Long lost jazz, acrobatic troupes and cabaret: Shanghai MiMi ready for its debut in Parramatta
Theatre will never be the same after Shanghai MiMi debuts for Sydney Festival today. The troupe will bring Chinese lanterns, acrobatics and a cabaret flavour to the stage when curtains rise.
A “cocktail” of art forms, cultures and music will come together in a new cabaret show opening at Riverside Theatres today.
Shanghai MiMi combines cabaret, acrobatics and jazz in a performance inspired by 1930s Shanghai.
The Riverside Theatre will be transformed with Chinese lanterns, glittering fringed curtains and cabaret style seating for the show, which features performances by artists from around the world including the Qinghai Acrobatic Troupe from China.
Shanghai MiMi director Moira Finucane found herself flying over the vast Gobi desert to see the troupe and as soon she met them, she knew they were the right fit for the show.
“They’re an incredible bunch of people,” she said.
Backing the acrobats, jugglers and aerialists will be a live jazz band performing a combination of swing, contemporary Chinese pop and Shanghai jazz, some of which was unearthed during the demolition of a warehouse in India in 2003.
“A warehouse was being demolished in Mumbai and there were original recordings of Chinese jazz, 1930s Shanghai jazz particularly, and they were long lost and they are just stunning,” Finucane said.
“And the creative producer got wind of this and dug them up and applied for the rights for them and got them.”
Finucane, one half of theatre company Finucane & Smith, has travelled around the world performing and directing shows and said she “fell in love with Chinese opera” years ago.
So when creative producer Douglas Hunter asked her to direct Shanghai MiMi, she “jumped at the chance”.
Finucane said the “really exciting” part for her as director was bringing together different art forms and cultures, some of which were thousands of years old.
“It’s both a privilege and nerve wracking to put together a show with so many different people from so many different countries,” she said.
She said it was “like a cocktail” that had come together through a mix of art forms and cultures.
“It’s my job to keep mixing it, keep mixing it, shake it up and pour it out for audiences,” she said.
The show comes to Parramatta as part of the 2019 Sydney Festival and Finucane said she was “really excited about situating the work in western Sydney”.
“And I say to western Sydney, ‘Parramatta put your glad rags on, it’s one of the most fun nights you’ll ever have’,” she said.
Shanghai MiMi opens on January 10 with performances on select dates until January 20.
“It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be absolutely beautiful,” Finucane said.
Other events in Parramatta for Sydney Festival:
■ Circus Comes To Town — Prince Alfred Square, January 11-13
Prince Alfred Square transforms into three days of circus fun. Watch five Mallakhamba artists perform stunts on large vertical poles, or see an aerialist suspended from a giant, glowing helium sphere 20m above the crowd in Heliosphere. There will also be ticketed flying trapeze and circus skills workshops over the weekend.
■ Brett & Wendy A Love Story Bound By Art — Riverside Theatres, January 18-27
This production shows the joys, passions and struggles of artistic partnership Brett and Wendy Whiteley.
■ Since Ali Died — Riverside Theatres, January 22-25
Written and performed by spoken word poet Omar Musa, Since Ali Died is inspired by the passing of his personal hero Muhammad Ali.
■ Sydney Symphony Under The Stars — Parramatta Park, January 19
Pack a hamper and enjoy music under the stars in a free concert by Sydney Symphony Orchestra at The Crescent. The orchestra will perform a selection of iconic film music and classical favourites.
■ MAAS and the Moon — Riverside Theatres, January 9-27
A free display curated by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences includes scientific instruments and models and astrophotography from the museum’s collection of astronomical history, design and decorative arts.
■ Rock Bang — Riverside Theatres, January 10-13
The rock ‘n’ roll circus combines acrobatics, headbanging live music and comedy in a circus extravaganza from Circus Oz and art-rock-comedy duo Otto & Astrid from Die Roten Punkte.
■ Splash Test Dummies — Riverside Theatres, January 11-13
This aquatic adventure brings together synchronised swimming on unicycles, human balancing acts and water skiing in a family friendly show of slapstick stunts and comedy.
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