"...the more I discover, the more I am convinced that we were related, that I had to be a descendant of the Eunuch Admiral."
A powerful work about castration and politics, Descendants of the Eunuch Admiralrecounts the legacy of the man responsible for China’s most extensive maritime expeditions in the 15th century, the legendary eunuch, Admiral Zheng He. Using the metaphor of castration, parallels are drawn between the power struggles of court eunuchs and the displacement of modern beings who make sacrifices in their lives in order to survive in the highly competitive and industrious society.
Descendants was written by Singapore theatre doyen Kuo Pao Kun and is widely regarded as one of his finest works. In this bold and radical interpretation, director Jeff Chen challenges the audience to reconsider text and performance through a melange of visual and aural stimulation.