KUCHING: Sarawak native from Kuching, Elwyn Jung earned a prestigious international nomination at France’s Avignon Theatre Festival for his performance as the lead actor in the original physical theatre piece ‘Huai An Dream’.

Elwyn holds the remarkable distinction of being the only student from Sarawak, Malaysia admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in China in recent years.

As China’s top institution for theatre, film and television arts, the Central Academy of Drama carries a century of artistic heritage and ranks among the world’s most prestigious performing arts schools, having nurtured countless globally celebrated theatre and screen talents.

In summer this year, he travelled to France alongside faculty from the Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama to star as lead actor in the original physical theatre piece ‘Huai An Dream’ at the Avignon Festival, one of the world’s three major theatre festivals.

Adapted from the classic ancient Chinese literary tale ‘The Governor of Nan Ke’, this physical theatre work is filled with distinct oriental aesthetic charm.

Lai Xueyang serves as both screenwriter and director, Zhao Miao, a renowned Chinese physical theatre director, acts as artistic director while Wang Chenbin serves as stage and visual designer. The cast includes Elwyn Jung, Huang Tiange, Liu Xinyu and Dou Baiyi.

Beyond this, standing out among five hundreds of international submissions, Huai An Dream earned a nomination for Best Emerging Production at France’s Avignon Prix Lueur.

Competition for this year’s Prix Lueur was extraordinarily intense, with over 500 outstanding productions from all continents submitted entries.

The jury panel consists of senior theatre scholars, professional directors, art critics and industry specialists from six nations namely France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, China and South Korea. The award holds widespread respect and recognition across the international theatre industry.

Elwyn noted that being able to represent young voices from Sarawak, Malaysia on the stage of a world-class theatre festival and receive an international award nomination is an immense honour and encouragement, as well as a precious chance for growth and reflection.

He added that moving forward, he hoped to apply all expertise gained to bring the local stories, diverse cultures and unique humanistic charm of Malaysia and Sarawak to more international stages, sharing them with audiences worldwide.

“I also aim to serve as a modest cultural bridge, helping build artistic connections linking Malaysia, China and the rest of the world.

“I hope more international audiences will come to know and appreciate the beautiful Sarawak, Malaysia, and support my hometown’s local culture to shine brightly on the global stage,” he said. -UKASnews