REVIEW: Dunhuang - A Daring Attampt that Failed

©️Dunhuang Production

Performed at theSpace @ Symposium Hall in Edinburgh Fringe, Dunhuang tells the story of a modern cave scholar who encounters the mysterious ancient figure Liansheng, sparking an exploration into the history of mural paintings.

The stage design consists of several stone-like boards with protruding arms and hands, painted with decorative colours. However, the Dunhuang murals are in fact flat paintings on mud, with a highly restricted palette of red, green, blue, yellow, white, and black. On stage, the props instead relied on purples and pinks, which felt far removed from the authentic visual language of the original artworks.

The two performers’ acting also came across as stiff. It felt as if two English-speaking Asian faces were hastily cast for the stage. While their English was fluent, the dialogue was awkward without acting skills. The narrative structure is loose - more reminiscent of a “level-up” video game premise than a cohesive story. Though the cast wore beautiful traditional Chinese costumes, their transformation into modern figures was handled clumsily, simply by putting on jackets over the robes. The illusion broke easily, especially in one jarring transition when, after a blackout, an actor tossed steel-wool “arms” tied with lotus flowers into the wings, removed the jacket, and abruptly reverted to the ancient world with a disco-like light.

The music further weakened the production. Most of the sound seemed to be default Logic presets, lacking mixing or any sense of professional production. The result felt cheap and careless. This was clearly an ambitious work, but one that fell short of its goals. Across stagecraft, direction, and storytelling, the inexperience of the creative team was evident.

Yet the theme itself holds immense potential. Dunhuang, as a world cultural treasure, is a profoundly valuable subject for theatre, especially as a vehicle for cross-cultural dialogue. But to truly capture the beauty of the murals and the weight of the history, the work requires deeper research and a more carefully developed adaptation. How to authentically and thoughtfully translate such a culturally rich story into drama is a challenge worth serious reflection.

★

For more information, please visit: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/dunhuang

Credits

Producers: Yuelin Li, Yan Shi, Lingquan Kong
Set Designer: Xinrui Liu
Outreach Officer: Shen Lin
Set Designer: Renxiang Zhuo
Poster Designer: Zhitian Huang
Publicity Officers: Chris Cai, Lingquan Kong
Assistant Musical Director: Lingquan Kong
Costume Designer: Judy
Assistant Directors: Jiayue Shi, Zengrui Liu
Composers: Jingyu Chen, Simin Wu, Boyan Wang
Director: Chris Cai
Musical Director: Ness Lam
Treasurer: Jiale Qiao
Lighting Designer: Bradley Loughnane
Lighting Operator: Vicky Yu
Sound Operator: Xueyun Tian
Librettist: Chris Cai
Script Editor: Lingquan Kong
Treasurer: Jiayue Shi
Photographer / Videographer: Shen Lin

Cast
A-Lai: Lingquan Kong
Liansheng (Fringe): Minfei Qiu
Liansheng (Pembroke): Yutong Ding
Ensemble (Pembroke): Yihan Wang, Chenxi Zhang, Yunming Qian, Jingyi Zhao, Ness Lam