“Another Sea” — an immersive environmental performance

From the moment you step into the century-old Lagena Primary School, the performance has already begun. Moving through the architecture of the city, pausing, gathering, and returning, you slip into “another sea.”

Chapter I — The Harbor

As you gather in the courtyard, you may hear waves, gulls, and distant ship horns. These sounds were recorded by Xingyu across three different shores: Brighton Pier in the UK, the port of Lisbon in Portugal, and Naha in Japan. Close your eyes, and it feels like drifting in the deep sea; open them, and you’re back among weathered walls and moving crowds. From here, begin to sense another frequency.

Chapter II — Departure

Step into the classroom, where the first indoor set begins. The setlist here is intense, intimate, and enclosed. There are no seats, and no fixed viewing position (the central courtyard is also synchronized with sound). Whether you stand, sit, or move, the choice of how to listen is left entirely to you.

Chapter III — The Lighthouse

Following the marching rhythm of drummer Muren’s snare, the crowd moves from the classroom back to the central courtyard. Visuals come alive, carrying fragments from ten years of Whale Circus. As Xingyu puts it: “In those seventeen minutes, every member’s real voice is the gift I most wanted to give them.”

You may notice that beyond the stage, the members of Whale Circus appear different, perhaps a little awkward, but undeniably sincere. Ten years of memory, emotion, and experience are compressed into these seventeen minutes.

Chapter IV — The Final Night

In the night breeze, Whale Circus stands beneath a towering sail, riding the wind. The sound system opens up, spreading across the entire courtyard, far beyond the intimacy of the classroom. You might remember, during The Final Night, when you raised your phones and turned their soft glow into a field of stars.

Thank you for the gift you gave us. And those moments — ordinary, sincere, and wholly your own — are the gift Whale Circus hopes to return to you.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey.