《郑和的后代》(Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral)

I don’t know if I’m “dull” or the production too contemporary (abstract), but I spent the most part of the show wondering why it was called “Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral”. To me, it was more of an interpretation of how Zheng He actually felt being a eunuch (or other eunuchs at that) with a description of the various methods of castration. I’ve not read the text before, but if it was meant to relate to other social issues, or tell some other story, I didn’t see it. There were some parts that didn’t seem they were portrayed appropriately, somehow casting a negative light on Zheng He, and at some points like a 闹剧, e.g. the part on the years of the 7 times Zheng He 下西洋. It failed to engage. The set was pretty impressive though, simple as it looked, and the opening “sea roar” was anticipatory.

Ah well, I went in not knowing what to expect, and came out feeling it was not what I expected (…I know, what I just said doesn’t make sense).

Ok, I shan’t spend too much time on this.