Toy Factory presents a contemporary adaptation of the epic Ming Dynasty opera that examines the thin line between living and dreaming.

“When existence in dream is more perceptible than reality, do you wake up or stay asleep?” This is the tempting enticement Toy Factory Productions dangles before audiences with its ambitious modern adaptation of a 16th century epic Kun Opera play by revered Chinese Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xian Zu.

The company stages a theatrical examination of evocative masterpiece A Dream Under the Southern Bough, one that traces a discharged and disgraced naval officer Chun Yu Fen’s intoxicated dreamland escapades into a mighty Ant Kingdom, all while slumbering under an old sophora tree.

Bravely taking up the challenge of adapting the first five chapters of the full Kun Opera for the contemporary stage as a theatrical production, founder and award-winning director Goh Boon Teck has produced a beguiling, lyrical prelude to the enchanted passage of a pensive dream. Audiences are encouraged not to awaken, but to dream…

This is part one of Toy Factory’s ambitious trilogy, with plans for the next two parts, Reverie and Existence, slated for the next couple of years.

A Dream Under the Southern Bough – The Beginning will keep viewers adrift from the concept of time, and question reality altogether.