Percussion group’s new telling of Mulan acclaimed

As a famous Chinese saying about the many interpretations of Shakespeare goes, "There are 1,000 Hamlets in 1,000 people’s eyes." There is also more than one face of Hua Mulan in the eyes of Ju Tzong-Ching, founder and artistic director of Ju Percussion Group from Taiwan.

Based on the tale of a Chinese female warrior from the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589) who disguises herself as a male soldier to take her father’s place in a battle against the Huns, Mulan’s story has inspired a number of screen and stage adaptations.

The percussion drama introduced a slightly toned-down Mulan to the audience Friday night at Shenzhen Poly Theater in Nanshan District. Instead of a fearless national hero, this version portrays an ordinary person who feels uneasy and insecure when she is enlisted, a girl who often thinks about the piggies and plum trees back home and a daughter who misses her parents. "We want to focus more on Mulan’s connection with her friends and family. I believe such genuine emotions in different stages of Mulan’s life will touch the hearts of the audience," said Lee Xiao-pin, director of the percussion theater.

The 90-minute performance was received by a cheering crowd.

By combining traditional percussion music and Peking Opera performances, with percussionists doubling as actors and instruments becoming props, the piece brought the audience an experience where they could feel the connection and tension between music and drama.

For example, Chinese bass drums are used to represent the tension in battle scenes, while bowls and pots are used to play brisk music in a scene where Mulan recalls her childhood.

Two percussionists perform a melancholic piece on a marimba — a type of xylophone — to mourn the cruelty of war. The marimba is later used as a prop to symbolize a coffin.

Ju Percussion Group performed in Shenzhen as early as 1993. The group, founded in 1986, is Taiwan’s first professional percussion ensemble.