From South Africa's "National" Baxter Theater to the prestigious "theater magician" Robert Lepage, from the masterpiece of Nobel Prize winner Coetzee to the creator's private narrative... 2024 Shanghai·Jing'an Modern Drama Valley will be launched at the end of this month, and many plays from all over the world will be launched on the Shanghai stage.
is both fresh and stunning. Most of the international dramas in Drama Valley in previous years were premiered in Shanghai or even China. This year is no exception, including "The Life and Times of Michael K", "887", "Waiting for Godot", etc. Word-of-mouth works will meet the audience. “Famous artists, famous troupes, famous directors, famous works, this is our original intention in selecting international works,” Xu Zhongping, the director of Drama Valley, told reporters, “Understand the global cutting-edge drama trends on the stage of Drama Valley and become a senior drama player in Shanghai. Fans and even many people in the domestic industry are looking forward to watching the drama. "
Real people and puppets are on the same stage, looking for the essence of life.
Coming from the other side of the world, South Africa's Baxter Theater will set off from Cape Town and come to the Theater Valley. , completed his first show in China. Coming to Shanghai this time, the theater was full of sincerity and brought the Asian premiere of "The Life and Times of Michael K." In the original work of the same name, Coetzee used concise language to describe Michael K, an ordinary individual with a simple mind who only wanted to live freely. He tried to leave the city with his mother, but he continued to encounter helplessness in a complex and conflict-ridden society. moment.
In recent years, South African dramas have rarely been staged on the Shanghai stage. "Excellent, superior, top quality", Xu Zhongping did not hesitate to praise this work. Under the direction of the theater's artistic director Laura Ford, the text has completed its stage transformation. "This is a story about human nature. The protagonist Michael K neither loves nor hates him. He is not a hero and has no followers, but he brings hope to the most vulnerable." Laura Ford said. According to this talented director, it is not easy to tell philosophy in words on the stage, but by giving life to beautifully carved puppets, it can play a silent role in speaking.
On the stage, Michael K and his mother will be represented by puppets, while other characters will be played by real people. The person responsible for the puppet performance is one of the performing units of "War Horse" that is familiar to the Shanghai audience - the South African "Palm Universe" Puppet Troupe. In the play, puppets are not just a form of performance, but also represent the life logic of the characters. "They are outside of war and destruction, performing in another scene." At the Edinburgh Theater Festival last year, Xu Zhongping expressed his feelings about puppets and I was deeply impressed by the smooth connection between real people, "It even has a cold beauty, conveying the spirit of the protagonist visually, and the audience can be immersed in the theater and feel the charm of the story.
"The Magician" uses all his strength to answer the questions of memory
Ten years have passed since its premiere, and Robert Lepage's autobiographical one-man show "887" has actually been sealed. But when asked what "meeting gift" he would give to the Chinese mainland audience, Lepage still did not hesitate. Chosen this work. After its premiere in 2015, this work was rated as "the top ten performances of the year" by the British Guardian. "887" is a journey of memory, and "887" represents Lepage's childhood. Period residence - Apartment 887, Murray Street. Lepage uses this as a starting point to explore the relationship between people and memory.
How does memory work? Why do we remember small moments but forget big ones? Contemporary people have more and more technical memories but less and less perceptual memories. So as an art form based on "re-enactment", is drama still effective? Lepage integrated this series of questions into his work? In a story performed in person, a performance that combines theater performance and lecture tells the story of what it means to be an actor - in addition to the text of the performance, you must also remember your own past, as well as the history and society that shape your identity. Reality.
"Amazing ingenuity" and "magical stage device". On the rating website, some viewers described this work as "superb".Lepage regards drama as "the art of light and shadow." On the 2008 World Theater Day, he said as a message speaker, "In the face of a complex world, artists must constantly update their creative forms and trust the wisdom of the audience. , they are able to explore the outline of human nature in the eternal game of light and shadow." These words can be said to sum up Le Page's dramatic style. In "887", the "theater magician" can be said to have tried his best to use as many means as possible - puppetry, shadow play, sound, body, real-time projection, and classic monologues to tell a story about memory and forgetting, history and The present, society and the story of “me”.
Author: Wang Xiaoli
Text: Wang Xiaoli Pictures: Pictures provided by the organizer Editor: Xuan Jing Editor: Xing Xiaofang
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