The NCPA International Theatre Festival 2024 will be held from July 6^th to December 6^th. Themed “A Decade of Theatrical Excellence”, it will feature 62 performances in 17 sessions that have been accumulated as the quintessence of ten years’ efforts. Theatrical masterpieces from many countries, including China, Russia, France, England and Switzerland, will be staged under four sub-themes - “In Beijing·Behold the World”, “Mimes·The Art Without Voice”, “Musicals·Curtains Raise Over a New Stage”, and “Chinese Shows·Chinese Sentiments”. The Festival will kick off with the NCPA’s productions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (for Open-air Theatre), and end with Director Ivo van Hove’s The Glass Menagerie, starring Isabelle Huppert.

 

On the afternoon of June 18^th, a press conference was held at the Press Room for the NCPA International Theatre Festival 2024. WANG Wei, Head of the NCPA Programme Management, chaired the press conference and detailed highlights of this year’s Festival. The press conference was also attended by GUAN Bo, Deputy Director of the NCPA Centre for Artistic Creation and the director of the drama A Midsummer Night’s Dream, FANG Xu, the director of the drama Rickshaw Boy, ZHOU Ke and BIAN Changzhen, the director and managing producer of the drama Prima Facie, WANG Keran, the founder of Magnificen Culture, and LIU Zhenyun, a renowned writer.

In 2015, the NCPA launched the International Theatre Festival as a professional brand of theatrical arts in order to promote development of China’s theatre industry and strengthen Sino-foreign cultural exchanges. For artists and art lovers from various countries, the Festival is a state-level and international platform for theatrical arts display, exchange and appreciation.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the NCPA International Theatre Festival. The current Festival is themed “A Decade of Theatrical Excellence”, impling ceaseless efforts in seeking for, collecting and sharing excellent theatrical artworks on the long journey of artistic exploration.

The Festival will begin with “In Beijing·Behold the World”. From July 6^th to July 14^th, two works in the NCPA Drama Ensemble’s repertoire will be put on at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. The drama Hamlet, directed by CHEN Xinyi, was launched on the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The drama A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been produced anew with the potential of the Beijing Performing Arts Centre Open-air Theatre fully tapped to enhance interaction and visual splendour.

Literary and theatrical classics will gather at the star-studded “In Beijing·Behold the World” - many ancient and modern Chinese and foreign masterpieces, created by Shakespeare, Hugo, Tennessee Williams, Lao She, LIU Zhenyun and LI Ao, are to be presented on the stage. One of them is Rickshaw Boy, an all-male drama directed by FANG Xu, produced to celebrate the 125^th anniversary of Lao She’s birth. Another is the Beijing Fayuan Temple, a drama directed by TIAN Qinxin, adapted from LI Ao’s novel of the same title. A third is Les Miserables, a Chinese-language drama starring LIU Ye, produced to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, while there is also Laughter and Tears: A Novel, a drama based on a part of the trilogy by writer LIU Zhenyun. The grand finale is The Glass Menagerie, a classic play starring Isabelle Huppert, who has won the “Best Actress Award” at the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival, directed by theatre director Ivo van Hove.

“In Beijing·Behold the World” will also feature masterpieces, such as the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre Le Père, which is based on a script of the same title that has won the “Moliere Award” for Best Script. The drama will star influential actors JIN Shijie and TIAN Shui. The Chinese version of Prima Facie, adapted from a drama of the same name that has won the Oliver Award, will be restaged at NCPA.

This year marks the 130^th anniversary of the birth of great Peking Opera artist Mr. MEI Lanfang, the 90^th anniversary of the birth of Mr. MEI Baojiu and 20^th anniversary of the youth version of The Peony Pavilion’s premiere. For “Chinese Shows·Chinese Sentiments”, famous traditional opera artists, including WANG Peiyu, WANG Yue, TIAN Hui, YU Jiulin, SHEN Fengying, SHI Yihong, WEI Haimin, HU Wenge, LI Hongtu, ZHU Qiang, ZHANG Huifang, ZHANG Xinyue, LI Hongyan and DOU Xiaoxuan, will be invited to present the quintessence of Chinese culture on the same stage.

With the opening of the Beijing Performing Arts Centre under the new pattern of the NCPA as “a performing arts centre with three locations”, “Musicals·Curtains Raise Over a New Stage” has been tailor-made for the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. Musicals will accordingly make their debut on the NCPA stage. At “Musicals·Curtains Raise Over a New Stage”, two musicals from Russian and UK, starring top artists, will meet the audience. The Russian-language touring production of the Russian musical Anna Karenina will have its stunning premiere on the 75^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China. The original version of the legendary musical Cats will return for continuation of its eternal legend on stage. In addition, this year’s Festival boasts a new unit - “Mimes·The Art Without Voice”, which will be presented at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. The British Theatre Re physical musical The Nature of Forgetting and Swiss Bakara Clown Troupe Quarrelsome Lovers will be put on mirthfully.