Tiger Tales is a signature production of the only professional Chinese shadow theater company in the United States. Drawing on China’s two-thousand-year history of shadow puppetry, it features the same artful blend of Eastern and Western, ancient and contemporary techniques that is the hallmark of all CTW productions. Tiger Tales is performed in English accompanied by traditional Chinese music, and is suitable for audiences of all ages.

Tiger Tales is based in the popular wisdom of Chinese folktales and literature. The production deals humorously with issues of power and survival of the small and powerless in the modern jungle, in which the proverb that “working for the emperor is as dangerous as working for the tiger” still holds true. Tiger Tales is narrated by a wise old rabbit, telling her grand-daughter some of the adventures of her eventful life, including her hair-raising encounters with Tiger, the reigning King of the jungle. Grandma Bunny recounts with verve and a sly, subversive humor some of the episodes surrounding Tiger’s rise to power, his abusive rule and ultimate downfall – illustrating through her trickster tales the power of the small and wily and the ways in which those who think themselves clever are caught in their own schemes.

The star performers of Tiger Tales are some of the exquisite, 100-year-old, leather shadow figures from our extensive collection. The figures were brought to the U.S. by Pauline Benton, founder of the first Chinese shadow theater in the country, and have appeared in exhibitions worldwide, most recently in the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center. CTW’s Stephen Kaplin, who made the shadow puppets for Julie Taymor’s Lion King, has created new acetate figures for Tiger Tales based on these antiques. The show is performed on an overhead projector (rather than behind an upright screen as in traditional shadow theatre), creating a cinematic projected image of up to 12’ square which allows the smallest details of the shadow images to be visible even in large venues. The OP format gives Tiger Tales the flexibility to play in any sized venue or adapt to any presenter’s needs - the only requirement is a screen or blank wall at least 12’ from the first row of the audience.

Since its premiere in 2002, Tiger Tales has been performed locally at Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Art Center, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, NYU and the American Association of Theater Educators’ 2003 conference. Beyond the New York City area, it has appeared at the 2003 National Puppetry Festival, the Dala Festival (Seoul, Korea), and the Puppet Power 2003 conference (Calgary, Canada).