CITY GUIDE >Culture and Events
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CITY GUIDE >Culture and Events
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Roaring good yarn
By Zhao Xu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-11 10:38 "The Chinese emporium near my hotel in Hong Kong has a magic counter. Every time I'm in town, I go up there, buy some stuff and have a wonderful chat with the young magician overseeing the counter," he says. But no encounter has proved more profound and life-changing than the one he had with a group of hearing-impaired young men many years ago. Aided by an interpreter, he told them a story about a boy who didn't flee in the face of a giant grizzly bear. Instead, the boy hit the animal on his nose and drove him away. "But wasn't our little hero afraid when the bear roared?" asked Jenkins. "The answer is NO, because he was deaf. "I wanted the youngsters to really laugh at their so-called disadvantage," he says. These days, no interpreter is needed because Jenkins has acquired a sign-language vocabulary large enough for direct communication. Some of his deaf fans later became members of his Hi! Theatre, where they learned that they could not only "listen" but "tell" stories, too. The theatre has closed for some time since members have embarked on their fully-fledged career as professional storytellers/actors. "With each hearing-impaired member, we started as a duo - I narrated the story while he did the mime," says Jenkins. "Then very slowly, his gestures would become so expressive that my role was no longer essential. So I drifted further and further away, literally and metaphorically, until that person was able to perform in his own right." Seeing his deaf students in action, Jenkins was inspired to incorporate sign language into his own storytelling, even to hearing audiences. By doing so, he has not only added a "visual" side to his performance, but also led many into the silent, but equally fascinating, world of the hearing-impaired. Over the past decade, Jenkins has told stories to little children, whose passionate enthusiasm left a lasting impression on him, as well as adults, who, despite initial skepticism, would invariably see themselves loosen up. His favorite story involves a tailor, who made himself a coat. Later, when the coat was over-worn, he found just enough material to make himself a waistcoat. That waistcoat then turned into a hat, a tie, and a button ... "It's a story for the financial crisis - everybody should learn to economize and recycle. But that's not all about it," he says, pausing for effect. "When the button became worn, the tailor looked here, there, and everywhere, before he found just enough material to make a story. "And because it's a story, it is never worn out."
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