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APUNGENT aroma engulfed the audience arriving to see the performance of Balance of Yin Yang, the Journey of Enlightenment.

  Chinese clay medicine pots placed around the circumference of a circular stage bubbled audibly in contrast to the calmness of the nine mime artists that they surrounded.

  This contrast was to be the first of many in this piece presented by the Fringe Mime and Movement Laboratory. Writer and director Owen Lee was about to embark on a journey through the human condition that would show its possibilities within a range of environments.

  Anyone expecting a harmonious sequence of acts was in for a provocative awakening.

  The opening scene was tranquil enough, allowing olfactory acclimatisation, as graceful movements incorporated tai chi traditions across the red and black Yin Yang symbol that was the stage floor.

  But it was not long before we were presented with more disturbed physical and emotional states. While some characters were in distress, others were in sublime contentment.

  The intimacy of the Nestle Dairy Farm Theatre lent itself well to Lee's subject. And the chill from the air-conditioning counterbalanced the soporific effects of the herbal infusions. The well-planned soundtrack enhanced the depictions of serenity, epileptic anguish and much between. But abstracted colour images projected across the stage failed to add more than a minor distraction.

  The world presented in the piece showed little interaction between people. Instead individuals co-existed, while immersed in their own predicaments.

  The convincing human portrayals were entirely mimed, but the silence was broken for a brief Cantonese explanation of the Yin Yang concept. An English translation appeared inside the programme and non-Cantonese speakers had been advised to read it prior to the performance.

  The production ended with the harmony with which it had begun, and within 50 minutes the members of the audience had themselves experienced some of the conditions so realistically depicted on stage.

Balance of Yin Yang, the Journey of Enlightenment, Nestle Dairy Farm Theatre, April 6-8 



Yin Yang aromas