Like a panoramic shot on a movie screen, 15 rickshaw pullers line up in a row, running at the highest point of the slope that occupies half of the stage. Against their backdrop, the imperial city is outlined on the sky screen with only the silhouettes of turrets and city walls. The weather of the ancient capital. When they rushed down the slope to the starring area on the stage, the camera seemed to switch to a medium shot. They were leaning on a small platform made of rough stones to pour out their complaints. The eldest among them was sitting on the right side of the stage as if in trance. As soon as he opened his mouth, a close-up view came. "Camel Xiangzi" written, directed and starring Fang Xu, in the creation and use of space, not only focuses on the main performance area where the movable platform forms the fulcrum of the performance, but also on the high and far distances against the backdrop of the canopy. The viewfinder usually exists in the corner of the stage. The metal slope constitutes another level of performance space. In the scorching summer, when all the coachmen are too hot to move their legs, only Xiangzi is willing to sit up and run around on the slope. When Huniu had a difficult delivery, the slope was divided into three performance areas, with midwives, witches performing magic tricks and Western doctors appearing one after another. The stage with multiple levels and performance areas seems to have multiple scenes.
also started from the running of 15 rickshaw pullers, and determined the adapted grammar of Fang Xu's version of "Camel Xiangzi". All the rickshaw pullers are equivalent to the chorus, assuming the task of narration, while the old rickshaw puller who never leaves the scene - the old Xiangzi, is like He is the chorus leader, who not only talks to the protagonist, but also comments on his words and deeds. Not only did the rickshaw pullers gather with people and car dealers, but the rickshaw pullers were also present as extras when paying their share of the money and congratulating Mr. Liu on his birthday. When Xiangzi finally bought his first foreign car, the rickshaw pullers acted as actors in the process of buying the car. Onlookers were also present, and the coachmen were still present as voyeurs when the tiger girl seduced him. The process of Xiangzi losing his cart during the war, becoming a soldier, picking up a camel, and selling the camel was narrated by the cart drivers. And the lines repeated many times by the elderly Xiangzi and Xiangzi - "Being brave and being strong are not the same thing" and "If you don't have face, what's the point of living?" - are used throughout. Among the 15 actors, except for the young, middle-aged and old actors who play Xiangzi, all the other actors who play the coachman have to play other roles besides the coachman, or wear their coats to play the role of Liu Siye, the owner of the car dealership, and the short-sleeved man. The costume changes into a long gown to play Mr. Cao, Xiangzi's patron, or "cross-dressing" in public, and the coachman's dress becomes a tiger girl who cannot be underestimated or a pitiful little Fuzi.
It started with 15 rickshaw pullers running. They were running, but there was no rickshaw on the stage. They seemed to be pulling a rickshaw and were running. They seemed to have stopped, and then took out their legs from the handlebars in one go. What about the foreign car? There are only pictures of foreign cars hanging from the slope. Even if Xiangzi bought the foreign car that he longed for, it was still a car hanging in the air. It was a real car, not a real car. Xiangzi was running in place, with the guests standing behind him, and the foreign car hanging high up. It was not just a freehand impression of the performance. , almost became a metaphor, the foreign car that controlled Xiangzi's fate was like the sword of Damocles, always hanging above his head. In the modern Peking opera "Camel Xiangzi", which came out in 1998 and immediately won various drama awards, the "Yangqi Dance" created by the protagonist fully stylized the action of pulling a rickshaw, but in Fang Xu's version of the play "Camel Xiangzi", the "Yangqi Xiangzi" is refined and The movement rhythm and rhythm of the driver pulling the foreign cart are retained, but the foreign cart is simply abandoned.
It is very different from the realism-style drama "Camel Xiangzi" written and directed by Mr. Mei Qian and performed by the Beijing People's Art Theater in 1957. Today's adaptation of "Camel Xiangzi" has a large number of narrative elements and freehand expression techniques. The four New Year's Eve performances of this version of "Camel Xiangzi" at the Tianqiao Theater in Beijing were all sold out, and the two performances at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center on January 12 and 13 were sold out. Among the drama reviews that followed, some praised the play for truly restoring the spirit of Lao She's original work, some questioned the excessive narrative content in the play, some praised the actors' wonderful performance, and some analyzed its stage art design. Prior to this, director Fang Xu had successfully performed "This Life", "Two Horses", "Cat City", "Old Li's Fantasy of Love", "Lao She Goes to the Market" and "Niu Tianci", therefore, "Camel Xiangzi" is During the performance, there is room for discussion that goes beyond stage presentation.
The main cast of Fang Xu's version of "Camel Xiangzi" comes from opera actors. Zhao Zhen, who plays the role of Hu Niu, is an excellent Pingju opera actor - if we say that most Tiger girls played by outstanding actresses are domineering yet charming, pungent yet tender, and in their emotional relationship with Xiangzi, they tend to favor the elder sister. In Brother Love, the Huniu played by Zhao Zhen is more like the Black Iron Tower described in the original novel, which frightens and intimidates Xiangzi. Like all the troubles Xiangzi faces, she is Xiangzi's must choice among no choices. Another trap in an escapable trap of doom. The excellence of Huniu in this version of the performance is not only due to the fact that director Fang Xu once again chose male actors to play female roles in the "all-male class" performance, but also because the opera performance training Zhao Zhen received focused on his whole body. skill. He did not deliberately imitate women's words and deeds, but obviously, Hu Niu died of dystocia. He immediately stood up, took off the female headdress and held it in his hand when leaving the stage. His gait was different from when he played Hu Niu. When I played the role of Huniu, I had the same figure, but my feet were nimble. Instead of playing Huniu, the square steps carried by the old men came out. When I played the coachman again, I still ran, not as energetic as Xiangzi, a little oily and slippery. of running. Zhao Zhen did not hold his voice when speaking, but it was not completely his own voice. His voice was still processed, and he used his voice to shape the tiger girl. The body and voice fully serve the characters created. The key is that the body and voice themselves have a set of technical training.
Similarly, Ren Yuebin, who plays the role of Xiao Fuzi in the play, also has a background in opera training. The Xiao Fuzi he plays is not the miserable look of the character in previous adaptations, but a "weak character" who has been bullied and has nowhere to talk. , like an innocent prey, but also has the duty not to be humbled and humbled. His body language has the sultry flavor of Qingyi singing of the Cheng School. In addition to playing female roles, they have to return to the identity and appearance of the coachman at any time and continue to play the role of coachman.
In "Niu Tianci" directed by Fang Xu, Zhao Zhen played the role of Mrs. Niu, a person with great style, one-stop speaking, and the master of the family. Ren Yuebin starred in the role of Niu Tianci, which is enough to prove their wide range and ability. Strong. Liu Xinran, who played Mrs. Wen Du in "Two Horses", played Professor Mei and Mrs. Song in "Lao She Goes to the Market", and played the role of the old mother Ji's mother in "Niu Tianci", was originally a Peking Opera Qiandan fan, and played in "Luotuo Xiangzi" "" plays the role of middle-aged Xiangzi, constantly challenging and expanding his performance range.
It must be said that Mr. Lao She has been writing novels since "Lao Zhang's Philosophy". He is good at writing villains and ghosts and monsters active under the sun. The characters in his humorous style have some comic qualities, which are similar to those of opera performances. Exaggeration fits right in. In addition, the whole cast of "Camel Xiangzi", in addition to the coachman, played the gentle Mr. Cao, the maid Gao Ma, and the evil Detective Sun. One of them, who has dwarf kung fu, took the dwarf steps and held the light on the stage, adding The fun of watching dramas. Compared with drama actors with pure academic background, they have a stronger ability to jump in and out of roles. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that they have more performance methods and external programs to rely on.
Peking opera, Pingju, opera and cross talk actors frequently shine in Lao She’s series of works directed by Fang Xu. In addition to the local art and the regional nature of Mr. Lao She’s works, it cannot be ignored that their performances are divorced from the artistic genres to which they originally belong. Context, the drama stage has brought them a new creative world, and in this world, old methods are not only useful in new places, but also gained new aesthetic value. Zhao Zhen's role as Hu Niu or Mrs. Niu is not equivalent to a cross-dressing role in the opera party to entertain the audience. The female roles played by Liu Xinran and Ren Yuebin are not equivalent to Qian Dan. The opposite roles between Guo Qilin and Yan Hexiang in "Niu Tianci" are not equivalent to cross talk. However, without their skills in Pingju, Peking Opera, and cross talk, the characters on these stages would not be so exciting.
When the actors, mainly opera actors, completed the performance of "Camel Xiangzi" with a large number of freehand techniques, what inspiration will it bring to the training of drama actors and drama actors? From Mr. Jiao Juyin's practice of nationalizing directing performances to Western dramatists' fascination with Eastern drama methods, fruitful results have been achieved. However, it seems that we still lack researchers who can understand opera performance both deeply within and beyond it. Research on connecting opera and drama performance training. This seems like a digression, but as long as Director Fang Xu's adaptation of Mr. Lao She's series of novels does not stop at "Camel Xiangzi", there will be more in-depth discussions on this topic and field. This is not just a drama or a performance, nor is it just a Taiwanese drama or a performance.
Author: Guo Chenzi
Text: Guo Chenzi (Associate Professor at Shanghai Theater Academy) Editor: Xu Luming Editor: Shao Ling
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