The watch that can never be found, the timeline that does not match, the person with confused identity... The play "The Father" by French playwright Florian Zeller, which won the "Molière Drama Award" for the best screenplay, is A very special work, whether it is the subject of Alzheimer's disease it touches, or the narrative structure and writing techniques that are "difficult to distinguish between true and false, specious", it has attracted attention. The film "Father Trapped in Time," which he adapted and directed, also won an Oscar. This year, the Shanghai Dramatic Art Center will put "Father" on the Chinese drama stage, directed by Jiang Weiguo and starring Jin Shijie and Tian Shui. It will appear in the "Seeing the World in Beijing" section of the 2024 National Center for the Performing Arts International Drama Season from August 15 to 18. , bringing the audience a very novel stage presentation and complex psychological feelings.
Director Jiang Weiguo:
Presenting "flowing reality" in the memory maze
""Father" is a play with a very special structure. The narrative logic seems topsy-turvy, but in fact it is pieced together bit by bit in the order of time in different scenes. By alternately showing the perspectives of Alzheimer’s patients and the patients’ family members, it creates a sense of chaos with a suspenseful effect.” Jiang Weiguo said, “I have never rehearsed such a script with an open interpretation. When our crew started discussing the script, we had four or five different versions of it, but we had to come up with a common understanding and work together to rehearse the play according to this understanding. This is not necessarily what the author wants. . Because the author himself admits, "No matter who reads this script, he will feel that there is a missing piece." I think this is the interesting part. "
This novel narrative method also allows the audience to constantly mix reality and fantasy." Wandering between, as the plot unfolds, the experience of fear is far greater than sadness. The audience will feel the same confusion as the protagonist Andre, no longer trusting their own judgment, trying to solve various mysteries, but always unable to find any clues or clues. Many viewers lamented that this drama is "more exciting than suspense dramas."
Even though this is a play that relies heavily on actors' performances, the director still uses a lot of clever stage techniques to strengthen and help the audience gain more artistic feelings. In terms of stage design, the audience will find that a very comfortable and normal apartment that appears on the stage at the beginning changes in every scene. The things in the room gradually decrease and become more and more empty, just like A line from his father Andre: "My leaves are falling off one by one." The tilting and rotating stage implies the deviation and confusion of memory. In Andre's shuttle, it is like a vortex of time and a maze of memory. The lighting, sound effects and costumes of the entire work will also constantly change in line with the emotional changes of the characters in the play. Jiang Weiguo strives to present a "fluid reality" on the stage: "The time and space on the stage are flexible. It is hoped that through this method, the audience can freely shuttle between chaos and order and feel the complexity and change of life. "
In Jiang Weiguo's view, this drama is not only about the relationship between father and daughter, nor is it just a drama about sick old people, but it shows many very difficult situations in life and is a deep exploration of human nature. A profound excavation touched upon the most essential issues in life - memory and existence. Such a serious theme is expressed in a very playful and humorous way, and the audience often laughs at the performance. Jiang Weiguo said, "I hope to make the audience rethink the meaning and value of life in laughter and tears."
"Father" Jin Shijie:
was deeply attracted by the script and challenged the most difficult role
to play "father" Andre. The famous performance artist Jin Shijie has deep emotions for this role. "Andre is almost the most difficult role I have ever played. It is an unprecedented challenge." But it is also this challenge that makes him full of joy of exploration during the performance.
Jin Shijie has a working habit of never leaving Taipei to pick up stage plays, but this time he actually stayed in Shanghai for two months to rehearse the play "Father", which was also the longest time he had been away from home. The reason for this, Jin Shijie said: "From the beginning of reading the script, I was deeply attracted by the playwright's writing skills, talent and aesthetics. What attracted me most was not Alzheimer's disease, but the writing of the script. A man called father presents many of his emotions, the strange, wonderful, irritable, selfish, talented, or unbearable aspects of his character, as well as the confusing things about him. These are very vivid and attractive. "Me, so I nodded to this invitation."
Because he was so interested in the script, Jin Shijie would open the script every day, think about it, and never tire of pondering the problems in it. But he also admitted that he is "a person who seems a bit difficult to deal with when working with any team." "I'm a troublemaker. When working with any team, I will always raise my hand to the director to express my opinions, confusion, and even my disapproval. I won't ignore it. I think it's good because I I only hope for one thing with all my heart, and that is to hope that this play will go well."
An audience member told Jin Shijie that on the way home after watching the play, he was walking at an intersection on the road and suddenly stopped and couldn't walk any further. "It seems that the climax of the play happened at that moment, rather than any other moment in the play." Jin Shijie sighed, "Some people regard this play as a suspense drama, while others regard it as a horror drama. For me, the feeling of acting in this play is , it's like looking at a portrait of my father's face. I don't know which painting school it belongs to, but it is painted by a master. I slowly try to outline this face. This scene is the nose, that scene is the eyes, and the next one is the eyes. One scene was about the ears, and the face gradually became clearer. In the end, I really enjoyed playing him, and my heart was filled with the joy of looking at a painting."
Previously, Jin Shijie played the role of a patient in the drama "The Last 14 Tuesday Lessons". Professor Morrie, who suffers from ALS, shows his enthusiasm and embrace of the world during the countdown to life, which is a warm chapter. In "Father", Andre, the father suffering from Alzheimer's disease, is deteriorating, and the tension between him and his daughter is getting worse and worse, presenting a broken life chapter. "Andre and Professor Mori are different, but they both attract me. I really feel honored to be able to play such a vivid role in such an excellent script."
"Daughter" Tian Shui:
and Character resonance, feeling warmth and cruelty
Actor Tian Shui, who plays the daughter Anna in "Father", has a deep emotional resonance with the characters in the play. "My mother was a patient with severe Alzheimer's disease and passed away last year. Some of the conversations between father and daughter in the script have been experienced by me when I got along with my mother in life. These personal experiences have allowed me to understand more Deeply understanding the pain and struggle experienced by the characters."
Tian Shui said that this too similar experience not only helped her during the performance, but also gave her a sense of "internal friction": "I had to rehearse. I have to look up the memories I want to forget over and over again and control my emotions. This is rare in my career, but it also helps me a lot in presenting the character of Anna."
Tian. Shui also mentioned that she benefited a lot from her first cooperation with teacher Jin Shijie. "Teacher Jin has a very deep understanding of the character. He will constantly ponder it and find something very distinctive in every creative process. His performance is always so natural and real, and can make the audience empathize. With Working with him strengthened my belief in the power of theater - its ability to transcend the boundaries of time and space and touch the softest parts of people's hearts.”
