Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as Peking opera: why Taiwanese actor Wu Hsing-kuo hopes adaptation can help ‘renew the value’ of his beloved art form
- A Peking opera version of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar directed by and starring Wu Hsing-kuo will feature at the 2024 Hong Kong Arts Festival
- The opera performer from Taiwan talks about how he wants the production to help revive Chinese opera, and why theatre is a ‘dreamland of infinite imagination’
In 1599, William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar became one of the Bard’s first works to be performed at London’s Globe Theatre.
About two hundred years later, what would come to be known as Peking opera began to develop in Beijing with the support of the Emperor Qianlong of China’s Qing dynasty.
Both art forms are among the world’s most valued examples of cultural heritage; other than that, they don’t really have much in common. But in spring 2024, the award-winning Taiwanese actor Wu Hsing-kuo will bring the two together in Hong Kong.
Wu, who is the production’s artistic director, script editor and lead actor, says any art form needs to evolve to stay relevant, and he is hoping that this particular cross-fertilisation will introduce new audiences to the Chinese tradition.