Lin Da Qin
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre auditorium, Oct 2022
Playwright: Huang Jianfeng
Director: Guan Yang
Set Designer: Aaron Yap
Lighting Designer: Aaron Yap
Projection Designer: Aaron Yap
Produced by Nam Hwa Opera
Lin Da Qin pieces together stories and legends of famous Teochew figure Lin Daqin, retelling the life story of this child prodigy turned top-scholar.
As a very “Teochew” the art of Teochew papercut is as the overarching visual style for set design. And Lin Daqin, being the first and only top scholar in the region of Chaozhou-Shantou, the inversed silhouette of a top-scholar archway was also used as an overlaying visual symbol. This inversed silhouette is lined with text lifted off a thesis written by Lin during his final imperial examination. These text are totally unlit throughout most parts of the play, and are only lit during the scene of the final imperial examination scene, highlighting how that examination brought him up to the highest point in his political career (by becoming the top scholar).