World-class drama returns to water town
Print Edition
THE third annual Wuzhen Theater Festival runs from October 15 to 25. Taking place in the ancient water town of Wuzhen, the theater celebration will feature a wide variety of works from China and abroad.
Specially invited productions include “The Valley of Astonishment” by legendary British director Peter Brooks, the Swiss comedy “The Physicists” directed by Herbert Fritsch, “Nibelungen: The Complete Ring Cycle” presented by Germany’s Thalia Theater Hamburg, “The Presence” presented by Moscow Taganka Theatre, “Portraits of the Cherry Orchard” presented by Song of the Goat Theater from Poland, “The Miser” by Teatro Stabile di Torino, and “Chaos” by the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre.
“The theme of this year’s festival is ‘transmittal.’ It symbolizes the passing on of the long and glorious history of the theater,” says Huang Lei, one of the festival’s co-founders as well as a member of this year’s festival jury.
“It also represents the instrumental role theater plays in the vitalization of Chinese culture,” he adds.
Huang is one of China’s most prominent young actors, thanks in part to his role in the TV series “Lost Time,” which was shot in Wuzhen.
The famed thespian helped found the Wuzhen Theater Festival three years ago with several fellow performing arts heavy-weights, including Chen Xianghong, Stan Lai and Meng Jinghui.
Meng, an influential theater director, is slated to stage his celebrated work “Two Dogs” at the upcoming festival. As the name suggests, the play tells the story of two dogs who leave their hometown to pursue their dreams in the big city.
The festival will also highlight the works of several emerging theater talents.
Young Chinese director Li Jianjun will bring his play “A Man Who Flies Up to the Sky” to the festival. This play was inspired by the installation “The Man Who Flew into Space from His Apartment,” by Soviet-born American artist Ilya Kabakov.
The play focuses on man’s relentless attempt — and success — to fly into space.
The theme is the eternal contradiction between man’s yearning for another world and inescapable reality.
Li founded his own theater troupe, the New Youth Group, in Beijing in 2011.
Meanwhile, leading Chinese performance group Studio-U will present “Sleep Awake,” a dance work set in the contemporary cultural landscape of China.
“People sleep and wake up every day, but are born and die only once. How can we savor life’s changes between sleeping and waking?” asks the show’s writer and director Shao Zehui.
Other cutting-edge productions include “Sounds of Beijing” directed by Kang He, a Chinese writer and theater director; “Macbeth” presented by the Tainaner Ensemble in Chinese; and “Bull” written by British playwright Mike Bartlett and directed by Chinese director Chen Minghao.
Aside from these shows, the festival will include a series of other drama-related events including the Young Theater Artist’s Competition, theater dialogues and workshops, and an outdoor performance carnival set against the backdrop of the picturesque town.
“The charm of the Wuzhen Theater Festival is not merely its fine plays. The entire water town will be a stage during the festival,” says Huang.
More information about the festival’s program, tickets and accommodations is available at www.wuzhenfestival.com (English-language version available).
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