Fans return to theaters and cinemas in numbers

Ren Kemei, a chemistry teacher in Beijing, arrived at the city's Tianqiao Performing Arts Center last month for a matinee performance.

As she had not been to a live show for more than a year, she decided to celebrate her 28th birthday by going to see the Chinese musical Romance of the West Chamber.

The musical was adapted from the eponymous classic play written by Wang Shifu, a renowned playwright during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and the production stars one of Ren's favorite singers, Liu Yan.

When Ren arrived, she was happy to see members of the audience gathering in numbers in the theater lobby, nearly a year after the coronavirus pandemic emerged and forced cinemas, theaters and concert halls to close.

"I miss the theater. It's part of my life," Ren said, adding that she attended the musical's premiere at the same venue on Nov 1, 2019.

Due to the pandemic, a tour of the production planned last year had to be canceled.

According to a guideline issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on May 12, theaters and cinemas in areas considered to have a low risk of coronavirus transmission may stage small commercial performances with government permission. Audience members had to book tickets in advance and capacity was limited to 30 percent.

With the pandemic under control in China, seating capacity allowed at theaters and cinemas was gradually raised to 50 percent and then to 75 percent, before the ministry announced on March 15 that such venues could operate at full capacity.

You Jia, general manager of Mailive, the theater brand of Alibaba's online ticketing platform Damai, said, "The performing arts market was heavily affected by the pandemic, which caused a drastic drop in the number of live performances and ticket revenue.

"However, we are excited to see that the market has gradually recovered. In October, theater audience numbers returned to 70 percent of the level before the pandemic hit."

On March 30, a report issued by Mailive on the performing arts scene in China before and after the pandemic emerged stated that venues were confident about restarting performances.

According to the report, ticket income for the nation's performing arts market in 2019 reached more than 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion), a year-on-year rise of nearly 7.3 percent.

The report also said female consumers were the market's major buying force, comprising more than 64 percent of audiences.

Young Chinese, especially those born after 1995, are playing a more prominent role in fueling the performing arts market, with increasing numbers going to concerts and theaters. This group is also more willing to spend to attend live performances.

New opportunities

More people are also traveling to attend shows, which has triggered rapid growth in consumption.

For example, Mailive launched a series of performances in 2019 and last year, which were staged nationwide at non-traditional venues such as outdoor arenas. More than 100 performances were held in over 20 Chinese cities, and the report said 40 percent of the tickets were bought by audience members who traveled to watch shows.

You Jia showed charts for the most popular shows in the country during these two years, with overseas productions the top choice in 2019.

However, since the pandemic emerged, there have been new opportunities for original Chinese shows.

"We updated our system, enabling audiences to rate the shows they watch. We found that people are willing to pay for high-quality performances, which means we need to produce good content for them, such as first-class stories, stage sets and a great experience in going to theaters," You said.

Li Jie, vice-president of Alibaba Group and of Damai, said that during the past two months, he has watched a total of four plays and musicals, which were proof of the country's vibrant performing arts scene.

One of the most popular plays is Deling and Cixi, which began a nationwide tour in Tianjin on March 11. The production has also been staged in Shanghai and Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, and will visit more cities this year, according to Deng Ran, its executive producer and production manager.

Starring Jiang Shan and Zheng Yunlong, the play was written by He Jiping and centers on Princess Deling and Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In 1998, the production premiered at the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, and in 2019, it was restaged by Tianjin People's Arts Theater.

Deng said the play has been staged 25 times nationwide since 2019, but due to the pandemic, a tour last year had to be canceled.

"Tickets sold out fast when we announced the play would tour this year," Deng said, adding that when it was staged at Shanghai Grand Theater from March 19 to 23, it was the first theatrical production in the city to have a full house since the onset of the pandemic last year.

"I remember that a father and his son came to watch the play. They sat together and I could see them enjoying it from the control room. It was touching to see families return to theaters together," Deng said.

On March 30, Mailive launched a new brand, Theatre Rocks, aimed at young audiences. The brand has introduced 21 theatrical productions, including plays, musicals and immersive theater performances.

These productions include Chinese musical The Devil. Based on Goethe's classic drama Faust, and featuring singers Liu Lingfei and Ye Qisheng, it will be staged in Shanghai on May 24 before starting a 10-city tour from July.

Li Jing, head of Theatre Rocks and also a producer, said, "Original scripts are key for growing the market, so we will work with professional institutions to train new talent."

Such collaboration includes Fly Plan, a musical talent training project launched with Shanghai Grand Theater. Meanwhile, the Drum Tower West Theatre in Beijing is involved with a talent development project aimed at discovering and supporting young Chinese directors.

Su Xi, deputy general manger of the latter venue, said: "The theater has become popular with young people since it was founded in 2014.Although we struggled financially during the pandemic, we never stopped preparing new productions while the theater was temporarily closed last year."

On Jan 16, the reality show Theater For Living premiered on the online streaming platform iQiyi. The inspiration of director-actor Huang Lei, a co-founder of the Wuzhen Theater Festival in Zhejiang province, the show was well received by critics and audiences.

It featured eight actors and directors, who spent two months living together and creating new works in the ancient water town of Wuzhen, which is home to the annual festival.

The show launched with Huang posing the question: "Can you make a living from working in theater?"

The festival has built a reputation among theatergoers since it was first held in 2013.Plays are staged at indoor venues and outdoor areas. Forums, workshops and street performances also give the town a carnival atmosphere during the festival.

Due to the pandemic, the eighth Wuzhen Theater Festival was postponed. When Theater For Living ended on March 27－World Theater Day－the festival organizers announced that the event would be staged in October.

To date, 146 theatrical productions from 27 countries have been staged during the festival, which has attracted total audiences of more than 220,000. Over 2 million visitors have joined the traditional opening parade.

The day after Theater For Living premiered, Huang wrote on Sina Weibo, where he has more than 40 million followers, that he simply wanted to let more people know about "these great theater actors and directors who may lose jobs due to the pandemic".

"As a live art form, how do people working in theaters survive the coronavirus crisis? Why do they keep pursuing their dreams in theater although they are struggling financially? The idea of portraying the lives of those people popped into my head and resulted in a reality show," Huang wrote.

Nationwide tour

Director and actor Liu Xiaoyi, who appeared on the show, said: "Within two months, we created 11 new works together, which was beyond our expectations. It is so much fun working in theaters, and thankfully they are now reopening."

The 35-year-old worked as puppetry director for the Chinese version of the stage production War Horse. On the reality show, Liu said that due to the pandemic he had to move his studio from downtown Beijing to the outskirts of the city to save on rent.

Liu's latest theatrical production is the musical Wukong, which premiered in Shanghai on Nov 22. It is touring nationwide, including performances in Shanghai last month and in Nanjing on April 4.

As its director and choreographer, Liu used Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King from the 16th century novel Journey to the West, to tell the story of a rebellious soul, who in Liu's words, "has the spirit of a rocker".

"Theater still caters to smaller audiences in China, unlike pop music or movies. We worked hard to create shows and sell tickets on the streets of Wuzhen, which was an unforgettable and rewarding experience for all of us," Liu said.

"When an audience, who had never watched a play in a theater, decided to give it a try after seeing what we did on the reality show, that really mattered to me."