Between Barcelona and Hong Kong, two companies working with diverse stage languages speak to us about Humanity from the nature of war, taking as reference Sunzi’s classic.
The seeds of Our Death Will Not Hurt Anybody were planted in 2015 during a meeting between Tang Shu-wing, artistic director of the Tang Shu-wing Theater Studio in Hong Kong, and Enrique Vargas, playwright and anthropologist at the Teatro de los Sentidos in Barcelona . The meeting, a workshop organized by the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong, gave birth to a wish to collaborate in a staging based on research on Humanity, based on the intersection between taxation and the senses; a work that also had to explore the unknown connections between images and narratives that were neither linear nor coherent, and that showed the importance of triggering the imagination of the spectators. As Schopenhauer said: let the spectators complete the last part of the aesthetic journey themselves. Our Death Will not Hurt Anybody is loosely based on Sunzi's Art of War, an ancient treaty of military tactics that was written around the fifth century BC, when many of the realms of what is now China were in ongoing conflict. Both Tang and Vargas were attracted to a text that suggested connections with the absurdities and contradictions of the contemporary world in which we live. Because fighting is a constant in our existence; from the battles that we have to establish navigating between the relations we maintain with those around us, to the wars between nations and our own internal struggles. Loosely inspired in the ten main tactics that appear in this Chinese classic, Our Death Will Not Hurt Anybody delves into the thinking behind these strategies and reflects on their relevance in having to face our daily life.
Our Death Will Not Hurt Anybody is a joint commission of the Grec 2018 Festival of Barcelona and the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong in which they both Tang Shu Wing Theater Studio and el Teatro de los sentidos collaborate.
In cooperation with Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) and Fabra i Coats Fàbrica de Creació.
Interaction time with spectators is included as part of the show.
Spectators are kindly requested to arrive at the CCCB 15 minutes in advance in order to organize the entrance to the venue.
Dramaturgy & Direction: Tang Shu-Wing Advice & training: Enrique Vargas Associate Direction: Arianna Marano Direction assistant: Jacky Chan Stage Design: Gabriella Salvaterra Lighting design: Pancho García Costume design: Patrizia Menichelli Sound & music design: Stephane Laidet Technical direction: Karl Sørensen Actors: Jane Chan, Stephane Laidet, Arianna Marano, Ivy Pang, Eva Pérez, Giovanna Pezzullo, Wong Chun Him, Masu Wong, Rocky Wong Production: Carlos Calvo, Bobo Lee Production assistant: Lisa Mercury
