Editor's Note Shanghai is the birthplace of the Party, the place where the original intention started, and the place where the great spirit of party building was nurtured. In order to further polish the red business card of Shanghai as the "birthplace of the Party" and enhance the visibility and affinity of Shanghai's red culture, the "Glorious City" 2024 Shanghai Red Culture Season is being spread across the city, becoming the high-spirited melody of this "people's city". The "2024 Shanghai Red Culture Season Narrative" series launched today will lead readers to perceive the red pulse of Shanghai from the perspective of young people.
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"Toward Yan'an", adapted from Hai Fei's novel of the same name, will premiere on May 27, the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Shanghai. In the past few days, this large-scale Shanghai-style spy war-themed drama jointly produced by "Dongyi Production" and Liberation Daily has been undergoing intensive rehearsals.
Recently, when the reporter arrived at the rehearsal hall in the evening, he happened to witness the climax at the end of the second act. The conversation with director Li Bonan during the rehearsal break started with this line about faith and Shanghai -
What is faith?
"What is faith?" Li Bonan hopes that this is a question that the crew of "To Yan'an" and the audience watching "To Yan'an" will explore together.
"To put it simply, the drama "To Yan'an" expresses greatness and describes sublime things." Li Bonan said, "Under different situations, the thing that can support the human spirit is faith. What kind of spirit is needed in this era? The purity, spiritual hardness, and spiritual connotation are related to every audience and every theatergoer."
However, the reason that attracted this Wenhua Award-winning director to take over "Xiang Yan'an" is exactly that. It’s its richness and complexity.
Li Bonan at the press conference of "Toward Yan'an"
"I read the original novel and I liked it very much. This is an alternative, red literary work and a very good creative material. How to turn it into a stage play is full of challenges. "Li Bonan explained to reporters that "To Yan'an" is not a single spy war theme. It has youth, passion, family, and the forbearance and sense of life of little people and ordinary heroes. What moved him most was the way of expressing faith in the work. "It can be said that lifting weights with ease, making noises in the east and attacking in the west, antelopes hanging horns, grass snakes gray lines, express a powerful theme in a literary and artistic way, expressing the understanding of Shanghai and the people of that era."
"We hope Let the audience have a broader understanding of the spiritual direction of this play, especially young audiences, who can slowly focus on and get closer to 'what is faith' while watching the play, and get inspiration from the young people of that era," said Li Bonan. As the plot develops and the fate of the characters unfolds, the answer may lie in the spiritual growth history of each small character in the play, and in the joys and sorrows of all living beings in Shanghai. “As a spy war-themed work, what we pursue is not to provide the audience with external plot stimulation and audio-visual experience, but to hope that this drama will have more humanistic value and poetic character based on the premise of the spy war genre. "
For Li Bonan and the crew, "Towards Yan'an" has also been an arduous and meaningful exploration from novel to stage. "Literature and drama have different ways of expression. The characteristics and advantages of literary works may sometimes even become constraints for stage plays. How to creatively transform them is the biggest challenge for our creation."
In the crew of "Toward Yan'an", both There are stage majors and senior actors from Beijing People's Art Theatre, National Theater, Shanghai Theater Academy, and Shanghai Dramatic Art Center, as well as film and television actors and cross-border stars who have little experience in drama performances in the past. In the script reading meeting that took a lot of time in the early stage, Li Bonan always encouraged everyone to fully express their opinions. On the rehearsal field, there is no distinction between stars and extras, only pure devotion to the role.
"To Yan'an" rehearsal scene
"To Yan'an" rehearsal scene
"To Yan'an" rehearsal scene
"To Yan'an" rehearsal scene
"We created "To Yan'an" in the spirit of "Xiang Yan'an", and gradually gathered a team with A team with a common goal." Li Bonan described it as a unique creative experience to bring this team from all over the world to Shanghai, "tiring, but beautiful."
What is Shanghai?
Li Bonan, a Beijing native, has a close connection with Shanghai. From more than 20 years ago, when he was still a young director, he won the love of Shanghai audiences with his emotional dramas in small theaters, and achieved high box office every time he came to Shanghai. He also collaborated with the Shanghai theater circle on "Jingxin", "Murder in Time" and "<富春山居图> Legend". " and other different types of works, and even children's dramas. In Li Bonan's eyes, Shanghai is a magical and dynamic city.
"There is a good market, a diversified audience group, and a variety of creative possibilities. Shanghai is not only a dock for drama consumption, but also a center of creation. It has the ability to create works with Shanghai's unique character." Li Bonan said, " As a dramatist, we should tell Shanghai stories well and tell Shanghai stories with Chinese quality.”
Li Bonan at the script reading meeting
The urban comedy "Baoxingli" that reflects Shanghai's urban renewal with a real old story is also written by Li Bonan. 's directing. From Shanghai, where darkness and dawn intertwined in the 1930s and 1940s, to Shanghai in the new era, where "the people's city is built by the people and the people's city is for the people", Li Bonan's two recent directorial works have invisibly connected the city's history. footprints.
Urban comedy "Baoxingli" is directed by Li Bonan and Shen Gang
"The story of "Toward Yan'an" takes place in Shanghai during a special period. The cries of gardenias and white orchids are mixed with the bells of the Bund and the dance music of Paramount. In a family, people with different life choices and different beliefs collide, confront, and confront each other...their stories have the meaning of life and the times. "Li Bonan said that Shanghai is not only a Shanghai of ten miles of foreign land, but also a red city. Shanghai, "We often say that Shanghai is a city of heroes. "Towards Yan'an" uses little people and the fireworks of the world to spell out the unknown and anonymous heroes."
"Towards Yan'an" will be released in May Premiered on the 27th
"I like Shanghai very much, the cultural quality of Shanghai, the taste and accent of Shanghai and the spiritual characteristics of Shanghai people." Li Bonan said, "I am very close to Shanghai, but I prefer to read it spiritually The interpretation belongs to the hidden corners deep in the city of Shanghai, and a river of drama is constructed through the most tortuous and subtle factors in each individual life. "
If "Towards Yan'an" pursues the value concept of "red and hot", Li Bonan hopes that it is a kind of red that can penetrate into the depths of people's hearts, a fire that truly burns the audience's emotions and resonates with them. "We are walking on thin ice, using every minute and bit of work in the rehearsal hall to strive to achieve this goal."
Narrator: Li Bonan
Born in Beijing in 1978, he is a national first-class director of the National Theater of China. His representative works include the dramas "How much love can go wrong", "People First", "Moving into Humanoid", "Baoxingli", "Sunrise", etc., the operas "On the Field of Hope", "Li Qingzhao", the drama "Hu Qingyutang", etc. He won the "Wenhua Director Award" of the Chinese Culture and Art Government Award, the "Golden Lion Director Award" of the National Drama Culture Award, and his works have won the "Five One Project Award" of the Central Propaganda Department and other awards.
