllic beauty where the people live in a serene pastoral life. A sudden misfortune in the community forces the other members into a contemplation of their mortality. Different characters are going through recurring cycles of life and trying to explore its true meaning, which may be a mysterious yet beautiful journey. Although the theme is philosophical, the performance is light in touch and has flashes of humour as it moves through and reaches an uplifting conclusion.

Director Noah Zhao Wang is a director long active in physical theatre in China. He has performed with the prestigious Chinese theatre group SanTuoQi in noted festivals including Avignon and Edinburgh Festival. His most recent award-winning piece, Qiang Yu and the later large scale work Shen Yu, were presented at the Beijing International Youth Theatre Festival 2017 and 2018. He moved to Australia early in 2019, where he joined Cross Encounters and began developing the first-ever professional physical theatre with a Chinese background.

A striking music approach, using solo guitar, evokes the classic tones of Chinese instruments such as Sanxian, Erhu and Yueqin, in an exciting way that highlights the dramatic elements of the story. The composer&sound designer, John O’ Beirne, is a local musician who has played around the Melbourne music scene for several years as a soloist and ensemble member in rock, folk, pop and jazz outfits. John has also been involved in theatre composing since 2019.

The collaboration between artists from different cultural backgrounds is the cornerstone of this project. The story, performance style, music and creative line up of the whole play all reveal continuing progress in promoting cross-cultural communication between China and Australia. The dynamics of the cross-cultural elements, converging toward an unexpected encounter make for truly innovative and unique work. It will debut worldwide on November 25, 2020 through Melbourne Fringe live-streaming broadcast.

Company Biography: Cross Encounters is a new NFP performing arts company that is dedicated to creating innovative cross-cultural theatrical productions. The activities are implemented by a small group with the majority having Melbourne University and theatre background. Currently the group has a particular focus on art that addresses Asian-Australian contemporary physical theatre. A Stone’s Throw is the company’s first production.