Hugo's "Les Misérables", Strindberg's "Miss Julie", John Fosse's "One Summer"... representative works of a group of literary masters have recently appeared frequently on the Shanghai stage. ”, leading the audience to understand the deep observations and emotions in the text. Whether it is Jean Valjean who embarks on a journey of redemption in life, Miss Julie who bravely breaks out of her confinement, or the unnamed "men" and "women" in Fosse's works, they are born in history and the past. Theater forms live in the moment. These classic texts allow these "artistic films in dramas" to break out of the circle, blooming a fresh charm full of the flavor of the times for the Shanghai stage in spring.
Combat anxiety with calm honesty
"For his innovative plays and essays that give voice to the ineffable." The 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature honored Norwegian writer Jorn Fosse. The Shanghai Dramatic Art Center is currently performing works created by this playwright who is known as the "new Ibsen" and "the new Beckett".
On a beautiful summer day, by the Norwegian fjords, with the sound of waves, in a cold room surrounded by sand and stones, an old woman stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, staring out the window. She turned and looked at another older woman, her friend. Two elderly women chatted about the past and recounted the memories buried in their hearts... coldness, calmness, and Nordic restraint, these are the high-frequency words used by the audience to evaluate "One Summer". Actor Tian Shui, who plays the "old woman", believes that this is a role that can be played until the age of 80. "Fosse understands his shaping of relationships between people as paying attention to the inner condition of human beings. Human beings are not equal to a person." The object, the human being, is first and foremost a soul, an inner mind.”
In the view of director Wang Wei, the short dialogues, long silences and pauses in the play are symbols of human loneliness and ideological isolation. Swedish drama critic Leif Zern once said: "Fosse is writing for a Writing in an era that has not yet come. Only in the dreamland shared by performers and audiences can this era of drama arrive." Fosse "resists" this loneliness through dialogue, and he gives equal weight to the uneasiness of the two couples who enter the world and those who are born out of it. , and gives the "young woman" the "privilege" that has passed over time, and she is no longer afraid of losing it. Perhaps it was Fosse's honest attitude that cured some of the audience's mental infighting, making this "artistic film within a drama" less monotonous.
Entering the "Modern People" Miss Julie
More than a hundred years later, "Miss Julie" written by Strindberg, the founder of modern Swedish literature, in 1888 is still a frequent guest on drama stages and film and television adaptations. Inviting the Swedish national treasure director Helda Helweger, "Miss Julie", also produced by the Shanghai Dramatic Art Center, will meet the audience next month. A young lady from a noble family and a lowly born servant will jointly present a spectacle. A misunderstanding of madness and destruction. At the formation meeting, Helweger bluntly stated that the biggest challenge of the work is to "clarify the motivations of these characters created by Strindberg, their choices and actions."
This has to mention the naturalistic view of drama advocated by Strindberg. The prototype of the story of "Miss Julie" comes from what Strindberg heard in his life. On the title page of the script, he wrote: "A family. The death of a person is more tragic than the death of a person favored by fate." He regarded the protagonist "Miss Julie" and the servant "Jean" as representatives of different classes. "They are modern characters living in an era of social transformation. Old and new ideas coexist, so they are more divided and vacillating than their predecessors."
The longevity of "Miss Julie" is inseparable from the work's diverse themes. Strindberg abandoned the conventional practice of mainstream dramas-for the characters Establish a sole motive. Miss Julie's class, her desires and impulsive nature, and the trauma in her family of origin, these issues do not appear outdated and outdated because of time. Julie, who has a strong sense of modern femininity, and Jean, who adapts to social laws and continues to climb up, It is still a realistic portrayal.
The popular and controversial "Les Misérables"
Hugo's super IP and the famous actor Liu Ye both made the stage play "Les Misérables" very popular in the early stage. After the recent national tour in Shanghai, the focus of discussion shifted to the narrative structure Adaptation to the viewing experience. In the play, the actors spent a considerable amount of time retelling the highlights of the original work. Supporters believe that this arrangement allows the audience to have free space for imagination and to "return to the text quietly", but there are also voices saying, "I can't understand it if I haven't read the original work" and "I would rather see the actors focus their energy on in performance".
The script text of "Les Misérables" all comes from the original text of Victor Hugo's novel. It has been cut and collaged to retain the complete story line. The more classic a work is, the more difficult it is to adapt it. It is self-evident that it is difficult to present a million-word novel in three and a half hours. The reasonable conversion between drama and narrative is also a concern for people in the industry. Some experts believe that the choice of form is all to complete the character, and the monologue in the play plays the role of shaping the character of Jean Valjean. However, some experts pointed out the absence of the behind-the-scenes role of the screenwriter in the work. Whether it is a literary return or a "stereo audiobook", the controversy continues as the show progresses. That’s probably not such a bad thing for a production that plans to make its way onto the international stage.
Author: Wang Xiaoli
Text: Wang Xiaoli Pictures: Pictures provided by the performer Editor: Xuan Jing Editor: Li Ting
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