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‘Red Mansions’ gets modern stage retelling
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Hong Kong director Edward Lam will bring “What is Sex?” to Shanghai Culture Square on November 6-8.
The contemporary drama, which is based loosely on “The Dream of Red Mansions,” centers on a group of male entertainers who beguile their female guests with stories drawn from the classic novel by Cao Xueqin.
For Lam, “The Dream of Red Mansions” illustrates the dynamics of dominance and anxiety that often underpin romantic affairs.
“Reliance and control ... are widely used by adults when it comes to managing their lives and relationships. But the more they rely on their partners, the more they want to control, which always leads to endless anxiety,” says Lam.
Moreover, the episodic novel is filled with many other true-to-life story lines and characterizations. One of Lam’s favorite parts of the novel is when the deceased Qin Keqing appears in the dream of Wang Xifeng, the head of the main family in the novel. Qin tells Wang to develop family land for agriculture and set up schools so that family can thrive in case of unforeseen calamity. Qin also tells Wang that an auspicious event will happen in the family in the near future.
“‘What will the auspicious event be?’ is a sentence that appears repeatedly in my drama to remind the audience of their similarity to Wang,” Lam explains.
In his view, Wang is like many modern people — smart and capable, but short-sighted.
With “What is Sex?” Lam will have completed his quest to adapt all four of China’s great novels — his previous works including reinterpretations of “Outlaws of the Marsh” (as the play “What is Man?”), “Journey to the West” (as “What is Fantasy?”) and “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (as “What is Success?”).
While some critics have questioned Lam’s innovative interpretation of these classics, the director believes that realism and truth are two different things.
“It’s just like the beauties in Picasso’s paintings. They don’t look like women as we see them, but Picasso still captured real women in those angles,” explains Lam. “I don’t mind being different from other artists, as I want to show my audience how I see people.”
Date: November 6-8, 7:15pm
Tickets: 80-580 yuan
Tel: 6472-9000, 6472-6000
Venue: Shanghai Culture Square
Address: 597 Fuxing Rd M.
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