The latest creation of Yanghua Drama - the stage play "The Clothes of Rong Yi" recently premiered at Lao She Theater. As a special fund project of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles in 2024 to support literary and artistic creation, the play is a historical masterpiece that took place in the Warring States Period. A unique interpretation of modernity. Under the direction of director Huang Longbin, black snowflakes, modern body movements, and white freehand costumes give this historical drama a more stylized appearance, but the core is still psychology and speculation. In addition, a drama forum was held at the same time as the premiere, where the creators, actors, experts and scholars had an in-depth discussion on the ideological connotation of the whole play.
The creative team lets "Black Snow" fall on the stage
The stage play "Rong Yi's Clothes" is adapted from the story of Rong Yi's undressing in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals: The Eighth Edition of Shijun": Rong Yi, a righteous Mohist of Qi, and his disciple Shi Xin went to the State of Lu to provide assistance, but encountered a heavy snowstorm on the way, and the two slept outside the city. After a dispute, Rong Yi took off his cotton-padded clothes and gave them to his disciples. He himself froze to death in the middle of the night, and his disciple Shi Xin survived... The story thus began, centering around the theme of "Rong Yi took off his clothes and died, but his disciples survived", and was based on time and space. The interspersed narrative unfolds a dramatic story that spans 36 years. Shi Xin went from defecting to the Grand Sima of Chu, to killing his father-in-law and defecting to Qin, and finally to being killed by the King of Qin. The protagonist's sins became more and more serious with each passing day. The sun and the earth are spreading, and the moral order is also running eternally...
The curtain opens, and a "black snow" flies on the stage with the strong wind. The actors start with a piece of modern body language. Black "snowflakes" cover the entire stage, as if standing on the ashes of history and speaking...
The play is written by the playwright Li Jing, and directed by Huang Longbin, deputy dean of the School of Drama of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Actors, Composer Yu Xiaoguang stars in the role of "Shi Xin". The stage design, lighting design, costume design, choreography, music design, etc. of the play all come from Hong Kong, China, and work hand in hand with the stage technical team from the mainland to present a strong visual effect.
Yanghua never makes works that make people more desperate
After the premiere, in a drama forum called "My Body, My Soul and My History", screenwriter Li Jing introduced the original intention of the script creation. The creation of "Rong Yi's Clothes" began in 2017, when she accidentally saw a book by Mr. Qian Mu that quoted the story of "Rong Yi's Clothing". "Two of them struck me. One is the hidden meaning in the story. Moral Paradox: The moral man can truly live only through self-sacrifice. If he is committed to preserving himself, then he is actually dead. Only through the sacrifice of the immoral can he achieve himself, and he himself will go Eliminate yourself; secondly, I am thinking about how the master will put the cotton coat on the apprentice. How will this apprentice live in the future? The play is based on these two points and was formed after two years of repeated exploration. If the light within you is dark, how great the darkness will be. This is the core of this play. It mainly explores the relationship between a person's self and his conscience, or how a person faces his own body. The contradiction between the demands of life and conscience."
Regarding the choice of subject matter, artistic director Wang Keran said: "Yanghua chooses all works with a principle that will never be subverted, that is, we never make works that make people more desperate. When I saw the work "The Clothes of Rong Yi", I was surprised that from the first word to the last word in the script, everyone in the play was very "conceptual", but behind everyone was expressing something. This kind of intense pain forms a kind of construction of human civilization. So far, what everyone has been exploring is the possibility of living and the criticism behind it. What I like is the use of this in the play. There are many characters to promote the criticism of this kind of thinking, and behind the criticism I think it is the author's profound and extremely sharp desire for hope, using all "black" to promote the establishment of hope.What we have to accomplish is a huge leap from script text to stage presentation, and the principle that must be followed is to 'look good'! "
Shi Xin is a certain side of many people
In director Huang Longbin's concept, his creations usually have to meet two points. One is to give the actors a space in which they can live freely and truly, and the other is to give the audience a space An imaginary space. "The 'black snow' on the stage is the imaginative space that I feel can give to the audience when I read the script. It is a 'chaotic' projection of the world created in the script, and 'black' is exactly what it is." It symbolizes human desires. I really like the discussion of good and evil in Teacher Li Jing's works. The protagonist seems to have been making choices, but in fact he has no choice. He has been making choices because he wants to survive, until he finally dies. Theater, history, desire, choice, imagination, these are the five keywords I refined for this work. "
On the stage, Yu Xiaoguang, who plays "Shi Xin", does not show the sense of alienation after being away from the stage for many years in both his body and his lines. "Participating in the rehearsal of this play is like returning to the university campus, "Rong Yi Zhi Zhi" "Clothes" is very different from the expression methods of traditional stage plays, which is very challenging. From doubting myself at the beginning, I slowly found my confidence with the encouragement and help of the director, screenwriter and everyone. In my opinion, Shi Xin is a black mirror, with many facets like a diamond. He is a certain side of many people. Every moment of his life is real, but when he turns his head, he will forget the original side. , his existence has given many such people in life an example to take warning from. To create such a character, an actor needs to smash himself into pieces. "
The issues raised in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" are still unresolved
Writer and scholar Zhi'an said after watching the play: "In the play, Shi Xin's life is always 'unable to control himself', and he is always in the complex situation of 'survival' and 'win' situation. The core of the work is the 'difficulty of choice', which is an eternal problem. The problems raised in "Lu's Spring and Autumn" are still unresolved today, because this complex problem is always unsolvable, and therefore gives us resonance and There will be a lot to think about. "
In the opinion of drama critic Lin Kehuan, "There have always been very few dramas that touch ultimate concerns and philosophical depth. Lu Xiaoping, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts of Nanjing University and the artistic director of Nanjing University's Master of Arts Theater Company, said, "The Clothes of the Rong Yi is a tragedy at heart, but it is presented as a comedy. The director tells the story like a child. This approach is too much." What a genius! "
It is reported that after the premiere, the play will embark on a nearly three-month national tour, covering more than 20 cities.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Guo Jia
Photography/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Chai Cheng
Editor/ Cui Wei
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