By Robert St-Amour | Sur les pas du spectateur

I received the invitation and, as my schedule allowed, I said yes! So I made my way to La porte rouge in the north of the city to attend the reading of “Le roi des singes 2” (The Monkey King 2) by and starring Aurore Liang, a Pingshu and Beijing Opera actress, accompanied musically by Ran Wang!

Intermission

This wasn't my first encounter with Aurore Liang's theatrical world; it was my third, in fact. The most recent was less than a year ago, when I discovered the first part of this story, and I really enjoyed this combination of arts that took me “elsewhere”!

End of intermission

This was my first visit to La porte rouge, a discreet venue accessible via St-Hubert Street, just south of Metropolitan Boulevard. As usual, my early arrival allowed me to find “my” seat in the front row. In front of me was a lectern and next to it a musical instrument. When the time came, Ran Wang and Aurore Liang arrived and took their seats. We were quickly drawn into an epic tale that brought together a group of adventurers. Accompanied by music, our narrator allowed us to imagine the tribulations of this group, embodying the different characters very well, until the conclusion of their epic journey.

After chatting with her for a while, I headed back home, hoping that my schedule would allow me to attend the official performances of this show, described as “funny, magical, and captivating, combining storytelling, music, Beijing opera, shadow puppetry, and many more surprises”!