Information Times (Reporter Huang Wenhao) This weekend following the Qingming Festival, the heat of the Guangzhou performance market gradually picked up with the temperature. From April 8th to 10th, Guangzhou Grand Theater welcomed the long-awaited original folk dance drama “Dream of Red Mansions”. The main creative team of this work assembled “half of the country” in the domestic contemporary dance scene. Directors Li Xing, Li Chao, dancers Li Yanchao , Li Qian, Hu Jie, Zhang Yashu and more than a dozen domestic “post-90s” outstanding young artists, not only injected new ideas into the works, but also brought attention and popularity. This Guangzhou performance is the The first stop of this year’s national tour.
At the No. 13 Theater, “The King of Nanyue” by Guangzhou Drama Art Center will meet the audience once more from April 8th to 17th. As a heritage play of Cantonese, “The King of Nanyue” has a history of more than ten years. The old actors are replaced by new ones, and the actors are changing, but the epic romance and humanistic brilliance in the play remain unchanged. This “South Vietnam Epic” is worth watching carefully for those interested in history and dialogue dramas.
“A Dream of Red Mansions” is a masterpiece of Chinese classical literature and a culmination of traditional culture. It is rich in connotations and all-encompassing. It is a spiritual treasure that runs through ancient and modern times. No matter what form of adaptation it is, it has always attracted much attention. After the first round of performances in Nanjing, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai and other places last year, Jiangsu Grand Theater’s original folk dance drama “Dream of Red Mansions” has started a national tour this year, and will perform three performances at the Guangzhou Grand Theater this week.
On the followingnoon of April 7th, the Guangzhou Grand Theater held a sharing session for the main creators of the dance drama “Dream of Red Mansions”, inviting six “dream people” in the play – Li Xing, Li Chao, Li Yanchao, Li Qian, Wang Minrui, Dou Suifang Come to the event site, “dream in advance” with the audience, and experience the story behind the dance drama. The two directors revealed that this performance in Guangzhou is the first appearance of “Dream of Red Mansions” following further polishing and upgrading on the basis of the first round of tour. This round excludes the polishing and sublimation of classic scenes, as well as the creation and design of new scenes, including the coordination of multimedia, the design of new stage costumes, etc. There is even a piece of music that was just recorded from the studio on Wednesday. Therefore, Guangzhou audiences can experience the fresher version 2.0 of the dance drama “Dream of Red Mansions” at the scene.
In fact, following the play premiered last year, its rich stage imagination and innovative pursuit have been praised by audiences and industry insiders. For example, the play not only re-arranges the stage form of important plots such as Yuanchun’s relatives, Grandma Liu’s entering the Grand View Garden, and Daiyu’s burial of flowers, but also newly edited the ending of “Reunion”. The “Twelve Golden Hairpins” reappeared on stage. Bi Feiyu, chairman of Jiangsu Writers Association, mentioned: “The Burial of Flowers is excellent, it reflects the creativity and aesthetic courage of the team, which is not found in this novel, but it is precisely the essence and spirit of the Red Chamber. “
Chen Xinyi, a well-known director, also felt a lot regarding the play: “Now the world should belong to young people. Young people are full of vitality and creative freedom. Because China’s traditional culture is so profound, I hope that more young people will come to the show. Get into the creation and have a young audience to appreciate it.”
“The King of Nanyue” stills.Photo courtesy of the interviewee
“South Vietnam Epic” Stage Reproduction
Time: April 8-17 (Closed on Mondays)
Venue: No. 13 Theatre, Guangzhou Dramatic Art Center
“The King of Nanyue” is a high-quality play in the collection of Guangzhou Drama Art Center. It premiered in 2006. It is a nominated play for the 2006-2007 National Excellent Stage Art Project, an excellent play for the 2007-2010 Golden Lion Award for Drama, and the 100th Anniversary of Chinese Drama. The five-time national outstanding drama award-winning work… The play has also gone abroad and was performed in Hungary’s famous century-old theatre – Budapest’s Vig Theatre in 2017.
“The King of Nanyue”, as its name suggests, tells the story of Zhao Tuo, the first-generation “King of Nanyue” who founded the Nanyue Kingdom in 204 BC. From the 30-year-old thirteen to the 106-year-old mackerel’s back, the play reviews Zhao Tuo’s unique life course of more than 70 years and writes a microcosm of the entire history of South Vietnam.
“The King of Nanyue” is a fine collection of Cantonese plays, and it is also a masterpiece of Cantonese heritage art. In addition to the million-dollar stage scenery, colorful costumes, and the customs and folklore of South Vietnam, this large-scale production also has gathered almost all the cast of Cantonese, and has experienced two generations of Cantonese. The succession of actors alternates. Director Wang Xiaodi said: “The King of Nanyue is a sign, marking the birth of a theater’s true repertoire. The reason why a repertoire can be preserved is that, on the one hand, its humanistic spirit and its dramatic value are not outdated. In part, it’s because we have such a good actor.”
As for how the play can still attract and emotionally connect with the audience more than ten years following its premiere, director Wang Xiaodi explained: “How can a dramatic work have eternal aesthetic value, I think, as long as it is from life From the angle of view, to study the problems of human beings – human spirit, personality and life, its value should be long-term. Therefore, in this play, we try to reflect Zhao Tuo in the background of such a big historical change This character. He can live more than 100 years, which is what interests me the most. Why does he live so long? What kind of character does he have? Where is his philosophy of life and his humanistic spirit? Concerns regarding the phenomenon of life, it is the study of people.”
Relax at the small theater
Recommended performance: Ambient resident musical “Apolonia”
A still from the musical Apollonia.Photo courtesy of the interviewee
The popular “bistro” continues to operate
Time: April 8th to 30th (there will be temporary adjustments in the near future, subject to the notification of the performer)
Location: 8A01, Tianhe City, Beijing Road
If you don’t want to do any “homework” and just want to step into the theater to relax and have a good time with the characters, the musical “Apolonia” is recommended. Before you know it, the environmental resident musical “Apolonia” has entered the third month of its resident performance in Yangcheng. After the show became popular in Shanghai last year, it began to land in Yangcheng on February 14 this year. Tianhe City has opened a long-term residency. Continuing the upsurge in Shanghai, the first round of February performance tickets for the Guangzhou show were sold out on the day of ticketing.
At present, it takes a lot of courage to introduce the open-style residency model into the domestic musical theater market, and “Apolonia” is one of the successful cases. The play focuses on environmental performances, and its stage mode is different from that of formal theaters. The live-action “bistro” restores the small bars on the streets of New York in the 1930s in the play. There is no clear boundary between the stage and the auditorium. This small theater’s unique sense of zero-distance “communication” is also the unique charm of “Apolonia”.
In terms of plot, the musical “Apolonia” consists of a main line and two “plays within a play”. The plot is fast-paced and unpredictable. In the three cleverly choreographed stories, each actor is tasked with the task of playing multiple roles or even acting in reverse. Regardless of gender, status, or age, the three actors show the diverse charms of 12 characters in the play.
As “The Bistro” entered the third round of performances in Guangzhou, some audience members have already “played twice” and “played more”, some people want to see a certain actor they like, and some people want to experience more combinations of casts. The actors who have the same card but do not collide are randomly arranged and combined to bring the joy of “collecting cards”. Different combinations of Richard, Oscar and Steve show completely different auras and fresh chemical reactions. One of the “magic weapons” that the drama can perform for a long time.Return to Sohu, see more
