Performing season to bring delights to capital, countryside

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the National Centre for the Performing Arts' International Theater Festival will kick off on July 6 and last until Dec 6, bringing an audiovisual feast and unique cultural experiences for audiences from China and abroad.

With the theme "A Decade of Theatrical Excellence", the 154-day festival features four major sections, showcasing theatrical masterpieces from countries including China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, with more than 60 performances.

Established in 2015, the NCPA International Theater Festival has presented 96 productions and 442 performances from countries and regions around the world.

This year, the section titled "In Beijing, Behold the World" will debut from July 6 to 14, with the launch of the NCPA drama troupe's staple productions, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre.

In addition to Shakespearean classics, works by literary giants including Victor Hugo, Tennessee Williams, Chinese writer Lao She, and renowned novelist Liu Zhenyun will be staged. Others include all-male cast drama Rickshaw Boy directed by Fang Xu, one of Tian Qinxin's representative plays Beijing Fayuan Temple, the Chinese version of Les Miserables starring Liu Ye, and One Day, Three Autumns directed by Ding Yiteng and based on Liu Zhenyun's work.

From Dec 4 to 6, the classic play The Glass Menagerie, directed by Ivo van Hove and starring French actress Isabelle Huppert, a triple best-actress winner at the Cannes, Venice and Berlin film festivals, will close the theater season.

The "Chinese Shows, Chinese Sentiments" section will showcase the profound charm of traditional Chinese opera. This year marks the 130th anniversary of Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang's birth, the 90th anniversary of his son Mei Baojiu's birth, and the 20th anniversary of the premiere of the youth edition of the Kunqu Opera play The Peony Pavilion. Renowned opera artists such as Wang Peiyu, Wang Yue, Tian Hui, Yu Jiulin, Shen Fengying, Shi Yihong, Wei Haimin and Hu Wenge will perform multiple operas in rotation.

"Sometimes theater can open up a broader expressive space than literature," said Liu. Over the years, his works One Sentence Worth Ten Thousand, I Am Not Pan Jinlian, and One Day, Three Autumns have been adapted into plays, but he has always appreciated the unique charm of this art form. For example, he said, in this year's theater season, Rickshaw Boy will feature three versions of the protagonist, Xiangzi, representing his youth, middle age and old age, all sharing the stage to tell their stories.

"This form of expression isn't particularly suitable for literature or film, but drama can create a sudden impact. Each performance is live and vivid, different from yesterday and tomorrow. We can learn a lot from drama," Liu said.

Rural performances

In contrast with the cosmopolitan theater festival, a rural performance season is blooming across Xiwengzhuang township, Miyun district, on the outskirts of Beijing. Professional performing groups are to bring stunning shows to villages, markets and farms during the next four months, creating a new cultural tourism highlight.

It is expected to offer visitors a unique rural tourism experience, allowing them to watch performances up close in front of houses, in fields and backyards.

Preliminary performances were held at nine locations in Xiwengzhuang, including one at Yujie Square, a food street on the south bank of Miyun Reservoir, known for its more than 30 rural restaurants serving reservoir fish and authentic rural cuisine.

"In the past, bringing theater to the countryside was mainly to enrich the lives of rural residents," said He Yangyang, head of the Xiwengzhuang cultural center. Today, the distance between cities and the countryside is getting closer and the integration of the greater suburbs of Beijing and the city is happening rapidly, with a growing cultural atmosphere in rural areas. Now, every village has artistic teams and artistic performers."

She added that nowadays bringing art to the countryside not only enriches the lives of farmers, but has become a new highlight of cultural tourism, enhancing the development of local folk tourism.

"These troupes will bring wonderful performances and train local art teams to improve their performance," said He.

During the opening ceremony of the township's performing season on June 7, Xiwengzhuang signed a cooperation framework agreement with four colleges, including the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. These colleges will utilize their resources to help the township build a distinctive "Small Town with Theater" brand.

wangjinhui@chinadaily.com.cn