If you’re a student of martial arts, Bruce Lee fan, or simply like dance theatre, Wing Chun is a must-see. As the blurb says, “before Bruce Lee, there was Yip Man”. Did you know? Me neither. He was his teacher. So, a biography of the grandmaster (1893–1972), the evolution of Wing Chun style (originally developed over three hundred years ago by a woman, Buddhist nun Ng Mui), its philosophy and its reach, in a sentimental Dickensian tale of a rise out of poverty to recognition.
Told across two timescales, two generations, the concept is a retrospective film of the modest man, who moved in the 1950s from his hometown of Foshan, Guangdong to Hong Kong, where he slowly established Wing Chun.
Nothing slow about his style or technique: its speed, timing and split-second reaction moves are incredible. Chang Hongji (Yip Man), principal dancer at the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre, is remarkable, as are his corkscrew and barrel turns: he really flies like a butterfly and stings like a bee, if I may misquote another famous man.
The cast is large—well, twenty-one of them have to cover The House of 72 Tenants in Hong Kong; over a dozen are the fictional film crew. The creative and production crew are even larger. Production values are high.
Divided into six acts, split by an interval, their titles are the story in capsule: Arrival, Confusion, Pursuing Dreams, Bidding Farewell, Facing Challenge, Promoting Heritage. That final one, a coda perhaps, is not only Yip Man’s philosophy (surtitles translate Xu Jing’s projected calligraphy) of harmony, but also an element of Chinese culture represented by the patient ancient handcraft of dying silk fabric from the Lingnan region, “Gambiered Guangdong Gauze”. It surprises me after the martial arts sepia tale of old.
A detachment of women in red shifts and straw hats delicately lay panels of cloth across the stage, collect it, and bring it on in fan-like folds. This section takes my mind to Cloud Gate Theatre, particularly Rice and Songs of the Wanderers. Beautiful, balletic, involving—as are the different forms of the fluent martial arts on display, Wing Chun, Tai Chi, Bagua Zhang, Baji Quan and Praying Mantis.
A fusion, then, of contemporary dance, martial arts and dance theatre, Wing Chun would be in good company in the West End. A cinematic soundscape, a set (Li Haiyi) of shifting tenement blocks, dark interiors, spot lighting and silhouette projection work, Wing Chun is a mix of old-style silent cinema and Hollywood panache. An old-fashioned film roll frames the stylised set.
An old man finds a fading group photograph, which takes him back to when he was a lighting technician on the film. That group photo comes to life on the stage. That group regroups to take a boisterous curtain call, a great wrap-up.
Street life, tradespeople and villains crowd the stage the Yip Man timidly enters carrying his plaque under his arm. As well as Dickens, Victor Hugo pops into my brain. There’s a tenderness and universality about it, which is exactly Yip Man’s philosophy.
Writer Feng Shuangbai says, “Wing Chun… contains a very profound truth of Chinese civilisation and Chinese philosophy, that when people are in harmony with each other, society can be in harmony, and this is the answer that the wisdom and civilisation of the Orient has given to this strife-torn world." If only…
There are twelve performances, suitable for 6+, so you have plenty of time to catch it. Just over two hours with one interval, the attention to detail is precise, the moves are precise, technique and formation work are precise. More than one choreographer is credited and several martial arts instructors—the fight duets are brilliant. And it’s a pleasure to see women martial artists. Watch out Michelle Yeoh.
Apparently, Wing Chun broke Chinese box office records. I am delighted to discover the man, who founded The Ving Tsun Athletic Association, in such a dynamic production. “Grandmaster Yip Man gained further notoriety through the Ip Man series of films of his life made in the 2010s starring Donnie Yen”. Now these I’d like to see.
I could easily see Wing Chun again. Maybe a real film will be made of this production one day, or maybe one is in production already. It would be a missed opportunity if not.