Requiem, a play by the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv, Israel. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Modern Drama Valley allows audiences to enjoy theater shows in outdoor settings, Zhang Kun reports in Shanghai.
Modern Drama Valley, an annual theater event hosted by the Jing'an district of Shanghai, brought 19 theater productions from 11 countries to the city this year.
All the productions were being performed in the city for the first time, while 80 percent of them were making their debut in China.
To make the plays during the April 26 to May 12 festival more accessible to the public, Jing'an district provided financial subsidies to the box offices. According to Chen Hong, head of the cultural administration of Jing'an, the district is subsidizing the cost of each ticket sold by 30 to 40 percent, allowing visitors to enjoy the festival offerings for prices as low as 100 yuan ($15).
Aside from the formal theater shows, many of the performances this year took place in outdoor settings. For example, an environmental theater named Walk Along the Suzhou Creek takes audiences into historical buildings where short plays are presented.
"Theaters have limited seats," explains Chen of the decision to stage outdoor events. "But we want to take the theatrical experience to an unlimited number of people."
Zero Liturgy by the Alexandrinsky Theatre from Russia [Photo provided to China Daily]
Interactive outdoor performances can be found in the public space located next to six landmark malls on the bustling Nanjing West Road too. Here, visitors can choose from three walking tours. The first tour starts from the Jiuguang Department Store and takes audiences close to Jing'an Park and onto the northern square of the Kerry Center. The second takes audiences to CITIC Plaza, the east square of Plaza 66 before culminating at the Majestic Theatre. The third tour starts from the north square of HKRi Taikoo Hui and ends at Weihai Road. All the tours cover the core shopping area of Jing'an district.
Among the most anticipated plays this year is Requiem by the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv, Israel. Based on three short stories by Russian author Anton Chekhov, the play was written and directed by Hanoch Levin, and had four full-house performances at the Majestic Theatre from May 3 to 5.
"It is a play that makes people want to cry, think and struggle and effect change," Beijing Daily wrote about the play's third tour of the Chinese capital.
Heart of Heroes, the opening play of this year's Modern Drama Valley in Shanghai, premieres at the Majestic Theatre on April 26. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Although the play has gone on three tours of China since 2004, winning high praise from critics and the public alike, this is the first time it had been performed in Shanghai. One of those responsible for its debut in the city is Yu Rongjun, a Shanghai-based playwright-turned cultural official, and the current deputy president of SMG Live, a State-owned theater company that brought the highly-acclaimed immersive theater show Sleep No More to the city.
Over the past 15 years, Yu and colleagues in Shanghai's theater scene have made several unsuccessful attempts to introduce Requiem to the city.
"This is a large and expensive production. We either had difficulty finding another Chinese theater to split the cost, or the company didn't have the time slot for us," explains Yu.
"The cast have aged significantly, and this might be one of the few opportunities we could see the production from the original creative team," he adds.
The opening play, Heart of Heroes, premiered on April 26 at the Majestic Theatre. This Chinese production by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, which is meant as a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, is about the development of China's first large passenger aircraft. The C919, China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, conducted its successful maiden flight on May 5, 2017, at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
The stage setting featured LED displays and digital visual projections tilted at different angles. Director Hu Zongqi hopes to show audiences "bigger scenes and bigger themes".
Cai Jun, the pilot of C919, attended the opening show. He says that "the storytelling was flawless from an engineer's professional point of view".
The play will have two more performances at the Majestic Theatre on May 23 and 24.
