On the fringe
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As a tribute to British playwright and Nobel laureate HaroldPinter, Moonlight, directed by Shao Zehui debuted Wednesday night at Beijing's Fengchao Theater, shedding new light on the master's work.
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Actors on stage in Life in Liulizhuang. [Global Times] |
As the curtain goes up, a beam of moonlight illuminates the deathbed of Andy, unfolding his youth, love, lust and betrayal. His two sons, Fred and Jake, sit in the shadows, speaking enigmatically about their estrangement with their father.
The play opened Beijing Fringe Festival, with Proud Youth, Proud Theater as its theme. Now in its third year, the 20-day festival is featuring 33 experimental plays from up and coming young Chinese directors, as well as international dramas and tributes to drama greats.
Currently, theatergoers in China don't have many opportunities to see such experimental works. Usually classical repertories from State-owned theater companies or commercial plays by private troupes are the only options.
"The Beijing Fringe Festival provides access to the experimental works that reflect young directors' ideas and passions," said Meng Jinghui, renowned director and an organizer of the festival.
A new addition this year is a section paying homage to drama great Harold Pinter (1930-2008). Four plays, Moonlight, The Dumb Waiter, The Homecoming and Betrayal will be staged by four young Chinese directors.
One of the most influential British playwrights of modern times, Pinter's dramas often involve strong conflicts between ambivalent characters who struggle for dominance and for their own versions of the past. Stylistically, these works are marked by theatrical pauses and silences, comedic timing, irony and menace.
"I chose one of Pinter's representative works of his later years, Moonlight. It's an abstruse and obscure work that explores the estrangement between family members," 32-year-old director Shao Zehui told the Global Times.
"This play is a faithful presentation of Pinter's work but the stage design is renovated," Shao added. "When Moonlight premiered in London in 1993, there were two rooms on the stage, which separated the father and sons, to represent the isolation between human beings. But in our version, the characters all appear in one space, neglecting each other's existence. In this way, I want to stress this desperate estrangement."
Unlike the older generation of established directors like Meng Jinghui and Lin Zhaohua, the new force of Chinese theater including Shao Zehui, Huang Ying and Zhao Miao take theater as a new lifestyle instead of a battle cry.
An office-worker-turned-director, Shao was invited to helm commercial success the Kaixin Mahua series. He also invested in himself and put on plays like Gone Before Turning Old, commemorating the late poet Ma Hua who lost his life while volunteer-teaching in the poor mountain areas of Yunnan. For Shao, the fringe festival is a good opportunity to realize his artistic pursuits.
The event also features a wide array of theatrical genres, from comedy, physical drama to musical and dance theater.
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