Join us at our 12th Anniversary Gala as we toast the end of the Festival’s programme and the start of the Year of the Rooster.
Coinciding with the Chinese Lantern Festival (also known as Yuanxiao Jie), enjoy an evening inspired by the nostalgia of early 20th Century Shanghai.
Performances including renown Guzheng soloist Zilan Li who has recorded music for Oscar winning film ‘The Last Emperor’ and performed as a soloist with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, traditional Chinese Lion Dance, and Lancaster University’s Music Society Big Band performing a selection of classic songs from the golden era of swing and jazz.
Please note alcohol and a light meal will be served at this event. Event is suitable for children under supervision.
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Red Dragonfly Productions, the team behind the critically acclaimed ‘Diao Chan’ and ‘The Autumn of Han’ are proud to present an evening of new writing from first time playwrights.
Red Dragonfly launched Taking Flight a competition aimed at finding three new short plays from writers within the British East Asian, South Asian, and South East Asian communities. From the many entries, three plays were chosen to be taken through to final production in a unique evening of theatre.
Lancaster’s historic squares and streets become the backdrop for original work commissioned through the Lancaster Chinese Arts Festival’s Artists Residency programme.
Gale Chen’s work responds to the unique spaces of Lancaster’s city centre and central to her work is her exploration of both British and Chinese traditions of storytelling through fabric and embroidery.
Lancaster’s history is retold through events that have shaped the city and its people over the centuries on Chinese style embroidered plaques and decorative roses adorning the tree lined avenue as Gale Chen’s contribution to the festival.
PuppetCraft presents MONKEY! A fantastic production following the adventures of a comical, fantastical superhero, inspired by ‘Journey to the West’ a classic of Chinese literature.
The Lancaster Chinese Arts Festival will host two versions, a full theatrical performance of Monkey! for anyone from 4+ years in Preston and SuperMonkey a fun singalong experience for children
from 3-6 years in Lancaster.
Also try your hand at making and performing with the artist behind the production with our Shadow Puppet Making Workshops.
Brought to exuberant life by seldom seen exquisitely crafted marionettes, leaping and swinging, acrobatically, authentic, old Chinese shadow puppets.
Features enchanting live music and snappy raps and witty words written for PuppetCraft by the brilliant, award winning poet Michael Rosen, Children’s Laureate 2007–2009, famed for “Going
on a Bear Hunt”.
For 25 years PuppetCraft has been touring far and wide, becoming one of Britain’s top puppet companies.
Book tickets for Preston – click here
Book tickets for Lancaster – click here
Professional playwright and screenwriter Daniel Matthew will lead a two hour
workshop exploring the different ways that writers generate material. Using
both source material and memory; participants will take part in group
discussion and writing exercises as they find out the differences and
similarities in writing what you know personally and writing what’s
unfamiliar.
For further information or to enquire about booking onto the workshop please
email: vfletcher@dukes-lancaster.org
or ring: 01524 598522
Lancaster’s streets will come alive again with colour and sound as Chinese New Year comes round.
The Manchester Airports and Hainan Airlines Stage in Market Square will feature live performances from Pagoda Arts Chinese Youth Orchestra, Wanlin Dance School, More Music Long Walk Chinese Ensemble, Northern Dragons Martial Arts, Blackpool Qilin Team and Lancaster’s own Batala Samba team. Rock and blues singer Will Tang will be headlining the stage as crowds await the parade…
The Chinese New Year Parade start at 2pm on Penny Street at the top of Lancaster making its way through the town and finishing in Market Square filling the heart of hte city with vivid colour and the booming beat of the drums!
Explore Festival Street Markets along Market Street and Cheapside where you can find the tastiest food from around the world and exciting gifts and more in one place.