The NCPA International Theatre Festival 2019 will soon meet with audiences again in the summer days. From June 6
th to September 22
nd, the NCPA will stage 12 Chinese and foreign theatrical works in 42 performances. Theatre troupes from China, Japan, Russia, Germany and the U.K. will gather to start a journey to the theatre this summer under the theme, “plays to gather”. To be performed at the opening ceremony of this year’s International Theatre Festival is the SCOT’s drama
King Lear, directed by Tadashi Suzuki, and at the closing ceremony is the drama
Love Letter produced by Beijing Yanghua.
Still of Love Letter
Established in 2015, the NCPA International Theatre aims to promote the prosperity of China’s theatre cause and build an international theater performance & exchange platform, the NCPA International Theatre Festival has given 291 performances of 69 plays from 16 countries and regions to audiences in Beijing. Having overcome the cultural and linguistic barriers, the festival carries out dialogues under the theme of theatre in order to cultural exchanges among different countries. Meanwhile, an increasing number of high-quality Chinese productions and commissions have shown their exuberant artistic vitality at the international theatre festival, demonstrating China’s cultural confidence with wonderful Chinese stories.
Still of Beijing Fenglei Peking Opera Troupe Silk Archery Robe With Cut Designs
The International Theatre Festival 2019 consists of three major parts: “National Soul, “True Love” and “The Link”, of which “National Soul” aims to carry forward the quintessence of Chinese culture and show the elegant demeanour of China. The NCPA drama
Returning Home on a Snowy Night is about a self-awakened famous actor who croons a sad operatic tune that was composed in the Republic of China. Beijing Fenglei Peking Opera Theatre Beijing-style drama
Silk Archery Robe with Cut Designs, in an original approach, starts with a costume rental shop of the old times, describing the feelings of the artisans in the operatic circle. The classic Peking Opera series
Beside MEI Lanfang - Return, jointly performed famous Peking Opera artists WEI Haimin and ZHU Qiang, will have its three classic pieces including
The Emperor and Country Girl,
Fenhe River Boy and
Yangsilang Visits His Mother, performed to carry forward the most authentic romantic charm of the quintessence of Chinese culture. WANG Peiyu is a very popular artist on today’s stage of Peking Opera. The Peking Opera
Qing Court Music Association starring WANG contains more fashion elements and brings the quintessence art to the attention of more and more young people. The Peking Opera artist SHI Yihong will appear with the newly produced martial arts Peking Opera
Dragon Inn, which is a bold innovation of the original with the traditional chivalrous spirit maximized in the opera.
Still of St. Petersburg Don Giovanni
“True Love” will show audiences the world classics. The NCPA drama
Jane Eyre will be staged to mark the 10
th anniversary of its NCPA premiere. YUAN Quan and WANG Luoyong will work together again to open the dust-laden gate of Thornfield and act out this meaningful love story written by the famous British writer Charlotte Bronte. The
King Lear brought by the Japanese theatre master Tadashi Suzuki will be jointly performed by Chinese and Japanese artists of different cultural backgrounds. With director Tadashi Suzuki’s special training method, this drama will visualize Shakespeare’s play of the same title. Komissarzhevskaya Academic Theatre of St. Petersburg
Don Giovanni is a modern interpretation of the playboy image created by the great comedist Moliere. Beijing Yanghua drama
Love Letter is directed by Russian treasure-class director Yuri Eleming. Starring the famous hostess ZHOU Tao and well-known theatre actor SUN Qiang, the drama tells a story about a couple living together for forty years from their boyhood to declining years, depicting the Chinese people’s outlook on affections that changes in the forty years since the beginning of the Reform and Opening-up.
Still of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles
“The Link” is extraordinarily attractive because of the performance of
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles, produced by the West End Theatre, this drama will make its NCPA debut into the NCPA International Theatre. With outstanding British characteristics, it is a detective story popular with theatre fans all around the world. As a top theatre production centre, the West End Theatre is home to the best-known theatre artists, playwrights and directors from all over the world. Written by the famous playwright Ken Ludwig, this drama stars five performers in 42 vivid roles. The witty lines create a strong British-style comedy atmosphere. The drama
Road to Revolution, adapted from an American classic novel of the same title, reveals the difficulties faced by an American middle-class “model couple” in their marital and daily life. The film version of
Road to Revolution starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in 2008 won 17 awards, enjoying a reputation in filmdom. The drama version of
Road to Revolution is the world’s first authorized theatrical adaptation of the original. Starring SHA Yi and his wife HU Ke, the drama version aims to understand marital life from a new perspective and reveal the true essence of life with audiences. In addition, the Sino-German co-production of contemporary theatre
Momo is adapted from
MOMO, a novel written by Michael Ende, one of the most famous contemporary German writers. Since its publication in 1973, the novel has been widely popular and translated into 40 different languages worldwide. Directed by the famous Germany theatre and film director Gil Mehmert, starring famous Chinese actor and actress GE You and WAN Qian, the drama
Momo tells a story about a girl named “Momo” in a war of time against thieves.
Still of Momo
In addition to wonderful performances given on stage, the audience will be instructed in how to enjoy dramas from many angles at the international theatre festival so that they will receive better services. For “Classics Appreciation” series, famous theatre professionals will be invited to talk about world classics, such as King Lear and Don Giovanni; for “Theatre π” dialogues and theatre workshop, Chinese and foreign theatre professionals will be invited to jointly discuss the development trend of theatre indigenization and classic modernization based on the advantages of the NCPA International Theatre Festival from an international perspective; as for “stars’ camp”, the A-list producers and performers involved in this year’s international theatre festival will give a series of interviews to tell stories that have taken place on stage and behind the scenes.