Xinhua News Agency, Yaoundé, March 27 (Reporter Wang Ze) March 27 is "World Theater Day". For Cameroonian theater director Junior Esseba, this year's "World Theater Day" is of special significance - he will visit China for the first time to share his work at the celebration in Langfang City, Hebei Province.
On the eve of Ethiopia's departure to China, reporters watched the rehearsal of his play in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. In the Yaounde Junction Theater, actors walked onto the stage under colorful lights and performed extremely intense performances; Esseba stood to one side and gave guidance to the actors from time to time. The play expresses condemnation of terrorism and social injustice, with emotionally engaging performances and impassioned dialogue.
"Some viewers will cry for my drama because the content touches people's hearts." Essebah, 48, said. His works often feature themes of love and humanity. In this regard, he said: "I don't just create for fun, I like to put serious themes on the stage."
Talking about the upcoming trip to China, Essebah said that this is his first visit to China, I am full of expectations for this; Chinese film and television art once "enlightened" my "drama dream". The exposure to Chinese film and television works in my childhood made me aspire to become a drama artist.
He recalled that he had watched many Chinese movies in the village when he was a child. Among them, the one that impressed him most was "Shaolin Temple" starring Jet Li. This movie caused a strong response among the villagers. "After watching the movie, we felt that we could also Fight like actors in a movie."
On March 20, in Yaounde, Cameroon, theater director and actor Junior Esseba (right) was guiding actors on stage in drama rehearsal. Photo by Copso
After years of hard work, Esseba has become a well-known figure in the Cameroonian entertainment industry. He runs a "Madman Theater" and also serves as the head of the Cameroon branch of the International Theater Association. "We perform outdoors in schools, communities, and stadiums. Nowadays, many young people in Cameroon dream of joining theater, which shows that we are doing a good job."
"It is time for us to move towards other cultural powers. China is a very reliable cooperation partners." Esseba said that he is very much looking forward to having in-depth exchanges with his Chinese counterparts during the "World Theater Day" and drawing nutrients from Chinese culture.
35-year-old Aisha Abdoulaye Diallo was an actor who participated in the rehearsal that day. She told reporters, "We 'see' Chinese culture in movies, which is good, but it is not detailed enough." She hopes to have more exposure to Chinese culture. "I hope that in the future, more artists from Cameroon and China can achieve Exchange visits and exchanges”.
Andre Thakur, who co-directed with Esseba, agrees. He believes that when two cultures and two nations communicate, "each other can draw inspiration from the other and develop something of their own." (Reporter: Claude; Video: Wang Pei; Editors: Dong Yalei, Xu Xiaolei, Sun Shuo)
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
