Actor bringing one-man China play to Shropshire
An actor and best selling author is bringing what is described as a 'Bold, innovative piece of solo theatre' to Shropshire for a special charity show on Saturday.
Chinese Boxing was written and is being performed by Mark Kitto, who lived and worked in China for 18 years.
It is based around a lecture given to the Shropshire Asiatic Society at the same village hall in 1912, by Sir Claude MacDonald, ambassador to Peking during the infamous Boxer Rebellion of 1900, when hundreds of foreign diplomats were besieged in the city.
He posed the question: 'How will the West get along with China in the 21st century?' and one which Chinese Boxing tackles head on, with no pulled punches and a light touch, including references to the film 55 Days in Peking with David Niven and Charlton Heston.
After the show, drawing from his own experience, Mark will host a Q and A that’s a cross between Question Time and a stand-up session. He will share some of the lighter moments he spent "engaged in intimate co-operation and intense conflict with the Chinese Communist Party" during his time living there.
Mark has written two best-selling books about China, was Prospect Magazine’s China columnist, and performed in Chinese with the Shanghai People’s Arts Theatre.
Before moving to China he served in the Welsh Guards, and a share of the proceeds from the Norton Village Hall performance will be donated to the regiment's charity.
Chinese Boxing is at Norton Village Hall, Cheswardine Lane, Norton, near Shifnal, on Saturday October, 8, at 7.30pm. For tickets call 01952 730308 or 07968 062970
For more about the show visit chineseboxing.co.uk
