That is, the notion of rivalry and envy is not inherently connected to rational ideas about good and evil. These ethical value judgments are quite secondary to the matter of human conflict and its role in the affairs of both love and power. As Giovetti (2012) points out, "Feng Yi Ting (running until June 7 and stopping in New York at the Lincoln Center Festival, also under Redden's directorship, in July) is characterised by an emotional neutrality that leaves the audiences to decide for themselves how they feel." (Giovetti, p. 1) In many ways, this is a distinctly eastern way of approaching conflict, providing its details as a history rather than an allegory. And once again, as with the kung fu movies that made so great an impression on me as a child, the play would using certain visual strategies to supplement these themes. They demonstrate the same spare simplicity often conveyed in kung fu set design. Sets are frequently seen as surrogate to the movements, interactions and needs of the human payers. In Feng Yi Ting, this is accomplished using a bevy of experimental techniques that were at once appropriate and visually arresting. For instance, the article by Pool (2012) discusses the manner in which set pieces are used to visually approximate the far-reaching impact of the love triangle on the whole of the empire. According to Pool, "the femme fatale (as she purposefully wanted to be viewed) pitted the two men against one another, causing much murder and mayhem between them and their governing territories that were symbolized by two rotating sculptural pieces on either side of the stage as well as massive projections of the warriors at war." (Pool, p. 1)

In a sense, this would help to mirror the frequently massive ensemble casts that are used as a backdrop to the intrigue persisting between the central characters of a kung fu film. For Feng Yi Ting, directed by Atom Egoyan,...

And in that grand tradition of great kung fu filmdom, the use of sub-titles was an exceptionally thought-provoking strategy also used for improving accessibility. The artful coordination of subtitles with the composition of the music itself -- with harmony and chaos being reflected in the organization or disarray of the projected text -- would underscore the director's ambition to find innovative ways of manipulating familiar forms. As the director would report in an interview on the subject, "in this case there's a clash. I'm using a kind of ancient projection system in terms of shadow play, in contrast to our very advanced computer generated approaches to the subtitling and other aspects. So it's all to do with this notion of the two traditions confronting each other and creating a new space." (Johnson, p. 1)
In no small degree, this is the very ambition that underlies the widespread appeal of kung fu cinema, not just in its basic form but also in the influence which it has stamped on western film production and theatre. In kung fu as in Feng Yi Ting, themes that reflect the universality of the human condition are explored using both evolving modes of storytelling and evolving media by which to tell these stories.

Works Cited:

Giovetti, O. (2012). Spoleto Festival continues to provoke with Glass and Guo Wenjing. Gramophone.

Johnson, a. (2012). Atom Egoyan talks about directing Spoleto Festival's 'Feng Yi Ting'. Post and Courier.

Moore, R. (2012). Feng Yi Ting Spoleto After Party. Charleston Mag.com.

Poole, O. (2012). Spoleto Review: Feng Yi Ting Chinese Opera. Art Mag.

Spoleto Festival USA. (2012). Feng Yi Ting. Spoletousa.org.