SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is ‘So Uplifting,’ Says UK Theatergoer

Feb 10, 2026

2/10/2026Updated: 2/10/2026

EDINBURGH, U.K.— Richard Drew, a software consultant, and his wife Judi, an administrator, had a wonderful time at Shen Yun Performing Arts’ opening performance at the Edinburgh Playhouse on Feb. 10. After seeing the company’s television advertisement, they decided the performance was a must-watch.

“It’s really good—the dancing, the music, it’s all very good. It’s so uplifting,” Mr. Drew shared during intermission. “It’s very different [from] what we’ve seen before, but I'd definitely come again because it’s really impressive.”

According to its website, the name “Shen Yun” translates directly into “the beauty of divine beings dancing.” Based in New York, the artists have made it their mission to revive, through dance and music, China’s divinely inspired civilization to its pre-communist glory.

The production is composed of a series of short pieces that takes its audience on a journey through the dynasties and across the vast regions of China. Using classical Chinese, folk, and ethnic dances, as well as solo musical performances, Shen Yun tells tales from ancient times to the modern day.

Mrs. Drew was especially delighted by “The Legend of Master Zhang Guolao,” a lighthearted tale about one of China’s Eight Immortals, known for riding backwards on his donkey.

“I like the [dance] with the man and the donkey—that’s so clever when they jump out of the wall,” she said. “I didn’t even see how he changed his costume. It was very clever. Lovely dancers, the men with the athletics. Really good. I’m really enjoying it.”

She also praised Shen Yun’s live orchestra, which blends Eastern and Western musical traditions by using a classical Western orchestra as its foundation while highlighting traditional Chinese instruments such as the two-stringed erhu and the pipa, an ancient lute.

Shen Yun artists were the first in the world to successfully and permanently combine traditional Chinese and Western instruments in a single orchestra.

“It’s lovely. It’s really good, really nice,” Ms. Drew commented. “I like a good orchestra. … I think [the performance] is quite spiritual. I really enjoyed it.”

Reflecting on Shen Yun’s mission to present China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture, Mr. Drew said the experience offered valuable insights he might not otherwise have gained.

“A lot of the things that we’ve seen here are historical things that are going on, and more people need to know what it’s actually like,” he said.

“I don’t know lots about the China currently, but [Shen Yun is] a really good idea to get the traditional side of it and show the historical things that we wouldn’t have seen before. It’s really, really good.”

Mrs. Drew is eager to share the experience with her friends and family, telling them, “It’s worth seeing, definitely.”

“It’s really uplifting, and it’s lovely to watch,” she said. “It goes fast, you’re suddenly at an interval [and the time has] flown by. It’s lovely and very, very graceful as well.”

If given the chance to speak with the artists, Mr. Drew said he would encourage Shen Yun to add more performances.

“The number of shows that are on, it’s quite small compared to the number of people that I think would like to see it if they could,” he said. “That’s not enough for people to go and see.”

During its 2026 touring season, Shen Yun’s eight equally-sized companies will be performing in over 200 cities across five continents. Met with wide acclaim since its establishment in 2006, the company returns each year with a brand-new set of choreography and musical compositions.

Reporting by Yuan Bao and Jennifer Tseng.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.