Xiqu

The story of this Peking Opera with a mythical theme comes from Journey to the West. The staging has an ostensibly ‘Shanghai’ style, with its attention to details, lively acting, gripping martial arts, unconventional scenography and impactful special effects. The new elements added to the traditional Peking Opera stage craft have made this production flamboyant, audacious and highly entertaining. It has more than 600 show runs since it was first premiered in the 1980s, and is now an iconic piece in the stock repertory of Peking Opera of Shanghai Style.

In the Spiders’ Grotto, the weird-looking spider demons are ominously waiting for the arrival of Monk Tripitaka on his way to the West. Tripitaka is actually the mortal incarnation of an Arhat under the Buddha of the West. The spiders are wielding their spindle legs as they imagine the delicious ‘meat’ that will soon land in their stomach. Now there is a kingdom populated only by women nearby. Their ruler is infatuated with this man from the Eastern Land, and offers to marry him but gets rebuffed. The Spider Demon takes the opportunity to seize her soul and enters her body, with the purpose of seducing Tripitaka with her voluptuous beauty. It manages to kidnap him to the grotto. Tripitaka’s disciple, Sun Wukong the Monkey King, is brave and smart. He transforms into a woman form to sneak into the grotto, where he fights the demons and finally wins.