Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed Tuesday 13th September 2011
http://www.ozasiafestival.com.au/Rhinoceros-in-Love-by-National-Theatre-of-China.aspx?showid=79
Venue: Her Majesty's Theatre, 58 Grote Street, Adelaide
Season: Ended
Duration: 2hrs
The National Theatre of China brought what has become a cult classic, to the OzAsia Festival, and it was indeed the big finish for this year. It is now in its fourth version and has played to 1.2 million people since 1999. The primarily Chinese speaking audience had clearly been looking forward to this one and they were not disappointed, as the laughter throughout and the enthusiastic final applause attested.
Written by Liao Yimei, as her first play, and directed by her husband, Meng Jinghui, this was an instant hit and, even for a person who does not speak Mandarin and relies on the English translation, it is an absorbing piece of theatre.
Ma Lu is a rhinoceros keeper at the zoo and he is in love with his neighbour, Ming Ming. She, however, is in love with somebody else, a man who treats her badly. Ma Lu confides in Tula, the black rhino that he cares for. His friends make fun of him, and they also give a hard time to another of their group who sells toothbrushes, or tries to.
In desperation to help Ma Lu get over his love for Ming Ming, they have a couple of girls compete in a mock television game show. One of his friends falls for the loser and they end up marrying. The winner, however, does not win over Ma Lu. He is far too obsessed with Ming Ming. In the end he kidnaps her in desperation.
There is a lot of dark humour running through this play, along with many poignant moments, until, near the end, the dramatic content fully emerges as rain pours down on Ma Lu, with Ming Ming gagged and tied to a chair behind him.
Three slow strikes on a gong, followed by the ensemble playing drums, then a brief accordion solo, serves as an overture leading into this play, opening with a monologue from Ma Lu that gets the laughs started quickly. Initially there is a lot of comedy, both in the text and physical, but there is an ebb and flow and an underlying darkness that hints at what is to come.
Zhang Nianhua is marvellous as Ma Lu, madly in love, but unloved. Like his charge, Tula, he is something of an outcast, rebel and loner. Zhang Nianhua's wonderfully rich characterisation brings out all of the complexities and dichotomies in Ma Lu's personality.
Qi Xi is equally magnificent as Ming Ming, the object of his desire. Her portrayal of this lost soul is filled with sadness, barely hidden beneath a veneer of happiness and contentment. Like Ma Lu, she loves somebody who does not love her, but who happily uses her, and ultimately leaves her. Qi Xi displays all of this in a superb peformance.
Although the entire cast is superb, Kou Zhigou deserves a special mention for his hilarious portrayal of the hapless toothbrush salesman. Zhao Hongwei, Huang Xiangli, Zhang Ziqi, Feng Qilong, Liu Chang and Wang Xiaoshen all contribute energetic and enthusiastic performances in this largely ensemble based work. The pace was fast and the attention was held solidly throughout so that the time seemed to fly past. This was a most enjoyable and enlightening evening.
Adelaide deserves to be proud of its OzAsia Festival and we should be thankful for the opportunities we are given to see such productions as this, not to mention all of the other wonderful performances, films, events and visual art that have been available to us for the past few weeks. This production was a major coup for the Festival, in keeping with some of the very special performances we have become used to over the years. Congratulations are due to all involved in presenting this Festival.
Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor, Glam Adelaide.
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