The NCPA International Theatre Festival 2025 will be held over a period of 100 days from April 12^th to July 20^th. Themed “Ten Seasons and Beyond”, this year’s International Theatre Festival features 87 performances in 17 sessions, with Chinese and foreign theatrical masterpieces to be presented in rotation. From the NCPA to the Beijing Performing Arts Centre, a cross-border and timeless theatrical feast will be offered to the audience.

A Newly-Planned, All-Star International Theatrical Event

Ten years has passed since the NCPA International Theatre Festival, a grand event in the theatrical circles, was launched in 2015. Over the past decade, the International Theatre Festival has gradually grown into an international platform where artists and theatre lovers from across the world can share and exchange views on the theatre arts. Held under high standards for grade and quality, the festival has regaled the audience with more than 500 superb performances, featuring classics and avant-garde works. With its diversity fully revealed, the world theatre arts have inspired the creation of native theatrical works in China. In 2025, the NCPA International Theatre Festival is opening a new chapter in its upcoming second decade with an all-star cast in a completely new way.

The theme of the International Theatre Festival 2025 is “Ten Seasons and Beyond”. The eternal charm of the theatre arts gets across under this theme, which also hints at inheritance of classics and a positive exploration on innovation, indicating how diverse and inclusive the theatre arts are. Among the cast members are great stage artists including Isabelle Huppert, PU Cunxin and SHI Yihong. Outstanding actors and performers, including WU Yue, ZHENG Yunlong and YU Shaoqun. In terms of repertoire, new elements, such as film, TV and literary works, will be put in it together with revived classics in a bid to make it closer to the public, especially to the young. Such an innovative attempt will undoubtedly shorten the distance between the theatre arts and the public so that a wider audience may walk into the theatre to feel the unique charm of the theatre stage in person.

This year’s International Theatre Festival consists of three parts - “In Beijing·Behold the World”, “Chinese Shows·Chinese Sentiments” and “New Space·New Trend”, each being unique and adding radiance to the others.

LIN Zexu

The Cherry Orchard

Twelfth Night

A Doll’s House

 

The Red Starting Point

Every Brilliant Thing

 

“In Beijing·Behold the World” focuses on literary and theatrical classics. Masterpieces popular both in the market and industry, as well as the NCPA’s new productions will be presented, in order that the audience can see the splendour of the world theatre arts at their doorstep. From April 12^th to 20^th, LIN Zexu, a drama jointly commissioned by the NCPA and Guangzhou Dramatic Arts Centre, will be staged to kick off the NCPA International Theatre Festival 2025. PU Cunxin, XU Fan, HONG Tao, GUO Da and GUAN Dongtian will head the bill to visualise those eventful days in history on the 240^th anniversary of the birth of national hero LIN Zexu. Chekhov’s masterpiece, The Cherry Orchard, starring Isabelle Huppert, the NCPA’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama A Doll’s House, the National Theatre of China's drama The Red Starting Point and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre's monodrama Every Brilliant Thing will be presented one after another. The NCPA Drama Ensemble’s new production of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night will be another highlight of the festival. As a classic comedy written by Shakespeare over 400 years ago, it boasts concise, modern stage vocabulary, an experimental acting style and a hilarious comic plot. From July 11^th to 20^th, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, a stage drama adapted from great French writer Jules Verne’s science fiction, will be put on to round off the International Theatre Festival on an exciting, amazing, humorous and fantastic visual journey.

The Unicorn Purse and The Story of SU San

The Dream of Red Mansions and Butterfly Lovers

Teahouse

 

Over the past decade, the NCPA International Theatre Festival has been committed to carrying forward the Chinese culture and spreading the voice of China with its door open to original Chinese theatrical works. At this year’s Festival, “Chinese Shows·Chinese Sentiments” will continue to display the infinite charm of the traditional Chinese opera art, a treasure in the world’s theatre garden. From April 19^th to 20^th, Peking operas starring SHI Yihong, including The Unicorn Purse and The Story of SU San, will present as a mixture of something unique to CHENG-style and MEI-style Peking Opera. After that, the Hangzhou Yue Opera Theatre The Dream of Red Mansions and Butterfly Lovers and Beijing Quju Opera Troupe Teahouse will eulogise poignant but romantic Chinese classical love or describe what old Peking looked like. From June 22^nd to 27^th, the NCPA Drama Returning Home on a Snowy Night, a drama starring ZHANG Qiuge, YU Shaoqun and CHEN Lisha, will return to the stage, after a lapse of six years. Watching it in a strong atmosphere of Peking Opera, one popular a century ago, the audience will feel something different.

As an innovative part of the International Theatre Festival 2025, “New Space·New Trend” focuses on avant-garde theatrical works, which will be presented in an untraditional way to provide the audience with a fresh experience.

The Magic Hour

This part features something special that is adapted from popular “films and TV series”. These works, each to star a young cast, are expected to be a different style. Moreover, they are characterised by bold ideas and multiple forms. As one of these works, The Magic Hour, a drama adapted from Kôki Mitani’s film of the same title, has a humorous plot, of which the cast will give a strictly logical rendition with their consummate acting skills. Parasite, a drama based on a film of the same title, which won four prizes at the 92^nd Oscar Academy Awards, will be staged in a unique way to trigger a discussion on human nature in the context of reality and absurdity. The Invisible Guest, based on a Spanish suspense film, will take the audience to one course of reasoning after another, so that they have fun solving puzzles amidst “thought-provoking” plot twists. The West End theatre drama commission Life of Pi, based on a best-selling novel by Yann Martel, will be staged as a thrilling adventure featuring vivid puppetry and magical visual effects. Besides, a “must-watch phenomenal panoramic immersive drama”, Great True Detective ZHAO Gan’e, will also be staged refreshingly at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. With the plot unfolding, the stage will become a “crime scene”, in which the audience will immerse themselves in rapt attention for great enjoyment. Many outstanding actors and actresses, including WU Yue, MA Tianyu, ZHAO Xiaosu, ZHENG Yunlong and YAN Nan, will also join the cast for a more brilliant rendition of these dramas.

The dream of theatre is built out of light and shadow. The dream chaser spends a lifetime realising it. You are cordially invited to the NCPA International Theatre Festival 2025 for a fantastic spiritual journey.