Normal Love - a physical theatre piece about Love and all its dilemma

“Ling's surreal style is a cruel representation of Reality, extremely philosophical and full of horrors... She doesn't just use eyes to observe, but dares to question and challenge” Gao Minglu (Chinese critic and curator)

Chinese visual artist and theatre director Zi Ling directs this bold collaboration between visual artists, actors, musicians and designers, exploring love and all its dilemmas in a surreal and heightened world. Inspired Francis Bacon’s absurdist and visceral paintings, Ling draws out the dark emotions in Bacon’s work in eleven scenes of intimate love, distorted desires, jealousy and violent passions. Rooted in a minimalist set by award winning Wang Jing and with costume by fashion designer Tong Zhao, the physical theatre is accompanied by two musicians creating an uneasy soundscape.

Zi Ling is a visual artist and theatre director who has established herself as a painter, as well as creating numerous short films and visual installations. Her film credits include: Red (short), Prayer (short), and 4'13 (short). Video works include installation Blue and series Fine both displayed at Chelsea College of Arts. Normal Love is her West End debut.

She said “In this piece, I would like to present a live game among lovers, to explore various types of intimate relationships, which are manifested through the sensitivity of physical movements. I want to create a world that is saturated by violence and governed by distorted desires”