April 16, 2024 | Theatre,

Who are Huang Ruo & Basil Twist, the Artists Behind Book of Mountains and Seas?

Our final show of the 23/24 Season, Book of Mountains and Seas, is quickly approaching, with a scheduled run from April 19-21 at the Emerson Paramount Center Robert J. Orchard Stage. This show, inspired by ancient Chinese creation myths, was developed by award-winning composer Huang Ruo and MacArthur Fellow puppeteer Basil Twist, who use these myths as a backdrop to shed light on today’s climate crisis. In anticipation for this exciting show, let’s take a look at the artists behind the performance.

Composer Huang Ruo was born in 1976 in Hainan Island, China, the same year the Chinese Cultural Revolution ended. With the end of the revolution, he was exposed to Western forms of music such as rock and roll, heavy metal and jazz, which inspired his pursuit of a musical education from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School. Ruo is often regarded as a multidimensional composer who uses Chinese ancient and folk music, western avant-garde, experimental noise, natural and processed sounds, rock, and jazz to create a seamless, organic integration — these musical inspirations are clearly depicted in Book of Mountains and Seas! Huang Ruo’s work has been performed around the world, with groups including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. 

Ruo’s artistic counterpart, third-generation puppeteer Basil Twist, is a world-renown puppeteer, who was the first American to graduate from France’s national puppetry school, Charleville-Mézières. Basil Twist is known for his masterful ability to “notice the way objects and materials move and flow” and is able to draw upon these characteristics to transform them into stage-appealing apparatuses.

Twist’s career spans broadway, opera and film, with works such as Titon l’Aurore with Les Arts Florissants at the Opera Comique in Paris, Dorothy and The Prince of Oz, and the new Nutcracker developed for the Joffrey Ballet. Twist also consulted on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for the underwater puppetry and has created sets for dance performances such as Broadway credits include set design for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Addams Family and Pee-Wee Herman Show. Twist has won awards such as Obie, Drama Desk Awards, UNIMA Awards, Bessie Awards, New York Innovative Theatre Award, and a Henry Hewes Award.

Book of Mountains and Seas premiered at the Hong Kong New Vision Festival 2020, Prototype Festival 2021, Soundstreams 2021, and Holland Choral Biennale 2021 and will be running at ArtsEmerson from April 19-21. Limited seats are available, so be sure to secure yours today on our website, over the phone, or in person at the box office.