The large-scale spy war-themed drama "Toward Yan'an", produced by the Propaganda Department of the Pudong New Area Party Committee (Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism), Beijing Poly Theater Management Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Oriental Art Center Management Co., Ltd., and jointly produced by Liberation Daily, will be launched in June It will be performed at the National Center for the Performing Arts from July 28th to July 1st. On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Communist Party of China, it will reproduce this glorious history in which the light of ideals shines brightly before the darkness is dispelled by dawn.
In July last year, the drama "The Righteous Path in the World Is Vicissitudes" produced by Shanghai Oriental Art Center Management Co., Ltd. was performed at the National Center for the Performing Arts for four consecutive performances. This year, the producer and the National Center for the Performing Arts have renewed their relationship and scheduled the first tour stop of the drama "To Yan'an" after its premiere in Shanghai at the National Center for the Performing Arts, delivering a hot new literary work to the Beijing audience. On June 12, the creators and starring actors of the play shared their creative experiences at the National Center for the Performing Arts.
A Chef's Revolution
The drama "Towards Yan'an" is adapted from the novel of the same name written by writer Haifei, who won the "People's Literature Award·Biennial Novel Award". Haifei himself serves as the screenwriter and is directed by director Li Bonan. It is not only the first stage production of "Haifei Spy World", but also the first spy drama directed by Li Bonan. The whole play is set in Shanghai after the Battle of Songhu in 1937. It tells the story of Xiang Jinxi, the protagonist in his youth, who accidentally performs a hidden mission as a chef and grows from a young and ignorant student to a professional. The story of an outstanding revolutionary warrior is known as "The Revolution of a Chef".
Hai Fei, a top espionage writer and screenwriter, is known for his ability to narrate human nature under red narratives. His works such as "Sparrow" and "Jingzhe" have been adapted into films. Regarding the adaptation of "Toward Yan'an", Hai Fei said that the true meaning of "Toward Yan'an" is "to which the heart longs". The protagonist has never been able to leave Shanghai in his life, but he has arrived in "Yan'an" in a secret and great way. , which also has practical significance that is extremely in line with the spirit of the times for young people living in China today.
The drama "Toward Yan'an" combines the subtlety of human nature in literature with the poetic character, and presents it dramatically on the stage, realizing the two-way connection between literature and the stage, and composing a touching song of youth. In addition to inviting the original author Hai Fei to be the screenwriter and Li Bonan, winner of the "Wenhua Director Award" to direct, the cast also strives to authentically show the youth portraits of the revolutionary era in the novel. In the Beijing station performance, Liu Zhiyang, Li Shihua, Wang Nanjun, Li Jinfeng, Sun Yilin, Liang Tian, Xu Kaicheng, Jiang Jiaqi, Li Chuanying and others will all appear. Among them are powerful stage actors from Beijing People's Art Theatre, National Theater and Shanghai Theater Academy, as well as film and television actors and cross-border stars who have had little experience in drama performances in the past. "Xia Dongqing" Liu Zhiyang, who came out of "Soul Ferry", will star on the same stage as "Zhang Jiayan" Li Shiwei, who came out of "News Queen", which is full of freshness.
How does a poetic spy drama
condense an original work with more than 300 pages and a story span of more than 20 years onto the drama stage? Director Li Bonan said: "What we pursue is not to give the audience external plot stimulation and audio-visual impact, but to hope that this drama will have more humanistic value and poetic character based on the spy war genre."
To this end, he firmly grasped the dilapidation and bloody romance of the period of social turmoil, and retained the rich quality of life in the original work. In terms of stage aesthetics, a magnificent and freehand bell tower is in the center and always stands on the stage, becoming the main image of the play. Sang Qi, the stage designer, said that the bell tower symbolizes the Yan'an that everyone yearns for, and the specially designed "doors on all sides" form is also a metaphor that "you can always reach Yan'an."
"Along the endless mountain ridges and rushing rivers, let's go to Yan'an!"... A majestic and powerful modern poem "Go to Yan'an" runs throughout the play, driving the plot to one after another.Director Li Bonan used a freehand treatment that was both lyrical and narrative, and used an aesthetic style that was loyal to the original work and a unique directorial vocabulary to write a narrative poem full of "humanistic value" on the stage, which endowed the "literariness" with Shocking "theatrical" effect.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily Reporter Guo Jia
Photography/Beijing Youth Daily Reporter Chai Cheng
Editor/Cui Wei
