演出介紹 Synopsis

湯顯祖被譽為十六世紀中國晚明時期偉大的戲曲家，聞名海內。傳世之作包括《紫釵記》、《牡丹亭》、《南柯記》和《邯鄲記》，世稱《臨川四夢》。崑曲《臨川四夢湯顯祖》由晚年的湯顯祖在暮色籠罩的山徑上為自己尋覓一方墓田為開始，及至尋覓到一大樹下累得睡著了，湯顯祖進入自己的夢中，在夢中繼續尋覓墓田，年老的湯顯祖在夢中遇上了年青的湯顯祖，遇上了《臨川四夢》的情節……在「釵圓」、「尋夢」、「盡情」、「生悟」四個場景中，遇到了《臨川四夢》中的各個人物，並從與各個人物在夢境的對話中經歷了一次藝術創作歷程。

《紫釵記》
在尋覓墓田的山徑上，夢中的湯顯祖首先經歷《紫釵記》中霍小玉與李益的曲折的愛情遭遇及黃衫客藐視權貴，成人之美的俠義風範，折射出湯顯祖曾為營救狂生李至清的徒勞奔波和憤書《論輔臣科臣疏》的某種內在因果。

《牡丹亭》
在尋覓墓田的山徑上，叮咚的泉水，無聲的落葉，撥動著湯顯祖心中的情弦，《牡丹亭》中杜麗娘和柳夢梅的夢中奇遇及生生死死、至情至愛的場景出現了…，他似乎聽到了馮小青的悲吟；冷雨幽窗不可聽，挑燈夜讀《牡丹亭》…湯顯祖心中掠過一絲悲涼，同時也品嘗到一種欣慰。

《南柯記》
在尋覓墓田的山徑上，他歇息在槐樹下，螞蟻爬在他的腿上，他輕輕將它們拂去，他重溫了《南柯記》夢中淳于棼超度大槐安國萬眾螞蟻升天的場面，尤其是淳於棼和瑤芳公主人間天上，雖欲盡情盡意而意不盡的無奈，最終驚悟，原來人世之事和夢中蟻穴天地竟無差異，這究竟是淳於棼的佛學理念還是湯顯祖的人生感悟呢？在尋覓墓田的山徑上，湯顯祖仿佛悠蕩在邯鄲道上…

《邯鄲記》
《邯鄲記》中的盧生，一介寒儒，平步青雲，歷盡宦海沉浮，終於大富大貴，位極中樞，可謂一人之下，萬人之上。盧生在臨終前，貪欲更烈，一旦醒來，竟是黃粱一夢，現實和夢境的巨大落差，猛地使盧生大徹大悟。盧生入道了，湯顯祖還在頻頻回首，他還在留戀著什麼呢…

這不算太長的山道上，湯顯祖整整地走了一輩子，尋了一輩子，留下了他的一串串腳印…

這時他筆下的精靈、戲中的人物：杜麗娘、柳夢梅、盧生、淳於棼、黃衫客、契玄禪師都在告訴他：墓田不是永久的家，您是無需墓田，也無需墓碑的。

杜麗娘告訴他：您的墓田在《牡丹亭》的後花園中；
霍小玉告訴他：您的墓田在《紫衩記》的灞橋河柳邊；
淳於棼告訴他：您的墓田在《南柯記》的大槐樹下；
盧生告訴他：您的墓田在《邯鄲記》中的邯鄲道上；
世人告訴他：《臨川四夢》便是您永恆的墓碑了。

湯顯祖在山徑上茫然了…

《臨川四夢湯顯祖》追求的是崑曲藝術的精緻，沒有大佈景大舞臺，演員和樂隊不用揚聲器，純以最細膩的演出和簡潔的舞臺，還原傳統崑曲藝術的神髓。《臨川四夢湯顯祖》是一次崑曲藝術的入門示範，又是一次經典的藝術欣賞，編劇張弘巧妙地將生、旦、淨、末、丑五個崑曲主要行當融入在演出當中，並需要演員一人分飾多角，編劇張弘表示：「這個演出要求的是演員紮實的基本功，豐富的想像力，對角色的分析和塑造力，沒有這等創作能力的，是不能把不同的角色表現出來。」參與創作演出的國家一級崑曲表演藝術家包括三位「梅花獎」、「文華獎」雙獎得主：柯軍、石小梅、胡錦芳，與及趙堅、龔隱雷、李鴻良，及來自香港的演員陳浩峰，音樂設計及指揮由著名崑曲鼓師、國家一級演奏員戴培德負責，唱腔整理及司笛由王建農擔任。



Tang Xianzu is the greatest and the most gifted Chinese playwright. He lived in the 16th Century, in the late Ming Dynasty, and his hometown was Lin Chuan. Though his name is recorded in the Ming chronicles as a government official, he is best remembered for his plays collectively known as The Four Dreams at Lin Chuan. Generally, The Peony Pavilion is considered to be his masterpiece, and the other legends are The Story of the Purple Hairpin, The Dream of Nan Ke, and The Han Dan Dream.

This play is about Tang Xianzu in his old age. He is looking for a grave site for himself in twilight along a mountain trail shrouded by mist. As he is searching, he becomes tired and falls asleep under a tree. In his sleep he dreams of continuing his search and comes across himself in his former youth, and incidents take place with backdrops of his own stories as in The Four Dreams at Lin Chuan, and he meets characters from his stories in the four scenes of “Pin Reunion”, “Dream Revisited”, “End Passion” and “Life Awakening”.

The Story of the Purple Hairpin
Along his way of searching in the mountain path, Tang encounters the Yellow Robe Man, a character in The Story of the Purple Hairpin and the tale unfolds before him. It is the love story between Scholar Li and his wife Huo Xiaoyu. The course of their love had some very rough turns, including the anecdote about the Yellow Robe Man, who was a champion for justice, and a chivalrous man. The actions of the Yellow Robe Man are a reflection on the author himself, who once made a sacrifice in a noble act of courage, and submitted a petition to the emperor reprimanding the conduct of some court officials in order to save the life of an innocent man.

The Peony Pavilion
Along the path in his search for a grave site, Tang’s heart is stirred by the sound of water in the spring and the silence of the falling leaves. The wonderful dream of The Peony Pavilion appears before his eyes. He sees the amorous adventures, the death and the return from the netherworld of Lady Du Liniang and her lover Liu Mengmei. The playwright seems to be able to hear the melancholic reciting of the poetess Feng Xiaoqing on one of her poems in the collection of The Peony Pavilion. Tang Xianzu feels a slight sense of desolation in his heart, but he is also savouring a taste of comfort and gratification at the same time.

The Dream of Nan Ke
Along his trail for a grave site, Tang sits down under an acacia tree to take a rest. Some ants crawl up his feet and he brushes them off gently. He revisits Nan Ke Story and sees in a trance the scene where Chun Yufen, the Emperor’s son-in-law was trying to save the souls of the ants in the burial ground of his wife, the Princess, in Huai An Kingdom. He sees the vanity and futility of life in the unfulfilled love between Chun and the Princess. Life is but a dream after all. Is this the epiphany of Chun in his understanding of Buddhism, or is this the realisation of Tang Xianzu about life?
In his search for a grave site along the trail, Tang Xianzu seems to have wandered into the road to Han Dan...

The Han Dan Dream
In The Han Dan Dream the poor scholar Lu Sheng passed the imperial examinations and became a court official. He rose to prosperity and became premier. He enjoyed great power and great privileges, second only to the emperor. He turned over indulgent towards the end of his life and grew insatiable. One day, he woke up and found it was only a dream, and he was still a man of poverty. He realised the enormous disparity between his dream and reality, and had a kind of awakening.
Lu Sheng had obtained enlightenment while Tang Xianzu is still lingering in his path, looking back frequently as if there is something he finds hard to part with...


This is not too long a mountain path, but it seems it has taken Tang a lifetime to finish walking it, leaving behind him a trail of footprints...

By this time, all the characters and spirits in his plays, including Lady Du and her lover, Lu Sheng, Chun Yufen, Yellow Robe Man, and the Zen Master, come to him to tell him, “A grave is not a permanent home. You don’t need a grave, and you don’t need a tombstone. It is too small.”

Lady Du tells him, “Your grave site is in the back garden of The Peony Pavilion.”

The Scholar’s wife, Huo Xiaoyu tells him, “Your grave site is by the side of ‘The Bridge of No Return’ in the Story of the Purple Hairpin.

Chun Yufen, the emperor’s son-in-law, tells him, “Your grave site is under the acacia tree in The Dream of Nan Ke. ”

Lu Sheng tells him, “Your grave site is on the road to Han Dan in The Han Dan Dream.”

People tell him, “The Four Dreams at Lin Chuan is your permanent resting place.”

Tang Xianzu seems lost in the mountain path...


What Tang Xianzu’s Dream on Dreams sets out to do is be in pursuit of and in praise of the artistry of Kunqu (Kun Opera). We want to do away with big stages and big sets, and the actors and musicians perform without using microphones. We want to return to the essence of traditional Kunqu with pure and meticulous acting and a simple stage. Tang Xianzu’s Dream on Dreams is an illustrative beginner’s guide to the art of Kunqu, as well as an appreciation on a genre of classical art.

The Playwright Zhang Hong has dexterously merged the five main role types of Kunqu, sheng (male role), dan (female role), jing (painted face), mo (old male role) and chou (comic role) into the characters, and each of the actors has to play several roles. What this performance requires from the actors are a good command of the fundamentals of Kunqu acting, wild imagination, and a comprehensive understanding of the roles to generate a good interpretation. Without these creative qualities, it would be impossible to bring out the characters.



(Translated by Vicky Leong)