Actors perform The Snipe, the Clam, and the Fish (CHINA NATIONAL THEATRE FOR CHILDREN)

A single white cloud hangs in the distance; two or three lotus flowers in partial bloom; a cluster of bamboo stalks stands tall. Together they form a serene rural scene. In this picture lives a snipe, a clam, a fish, and a husband-and-wife fishing duo … 

In May, China National Theatre for Children toured Morocco with its classic stage production The Snipe, the Clam, and the Fish. The troupe visited the cities of Tétouan, Kenitra and Rabat, sharing this unique performance with more than 2,000 local audiences. 

The play blends elements of traditional Chinese opera with Eastern aesthetics, drawing inspiration from the old Chinese parable of the fight between the snipe and the clam. Told entirely without spoken dialogue, the story is conveyed through expressive movement and a fluid stage design reminiscent of traditional Chinese ink wash paintings. 

A stage steeped in Eastern aesthetics 

The set of The Snipe, the Clam, and the Fish unfolds like a living three-dimensional scroll painting. Inspired by the “freehand brushwork” style of Chinese painting, the staging fuses poetic imagery with narrative theatre. 

“Meaning can be understood without words,” Director Wu Xu told ChinAfrica. “That is the heart of this wordless performance.” 

The design follows the principle of “using simplicity to master complexity,” drawing on the traditional Chinese artistic idea that paintings should be “grand from afar, yet reserved up close.” This balance of open space and suggestion, Wu said, is what makes Eastern aesthetics so compelling. 

The set distils symbols familiar in Chinese culture: bamboo for resilience and moral uprightness; lotus blossoms and stone paving to evoke riverside village life; and a fishing net and rod to signal the characters’ livelihood. “It’s like a Chinese five-character poem,” Wu added. “Just 20 Chinese characters can sketch a whole scene. This precision is the essence of our aesthetics.” 

By removing spoken language entirely, the play builds a direct connection with young audiences. Wu describes it as “our own Chinese-style fable for children,” told gently and visually. 

To appeal to children, the production team paid careful attention to interaction. Soft-fabric fish and a comically oversized clam shell - worn on an actor’s hands - become both props and characters. The snipe’s wings and beak are stylised into simple, instantly recognisable shapes. “These design choices make the characters clear and appealing,” Wu explained. “They broaden the range of movement while capturing children’s attention with their charm.” 

Viewers watch The Snipe, the Clam, and the Fish in Tétouan, Morocco (SUN MING) 

An old tale reimagined 

The play is based on an ancient Chinese parable recorded in Zhan Guo Ce, or Strategies of the Warring States. In the original story, a snipe, a kind of water bird with a long beak, saw a clam opening its shell to bask in the sun. The snipe quickly tried to peck at the clam’s flesh, but the clam snapped its shell shut, trapping the bird’s beak inside. Neither side would yield, and as they continued struggling, a fisherman came by and easily caught them both. 

The story conveys the idea that when two parties fight stubbornly and exhaust each other, a third party may take advantage of the situation. 

Playwright Feng Li retained the core of the original idiom - two creatures locked in a stalemate, allowing a third to gain - but introduced the interactions between a fisherman and his wife to give the story an unexpected turn. The play’s two-part structure first presents the snipe–clam quarrel and the fisherman’s advantage, then mirrors the same conflict between the fisherman and his wife. The ending moves towards a call for “living in harmony.” 

In Morocco, this structure proved particularly effective. By showing the difference between conflict and cooperation in a vivid, physical way, the production transformed an abstract ideal into a clear, emotional experience for children. 

Actor Song Jianlin, who plays the fisherman, noted the unique challenges of the role: “With no lines, every emotion and thought must be expressed through the body. We aim to go beyond the form to capture the essence, expanding the expressive possibilities of body language while preserving its aesthetic appeal.” Wu believes this approach bridges linguistic divides, allowing African audiences to feel the energy of modern Chinese theatre. 

An actor signs autographs for children after the performance (SUN MING) 

A cultural bridge without words 

For Zhang Yansheng, Party secretary of China National Theatre for Children, the tour was about much more than a series of performances. “A child’s nature is a language beyond borders,” he said. “Art is the bridge that connects that nature.” 

At the opening of the Tétouan International Children’s Theatre Festival, in the century-old Teatro Español, scenes of the snipe fighting for food or the fisherman getting his foot caught in a clam shell sent waves of laughter through the audience. In the Cultural Centre in Kenitra and the Theatre Al Mansour in Rabat, the magic also worked: Children in the audience were enchanted by the combination of physical storytelling and playful puppetry. 

Wu hopes such performances will help to present China as “confident and open on the world stage, ready to embrace children everywhere.” Through art, he said, young audiences can discover the beauty of traditional Chinese culture and its values of sincerity and goodwill. 

The event is part of the growing cultural exchange between China and Morocco. Following the children’s play, a Chinese opera cultural exchange performance was staged in Meknes in north Morocco in June. More than 500 audience members enjoyed a cultural feast rich in the flavour of south China. The Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Theatre Co. presented classic excerpts of Cantonese opera, ensembles of Guangdong music, as well as martial arts displays, all of which drew continuous applause. 

In January this year, a ceremony was held to mark the resumption of the direct air route between Casablanca and Beijing. First launched in 2020, the route was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With its reopening, travel time from China to Morocco has been reduced from more than 20 hours to just 12. Participants of the ceremony expressed optimism about more tourist visits from China to Morocco, which already passed the 100,000 mark in 2024. 

As the two nations draw closer together, their shared appreciation of rich cultural traditions is certain to bring even more opportunities for exchange, understanding and celebration in the years ahead.