Business and faith, self-interest and love are intertwined. Football is no longer just football itself; dense lines and high-frequency rhythm constitute a drama full of "smell of gunpowder". On July 31, Beijing People's Art Theater "Football Club" once again appeared on the stage of the Cao Yu Theater of the Beijing International Drama Center. It used six male characters, a sport, and a "quarrel" to reflect the battle of human nature and the tension of drama.
"Football Club" was created by the famous Australian playwright David Williamson. It tells the story of several core members of a high-end football club chatting and arguing for their own interests in the conference room of a high-end football club. A series of games and competitions unfolded at the conference table outside the green field... The play was on the stage of the People's Art Theater in 2002. Last year, Xu Ang, a former actor in the play, served as the rearrangement director, bringing the play to the grand theater stage for the first time. Feng Yuanzheng, Yang Mingxin, Liu Hui, Wang Gang, Gong Jiahao, Zhao Zhengtian and other new and old lineups co-starred.
Stills of "Football Club" Photographed by Fang Fei
After the rearrangement of "Football Club", it not only reorganized the script and added current interpretations, but also used a new perspective to enrich the logic behind the characters and interpret the multi-faceted nature of human nature. This year, the brand-new "Football Club" after the theater upgrade ushered in its second round of performances, focusing on the improvement of characters, details and rhythm. Director Xu Ang likened this creative process to "painting an oil painting": "You can keep painting and have a new and in-depth understanding of each character."
Feng Yuanzheng, who plays the club manager Gerry in the play, is the protagonist in the play. The "veteran", he has accompanied almost every performance of this drama since 2002. When he interpreted these six completely different characters on the stage, he used a hot Internet word - desire to survive. He said that everyone's "desire to survive" makes every confrontation on the stage full of fatal impact. "I played an experienced and steady professional manager. His goal is the interests of the club." Regarding his re-appearance in this role, Feng Yuanzheng believed that he should "stop with silence" and that seemingly offensive lines should be " Let’s keep it in mind”.
The young actor Yang Mingxin, who plays the role of the club chairman, not only performed the character's passion, but also showed his chaos and amateurishness, making the character real and full of contradictions. Coach Lawley, played by Liu Hui, demonstrated the character's perseverance and belief, and his "fragile integrity" made the audience sigh. The club vice president played by Wang Gang is domineering and openly obsessed with past glory, refusing to face his own hypocrisy. Zhao Zhengtian and Gong Jiahao, who play the roles of football stars, used their sports talents in the new round of performances to create a lot of connections with the audience.
This round of performances will last until August 18th.
