Available Shows

I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron

Set to the poetry of Xu Lizhi (1990 – 2014), I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron harnesses the human voice, piano, theatre and video imagery to create a tragic but powerful cry of protest in solidarity with immiserated workers everywhere.

A requiem for our digital age, the Chinese poet Xu Lizhi (1990 – 2014) writes about life making electronic parts on an assembly line in Shenzhen, China. Powerful, haunting and gut wrenching, Xu’s words give voice to millions of workers around the globe whose existence is often forgotten. 

Created and performed by Njo Kong Kie – former music director of the renowned dance company La La La Human Steps (Canada) – I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron traverses theatre, music, song and poetry in paying tribute to Xu Lizhi and countless others whose unseen struggles provide the amenities of our everyday digital lives. 

一首数码时代的挽歌。中国诗人许立志写下在中国深圳电子零件组装工厂中的打工生活,许氏的文字为全球数百万 被遗忘的劳工的心声。由La La La Human Steps前音乐总 监、《时先生和他的情人》及《墓所事事》作曲家杨光奇谱曲及演出的多媒体音乐作品,特别以此作向许立志及其他无数为提供我们便利的科技生活而付出不为人知代价的人们致敬。

In this haunting performance, the Canadian composer and performer Njo Kong Kie transforms the poetry of Xu Lizhi into song and delivers a lament for our digital age. Xu toiled in a factory in Shenzhen, China, where he, along with hundreds of thousands of the unseen and ignored, manufactured the electronic devices that we use every day. Xu’s profound poetry is an indictment of labour exploitation, and a glimpse into his interior life: his hopes, dreams, and struggle under the unbearable weight of existence.

Njo’s score for solo voice and piano is integrated into a rich tapestry of video imagery. The result is a contemplative landscape—and a powerful insistence of Xu’s humanity. This is a work about human dignity and economic injustice, each set against the other in a conflict as familiar as it is tragic. In the synthesis of the two artists, we have a vital human document, an act of political witness, and, not least, a performance of great beauty.

If you ever wondered who, how and where your digital devices are made, don’t miss this critically acclaimed work touring to Southeast Asia – one night only in Singapore!

加拿大音乐艺术家杨光奇以人声、钢琴和影像重现中国当代打工诗人许立志遗作，作出一个悲壮有力的抗议，与全球受苦劳工同声相应。

在这个发人深省的作品中，编曲暨表演者杨光奇将许立志的诗作转化成歌曲，诉尽对数位时代的感叹。 许立志生前在中国深圳一家工厂打工，跟成千上万被忽视的无名工人一样，辛勤地组装着我们日常使用的科技用品。 许立志的诗作细腻的描述了备受剥削的移工们的生活，亦透露了他的内心世界：他的期望、梦想，以及对生活里那令人无法承受的压力的挣扎。

此部多元媒體、中英双语演绎的作品，透过人声、钢琴以及丰富的投影設計，呈现一幅发人深省的风景。 人性尊严与经济利益的抗衡，既惯常亦悲怆，这个演出把这两端冲突的对抗显露无遗。 

Presented by Creative Links and Music Picnic in association with Point View Art 

Poet 许立志 XU Lizhi

Composer, Director, Performer & Co-Producer 杨光奇 NJO Kong Kie

Set & Lighting Designer 冯国基 FUNG Kwok Kee, Gabriel

Photographer & Filmmaker 欧阳永锋 AO IEONG Weng Fong

Sound Designer Ryan MCNABB

Video Designer (Text) 余志力 Nicholas YEE

Vocal Coach Stacie DUNLOP

Movement Coach 杨汉源 William YONG

Drama Coach & English Translator 关显扬 Derek KWAN

Stage Manager 蒋家宁 Karen CHIANG

Tour Lighting Director Sebastian MARZIALI

Technical Director, Production Manager, Video Effects Director & Co-Producer 邝华欢 KUONG Wa Fun, Erik

Xu Lizhi

Chinese poet Xu Lizhi (1990-2014) was born in the rural area of Guangdong province, China. After high school, like millions of other young people, Xu went to the cities to look for work. At age twenty, Xu landed a job in the assembly line of Foxconn in Shenzhen, making electronic parts for digital devices. In a span of four years, he wrote close to 200 poems, many of them about the life of migrant factory workers. Xu gained recognition as one of the best in China's worker-poet literary movement.

许立志

中国诗人许立志（1990-2014）生于中国广东省农村地区。高中毕业后，像其他数以百万计的年轻人一样，许去了城市寻找工作。二十岁时，许在深圳富士康的生产线上找到了一份工作，制造数字设备的电子部件。在这四年间，他写了近200首诗，其中许多关于移工的生活。许被认为是中国工人诗人文学运动中最好的诗人之一。

Njo Kong Kie

Born in Indonesia, Njo Kong Kie moved with his family to Macau at a young age . He subsequently studied in both Canada and Portugal and is now based in Toronto. Njo's artistic practice focuses on creating and performing his original scores for the stage. He has occasionally composed soundtracks for television, film and other digital mediums, such as for the CBC documentary China Rises. He has released two albums: Picnic in the Cemetery and I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron.

The long-serving music director of Montreal contemporary dance company La La La Human Steps, Njo last performed in Singapore with the company at the Singapore Arts Festival. He joined Point View Art in Macau in 2019 and has since created and co-produced various works with the art collective, including Playing Landscape, Picnic in the Cemetery and Mr. Shi and His Lover. These productions have toured worldwide. Other works include musical arrangements for the Macau dance theatre work MOP and  the revised version of the original  musical Hi Dad…Bye. His other works include several chamber operas which aim to close the gap between opera and drama, classical and contemporary music, with the goal of popularising the art form of opera.

杨光奇

印尼華侨。少年时期隨家人移居澳門，後留学加拿大及葡萄牙。現定居多倫多，致力於创作及演奏原创作品。偶有参与微电影,电视和互联网的配乐

工作。其中包括加拿大广播公司制作的纪录片China Rises。唱片专辑 包括 Picnic in the Cemetery（《墓所事事》）及《我咽下一枚铁做的月亮》。

出任蒙特利尔La La La Human Steps 现代舞团音乐总监多年, 曾随团到新加坡艺术节演出。 2009年起加入澳門点象艺术协会,自《玩。 风景》起开启加拿大澳门的共制巡演模式。 以《墓所事事》、中文音乐剧场《时先生与他的情人》等作品巡演世界多个城市。 曾参与澳门舞蹈剧场 MOP，及原创音乐剧《我的非常老窦》(革新版)编曲及配乐工作。 其他作品包括室内歌剧,，以拉近歌剧与话剧,古典与近代音乐之间的距离为宗旨，借以推广歌剧艺术的普及化。

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ironmoon

Trailer:

https://vimeo.com/creativelinks/moon-sea-tour 

OR

https://youtu.be/40C798eILqc

Website: https://iron-moon.squarespace.com   

FB: https://www.facebook.com/CreativeLinks.asia 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/creativelinks.asia 

Interview with Njo Kong Kie by Canadian Stage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiLAA-STOEE

Blog post by PuSh Festival 2022 (Vancouver)

https://pushfestival.ca/njo-kong-kie-%E6%A5%8A%E5%85%89%E5%A5%87-and-chinese-music-of-social-justice/

PULSING – in memory of Xu Lizhi. Music by Njo Kong Kie. Video by Ao Ieong Weng Fong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdNWAqAFf5w

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