Asia-Europe Cultural Festival: 2023 | The Golden Temple by Teet Kask

The Golden Temple is a performance about Beauty as a mutual intrusion between the desiring subject and the object of desire.

Multidisciplinary Theatre performance (duration: 60m)

Sunday, 22 October 2023, 8 pm

School of the Arts (SOTA), Studio Theatre

(1 Zubir Said Dr, Singapore 227968)

The Golden Temple is a performance about Beauty. Beauty as a mutual intrusion between the desiring subject and the object of desire. Beauty as a mean to further the greater spiritual drives of life.

The Golden Temple is a multidisciplinary theatre show that premiered in 2020 in Tallinn (Estonia), inspired by a novel of Yukio Mishima titled “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion”. The tale by the world-renowned Japanese novelist is based on the incident of the fire at the Kinkaku-ji Tempel in Kyoto and follows the curious relationship between a young monk and the Golden Temple. The temple with all its beauty conquers the young boy’s mind, changes it, manipulates with it. In a state of confusion, the young monk is left with no choice but to destroy the source of the beauty in order to be set free.

The tale is transported and transfigured on stage thanks to an exemplary use of several art forms, from movement to video art, from electronic music to classical music and singing. To follow the emotional narrative and delve into the charm of both beauty and repulsiveness of the ugly, the Estonian director Teet Kask has created an astonishing group of artists including classically trained dancers Anita Kurõljova and Kyoshiro Oshima (Japan), video artist Taavi Miisu Varm, and singer Anna Pärnoja. Estonian composers Timo Steiner and Sander Molder also teamed up to create the original music that oscillates between serene meditative cello melodies, lush harmonies and oversaturated noise.

The performance in Singapore is also enriched by the collaboration with international concert cellist Robert Choi, who will play live on stage throughout the show.

Teet Kask’s production will transport the audience into a philosophical journey at the intersection of beauty, destruction and erotic drive.

There will be a post-show talk with the artists.