About the show:

Here Comes Gudong
A Myth-Shattering Family Adventure

Hot off its 2025 Keep It Fringe award, Roarrr Theatre debuts its fantastical, cross-cultural adventure Here Comes Gudong! for children aged 4–12, and curious grown-ups too. You are invited to join an eccentric crew of mythic animal explorers——as they follow the curious “Gudong!” rumble across lands and legends. What they discover is as surprising as it is delightful.

This is not your average children’s show. Featuring live puppetry, real-time video, and an electrifying mash-up of Chinese and British folklore, Here Comes Gudong! creates a vivid theatrical world where cultural boundaries joyfully collide. “We wanted to make a show where East meets West in the most unexpected ways,” says Portia Yuran Li, writer and director of Roarrr Theatre. “Think Suzhou silk tangling with Scottish bagpipes. Bronze chimes clashing with Victorian gears. Jingwei myths meets Loch Ness Monster. It’s myth-meets-machinery mayhem!”

Here Comes Gudong! champions eco-conscious artistry. The set features an expandable forest crafted from biodegradable, traditionally inspired Chinese materials. Production and Set designer Effie Yuan Gu constructs dynamic environments from repurposed industrial materials, while puppet designer Jessica Wenjing Ji shapes communicative puppets using salvaged resources. Video designer Inni Xinyi Yin integrates real-time projections reimagining shadow play traditions. And the sound design merges remote mountain field recordings with reinterpreted folk melodies by Ding Mingyu. Add to that an outstanding rotating cast — Mary Emma He, Isabell Friis, and Sunny Jie Liu — every performance becomes its own unique journey.

Shh… the Gudong sound is back. Join us for a joy-filled journey across myths！

Date & Time: August 4, 5, 6th : 10am – 10:45am

About the Company:

Roarrr Theatre @roarrrtheatre
Founded in 2023, Roarrr Theatre specialises in original, mythology-infused productions and drama therapy-inspired workshops for children and families. With over 400 families having joined the Gudong journey to date, the company is redefining what family theatre can be—transforming it into a shared space of imagination, healing, and cross-cultural connection.

About the Team:

Writer, Director, Producer:
Portia Yuran Li. 李喻然 @Portia__lee
Roarrr Theatre 创始人，驻英华人艺术家，编剧，导演。英国艺术联盟（BAN）成员，伦敦艺术与健康论坛（LAH）成员，伦敦Gallery 46画廊代理，Mutual Art 艺术家。毕业获金史密斯优秀校友奖学金。代表作跨媒介实验剧场《此岸非彼岸》横跨伦敦St James Hatcham教堂与山西石窟的双城展演，并在上海当代艺术博物馆放映。音乐剧《咕咚来了》在伦敦布莱克希西音乐厅演出，获2025年爱丁堡艺穗节官方奖项及奖金。
Founder of Roarrr Theatre, London-based Chinese artist, playwright, and director. A member of the British Arts Network (BAN) and the London Arts and Health Forum (LAH), she is represented by Gallery 46 in London and listed on Mutual Art. Received Goldsmiths Alumni And Friends Award Fund after her MFA. Her representative work, the cross-media experimental theatre production 《This Shore Is Not the Other Shore》, presented across two cities—St James Hatcham Church in London and the grottoes of Shanxi, China and Shanghai Power Power Station of Art. Her musical 《Here Comes Gudong》 was staged at Blackheath Halls in London and received an Keep It Fringe Award and funding from the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Production Design, Set Design:
Effie Yuan Gu 顾缘 @effieguyuan
英国舞台美术及道具设计师，热爱模型制作与各类道具设计制作。拥有多年戏剧与影视行业经验，曾参与各类国际戏剧节。毕业于伦敦圣马丁艺术学院与上海戏剧学院，现任教于雷丁大学电影戏剧设计专业。
A stage designer and prop maker with a passion for model-making and prop design. Currently working in the Film, Theatre, and Television department at the University of Reading, having graduated from Central Saint Martins and Shanghai Theatre Academy. With years of experience in theatre and film, participated in various international theatre and film festivals.

Puppetry Design:
Jessica Wenjing Ji 冀雯靖 @Jessicaj.design
MA graduated from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Performance designer & maker currently based in the UK working on set & costume design, production design, scenic, puppetry and model making. Won Best Production Designer by It’s My Shout 2025. Shortlisted by The Linbury Prize 2023. Credits include Lili, the Chinese Girl, Not Lily (2024 Camden Fringe), Sianni Bobman (BBC Wales IMS), In Between （Goldsmith, University of London）, The Pillow Man (Mist Drama Sudio), etc.

Video Designer:
Inini Xinyi Yin 尹昕怡 @inini_yinxinyi
昕怡是一个戏剧人，在反叛精神和去中心化主义的驱使下，她致力于打造非传统的体验，触达人们的情感，促进批判性反思。Inini is a multidisciplinary creative whose work spans devising, design, and making across theatre, fine art and events. Driven by a rebellious and decentralisation spirit, she crafts unconventional experiences that evoke emotional resonance and foster deep connections while critically reflecting on social and cultural contexts.

CAST:
1️⃣ Mary-Emma He @m.mm3442
是一名行为艺术家和演员。曾在英国国家青年戏剧学院（National Youth Theatre）和皇家中央演讲与戏剧学院（Royal Central School of Speech & Drama）接受训练。她曾出演入围伦敦伊灵电影节的实验短片《Flower》，以及在上海戏剧节参演的实验话剧《楼梯的故事》（La historia de la escalera）。擅长诠释情感深度和真实感强烈的角色。她精通英语和普通话，热衷即兴戏剧，以其原始而富有创新性的表演深深吸引观众。
Mary-Emma He is a performance artist, dynamic performer , with a background in screen acting, trained at Trained in National Youth Theatre and Royal Central Speech & Drama (RSSCD). Featured in London Ealing Film Festival nominated experimental short Flower, and experimental drama La historia de la escalera in Shanghai Drama festival.
She excels in roles that demand emotional depth and authenticity. Bilingual in English and Mandarin, she’s passionate in improvisational theatre and captivating audiences with her raw and innovative performances.

2️⃣ Isabell Friis. @isabellvfriis
Isabell Friis is a writer and actor with a BA in English and Drama from Goldsmiths. Passionate about storytelling, she explores both scripted and improvised performance. Her creative journey blends acting and writing, continuously refining her craft to create dynamic, spontaneous, and engaging narratives.

3️⃣ Sunny Jie Liu. @sunnyliuuuu
Sunny is an Associate Artist in the Department of Theatre and Performance at Goldsmiths, University of London. She specializes in devised theatre, youth theatre, and theatre workshop design. With a strong background in youth theatre, she has worked as an Associate Director at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre and Banlam Grand Theater, creating engaging performances for young audiences.