One of the more famous Chinese legends will be brought to life on stage next week.

Disney’s ’Mulan’, the epic story of a girl who defied an emperor and saved her nation from an invading army, opens at the Gaiety Theatre from next Wednesday.

The musical production is based on the 1998 Disney cartoon, is a coming-of-age tale which tells the tale of a young girl who shapes her own destiny. Anxious to protect her family, Mulan takes her father’s place in the Chinese army, which is gathering to face the Hun invaders, eventually fighting the villainous Shan-Yu and rescuing the captured emperor.

The grand musical production features a huge cast of more than 70 young local actors, none of whom are over the age of 18, and is being produced by the local theatre company JT Productions.

For such a demanding lead role, the character of Mulan is to be played by two actors, Robin-Mae Lawler and Amy Gravestock, alternating between the eight performances.

Also, the role of her sidekick, Mushu, the dragon, will be played by Gabby Germishuys and Evie Skillicorn.

Shan-Yu will be played by Mark Fullerton, and the role of Captain Shang will be played by Isaac Jagus.

Alongside them will be two teams of young dancers and a host of backing singers, lending their wight to the songs from the film, such as ’Reflections’, ’A Girl Worth Fighting For’ and the high-energy ’I’ll Make a Man Out of You’.

The junior musical is being directed by David Dawson, who already has two productions, Shrek The Musical and last year’s The Little Mermaid, under his belt. He said he has been hugely impressed with the way the young cast have applied themselves to the roles.

’It is a very young cast, with a lot of new people, which is brilliant,’ he said. ’We like to get as many new faces as possible on stage in our productions.

’The biggest thing is there is a lot of emotion when Disney write their adult characters, from love, envy, hate and friendship. It’s a lot to ask of young actors who are aged 12 and up, so it is a challenge to have them focussing on those emotions.

’Also, along the way, we are teaching them stagecraft, such as the basic rules of where to stand on stage, not with your back to the audience, that kind of thing. It’s a big challenge to make sure they are all conscious of what they should be doing.

’The main actors have really risen to the challenge. Amy, in particular, has done a lot of singing on stage before, but has never really performed and acted, so it is a great chance for her to take that leading lady role. It is a very high action role, that of Mulan. There are fight scenes, and martial arts scenes mixed in with dance moves.

’The song ’I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ is a very physical song, with lots of tai-chi-type moves and action thrown in, and with plenty of stick and sword craft.

’Both Amy and Robin give it their all, and they out-perform most of the boys in the action scenes.’

’We have built the sets ourselves,’ said David. ’That includes all the towns, and the villages, and even the Great Wall of China. We built it much quicker than people say it takes!

’We have tried to look into traditional Chinese looks and colours, costumes and looks and make sure that the play is a good representation of China from that time.

’It is a really terrific show, and I hope people will come along and enjoy it.’

Mulan opens on Wednesday, November 1, with a matinee performance at 2.30pm, followed by an evening performance at 7pm, and there will be two shows a day until Saturday, November4.

Tickets are £17 for stalls and £18 for circle seats, with senior tickets £15 and £16 and under 16s £14 and £15 each, available from the Villa Gaiety box office and the Welcome Centre.

by Mike Wade

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