Patrick's Picks: 'Henry the Fifth,' Mushroom Festival, Zongzi Wrapping, Cat Aids

Ah, Monday again. How the hell are we going to make it until the weekend, when work dissipates and the social calendar kicks back into high gear?

Never fear, this guide will help you get through one more week of the vocational grind by highlighting the best events in town, which over the coming days involve breaking out in a cold sweat by Beijing Horror Film Society's screening of Sinister, tasting of Peruvian cuisine at Hastune, grooving to BYGA Trio's French folk farewell at DDC and wrapping up some zongzi to get in the mood of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Want more? Check our Events section here.
 

Monday

Beijing Horror Film Society Screening of Sinister, Cafe 69
True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt discovers a box in his attic that contains a projector and several footage labeled as home movies. Watching the films, Ellison finds that they are actually snuff movies depicting families being murdered in various ways: being drowned in their pool (Pool Party '66), being burnt to death in a car (BBQ '79), being run over by a lawn mower (Lawn Work '86), having their throats slit in bed (Sleepy Time '98), and the hanging that opened the movie (Family Hanging Out '11).

Pool Party proves especially disturbing for Ellison after he notices a demonic figure watching the drownings from the bottom of the pool, and he eventually finds out that the figure observes the murders in each of the films, along with a strange painted symbol.

Catch the fright on Monday night at 69 Cafe.
 

Tuesday

Henry the Fifth, A Pippo Delbono Production, Drum Tower West Theatre
Shakespeare’s intriguing plays consistently raise questions about the human condition. Pippo Delbono has created a challenging experiment with words taken from Shakespeare's text, and mixed it up in a story represented through silent signs, actions, pictures, dance and music. Henry the Fifth is the only Italian production of Shakespeare that has ever been invited to perform at the Royal Shakespeare Company. The play will stage in Italian. English and Chinese subtitles will be provided.
 

Rockland.12 & Mushroom Festival 2015, Yugong Yishan
Local record label Rockland celebrates their 12th anniversary and Mushroom festival jumps onboard, bringing Vialka and a handful of Beijing’s best, including Alpine Decline and Bian Yuan, come together to play a wild night of rock music.
 

Christine Sun Kim: Piano within Piano like a Lunch Sandwich, White Space Beijing
Sign language and music notation share a similar sense of space that could be made into a visual process. Combining them together, Christine Sun Kim creates a humorous, ongoing and poetic expression of her experience of sound.

Wednesday

Nikkei Dinner, Hatsune
Using Japanese techniques with Peruvian ingredients, Nikkei is a century-old cooking style. An important part of the contemporary Peruvian diet, it originated from the Japanese diaspora that incorporated Peruvian produce in Japanese cooking. Chef Daniel Urdaneta of the Mosto Group and Alan Wong of the Hatsune Group will present their Nikkei banquet at Hatsune on Wednesday, pushing the boundaries to create a whole new gastronomic experience for Beijing's food lovers.
 

BYGA Trio Farewell Concert, DDC
Five years have passed in a blink. The Byga Trio are set to leave in July, but before they go these three French musicians will do their best to leave a ringing in DDC's ears to remember them by. Expect tears, surprises ... and a huge load of energy!
 

Eric Boros Solo Set, Meridian Space
Eric Boros has been immersed in the global underground for the better part of the last twenty years. His improvisations feature rapid movement between ideas, yet they remain a composed sense of form. A self-taught guitarist, his sound is reminiscent of Stephen Sondheim, albeit with a loop and feedback-assisted guitar sound akin to found in doom metal. The combination of the two comes together brilliantly.
 

Thursday

Wrap Up Zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival, Beijing Mandarin School
Dragon Boat Festival returns on Saturday and so does one of its most popular and widespread signature activities - making and eating zongzi. Learn how to make them yourself at the Beijing Mandarin School before the holiday hits.

Cat Aids EP Release Show, School Bar
Cat Aids, the self-proclaimed "Best Band in Beijing," descend upon School Bar to release their new EP. Expect a fuzzed-out evening with some frantic haze, mania, and moans from the headliners who are joined by Death Narcissists and Sleep Paralysis.

More stories by this author here.

Email: patrickli@thebeijinger.com
WeChat: xinwurenli
Weibo: @lucky__strike

Photos courtesy of the organizers, nautaliaviajes.com