SINGAPORE – Get ready for theatrical treats when the Esplanade’s Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts returns for its 24th edition from Feb 27 to March 8, 2026. Early-bird tickets go on sale from Dec 3 at 10am. 

The festival opens with a palace drama that promises intrigue and visual spectacle. Deling And Cixi is penned by celebrated playwright He Jiping of New Dragon Gate Inn (1992) fame. The star-studded cast is led by Chinese star Jiang Shan as the Empress Dowager and includes former Zero-G boy band member Renco Xiao as Emperor Puyi.

The story revolves around the relationship between Cixi and her lady-in-waiting, Princess Deling (played by Lang Ling), who can be seen in archival footage online speaking perfect English. The Westernised Deling also spoke French and studied with the famed dancer Isadora Duncan. 

The Esplanade’s senior producer Delvin Lee says: “It’s a very heartfelt storyline, yet it’s on a grand scale, about the whole country, state of affairs in the late Qing dynasty. They are the most powerful figures in China, yet they don’t have freedom to love freely, to do what they want.” 

Another crowd-pleaser is the Singapore Chinese Orchestra’s Wukong’s 72 Transformations, inspired by the beloved Monkey King character. This will be a multimedia production complete with puppetry from home-grown troupe Paper Monkey Theatre. 

At the other end of the spectrum is French playwright Florian Zeller’s award-winning play La Pere (The Father), last staged by Pangdemonium in English. Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s Mandarin version stars veteran Taiwan actor King Shih-chieh, who was last in Singapore for 2024’s Tuesdays With Morrie. 

Mr Lee advises theatre fans to grab tickets to the front rows for “a masterclass in acting” by King, who plays the titular character slowly deteriorating from Alzheimer’s disease. He adds, with Singapore’s ageing population in mind: “It’s a very timely and relevant piece.”

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