Summer, 2008:

Seven Tyrants Theatre and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden present The China Tea Deal

Journey with us back in time over 300 years—to the year 1700. In China, the Qing forces from the north have just solidified their overthrow of the Ming Dynasty, leaving China in the hands of a new regime for the first time in 300 years. In England, the demand for Chinese tea explodes.The King is adamant that permanent trade relations with the Far East be established…

Come enlist in the exciting adventure—join Captain Bispin Woodfellow and his crew on an East India Company expedition to the mouth of the Yangtze River. Help the Captain bargain for the exotic tea and riches of China. Find yourself face to face with the beautiful Garden City of Suzhou and 5000 years of history when you’re invited to the local Scholar’s garden for an evening of entertainment!

Don’t miss your chance to hop aboard this July and August!

Performances: 7:30 pm at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden on select Thursdays and Sundays throughout July and August, 2008:

July: 10, 13, 17, 20, 31

August: 17, 21, 24, 28, 31

Tickets: $20. Seniors/Students: $15. Family: $35 (2 adults & up to 3 children)

For tickets, contact the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden at 604.662.3207 ext 0 after June 28th.

For other information visit www.vancouverchinesegarden.com.

About the Honorable East India Company and the Tea trade with China

From Tea Muse Monthly Newsletter, John Company and Tea’s arrival in England:

…on the last day of 1600, “for the honour of the nation, the wealth of the peoples, the increase of navigation and the advancement of lawfulle traffic,” Elizabeth chartered the Honorable East India Company. John Company, as this group came to be called, was granted a monopoly on all trade beyond the shores of the Atlantic, east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of Cape Horn. This organization of wealthy merchants was to play a central role in the creation of the British Empire. Over the years to come, its far-reaching powers would be extended even further. It was granted the right to acquire territory, coin money, maintain armies and forts, form foreign alliances, declare war, conclude peace, and try and punish law breakers. And as the basis of its power, the John Company was to become the biggest and mightiest monopoly in any commodity that the world has ever known. That commodity? Tea.