In the vast world of detective stories, the grandmaster Conan Doyle’s works have long been introduced into China, taking the fancy of Chinese readers from generation to generation. The film and TV works based on his fictions are also attractive to a wide Chinese audience. In the world-renowned Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the protagonist Sherlock Holmes, a great detective, and his partner, Dr. John Watson, both enjoy high popularity among people. They go through fantastic, thrilling adventures full of twists and turns, investigate cases in a well-conceived manner, conduct rational analyses with rigorous logic, and speak in simple terms.
The NCPA provides a high-quality authoring platform for outstanding young dramatists, and Suspect Holmes, an experimental work created on the platform by the NCPA Drama Ensemble, is to debut on October 27th-31st, 2023.
As the first suspense drama commission to be produced by the NCPA, Suspect Holmes is derived from a legendary detective story, featuring characters including Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Professor Moriarty, Mycroft Holmes, policeman Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson. Guided by the complicated, confusing and “thought-provoking” course of reasoning, frequent scene change, massive dialogues and body performance, etc., the audience cannot help exploring Sherlock Holmes’ world in the presence of “bonus scenes”.
Presenter: NCPA
Performed by NCPA Drama Ensemble
Executive Presenter: WANG Ning
Artistic Director: XU Xiaozhong
Chief Producers: LI Zhixiang, GE Dali, ZHU Jing, WANG Cheng, GONG Jicheng, ZHANG Yao, GUAN Jianbo
Executive Producer: Zhang Yao
Playwright: YANG Hui, FANG Xiaoshen
Director: ZHAO Ling
Co-Director: WU Song
Set Designer: WANG Hongjia*
Lighting Designer: WANG Hongjia*
Costume Designer: XU Xiangzeng
Make-up Designer: LIN Ying
Props Designer: WANG Weijun
Music Designers: YANG Yang*, LIU Liyan*
* refers to a guest designer
The copyright related to this drama is officially licensed by the Conan Doyle Estate of United Kingdom.
Cast
Sherlock Holmes: ZHAO Ling
Watson: FENG Yang
Mycroft: SUN Lishi
Lestrade: WU Song
Mrs. Hudson: WANG Wenjie
Moriarty/Douglas: LI Zhaoyang
Photographer: LIU Fang
Three years after the world-famed detective Sherlock Holmes perishes together with Professor Moriarty, Head of a crime organisation, London gradually falls into the shadow of crime. On the anniversary of the death, Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes, returns to Baker Street for Dr. Watson, telling him that Sherlock remains alive and asking him to kill Sherlock.
According to Mycroft, a high-ranking government official, Sherlock has joined the criminal organisation and taken the place of Moriarty. As Sherlock’s confidant, Watson refuses to believe this. With the cases documented by himself, Watson tries to give an account of the enmities between Sherlock and Moriarty, as well as the reason why it’s impossible for Sherlock to commit crimes. But Police Officer Lestrade arrives later with evidence that supports the police in suspecting Sherlock of having something to do with the criminal organisation.
Everything proves that Sherlock is a suspect. Watson falls into confusion gradually, but Sherlock turns up at the very moment, with a piece of more shocking news brought to Watson…
Still Photographer: LIU Fang
ZHAO LingDirector
ZHAO Ling
ZHAO Ling is a member of the NCPA Drama Ensemble. He plays leading roles in the NCPA dramas including Hamlet in Hamlet, Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, LEI Tingchang in The LEI Family, the Royal Architects, and the prisoner Edmond in The Count of Monte Cristo. He also stars as Edmund in the NCPA drama King Lear and Saint John in the NCPA drama Jane Eyre. He also plays a part in the NCPA dramas A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Birds, The Tempest, etc. ZHAO Ling holds an academic degree in theatre, film and TV performance from the PLA Academy of Art. He used to be an actor at the Modern Drama Troupe of General Political Department, acting in lots of dramas, of which Baptism has won many awards throughout the army. He has also starred in many TV dramas including Living On with Smiles, The Colonel's Daughter, The Gift of Maggie, etc. As a dubber, his representative works include Titanic 3D (Jack Dawson), Man of Steel (Superman), Empresses in the Palace (The King of Guo County), etc. A dozen radio dramas starring him, such as Red Ribbon, have won the “Five-One” Project Award by the Publicity Department of the CPC. Heart to heart and The Teacher, two other radio dramas starring him, have won the ABU International Award for Best Radio Drama. In 2013, ZHAO Ling won the 13th Best Radio Actor Award by the Radio Drama Society of China.
WU SongCo-director
WU Song
WU Song is a member of the NCPA Drama Ensemble. He stars as Euelpides in the NCPA drama The Birds. He also stars in other dramas including Shoes Secret, Month of the Cat in Year of the Cat, Still In Suspense, As Long as You Are Happier Than Me, Brutal Abuse of the Count, LI Lei and HAN Meimei, Taipei at Midnight, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, The Tempest, The Birds, The Lei Family, the Royal Architects, Look West to Chang’an, The Crossroad, 6: 3, Roméo et Juliette, The Pillowman, The History Boys, The Wild Duck, The Story of Ah Q, Lost, Bean Milk, Azure Stone Factory, People in the Imperial Palace, etc.
As a director, his representative dramas include minority song and dance drama Flowers Falling on Spruce Meadow, theme drama Eternal Gyroscope, sitcom Stories of the Republic of China, suspense drama The Last Tie, and dramas Spring Song of Anti-Japanese Invasion, Memory of Wangjiashan, Judge - Kill, etc.
WU Song stars in films including Terminator of Major Cases, A Paper Marriage, Burst Live, Comedy Hero, Broken Gold, One Cut of the Dead, Road and Angel, A Little Reunion, etc. WU Song has won honours including the Best Actor Award at the Second Qionghua Awards for the micro-film Rebirth, the Best Actor Award in the First Micro-Film Competition of Shanxi Province, and one of China’s Top Ten Actors art the First Public Micro-Film Festival. Tour on One Night, a drama starring him, won the Best Creativity and Comedy Award in the Theatre Competition of the 36th Moscow World Film Festival for College Students. By starring in Our Chekhov, he the Excellent Performance Award in the Theatre Competition of the 37th Moscow World Film Festival for College Students. By starring in The Pillowman, he won the Nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Third Asia Chinese Theatre Awards.
WANG HongjiaSet Designer/Lighting Designer
XU XiangzengCostume Designer
LIN YingMake-up Designer
LIN Ying
LIN Ying works at the NCPA. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with a master’s degree in character design. She is a member of the Makeup Professional Committee of the China Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. She won the New Talent Award for Makeup Design at the 2018 iSTAN International Theatre Costume and Makeup Design Competition and was a winner at the 12th China Film and Television Makeup Awards in 2018. Her representative works include the NCPA Children’s opera commissions Effendi and The Fisherman and the Goldfish, dramas Look West to Chang’an, The Birds, Seeking for the Most Beautiful Voice: An Opera Concert for Children, CCTV’s Glorious Bloom, the Central Academy of Drama’s drama The Heavy Snow, dance dramas Zhaoxi, Two Cities, Dance of Emptiness, WAIT – The Maid, HI – Miss Julie, GO – The Three Sisters, Xia Xie Bo Wa: Awakening, White and Buddhist, Offering a Dance, Barbie Live!, musical Flying Fish at the tenth Liaoning Arts Festival, and the large-scale performance Ode to Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province. She has co-edited the books Behind the Scenes and on the Front Stage: NCPA Stage Art Exhibition, 2017 Activity Collection of Beijing Colleges and Universities Character Design Teaching Union and New Campus.
WANG WeijunProps Designer
WANG Weijun
WANG Weijun is a staff member of the NCPA, holding a degree in arts management from the Central Conservatory of Music. He has designed stage props for more than 80 theatrical works produced by the NCPA, including operas, dramas, dance dramas and musicals.
WANG Weijun has designed stage props for the NCPA productions including LIN Zexu, A Village Teacher (New Version), Tosca, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Effendi & His Double, etc. He works as the props coordinator in the operas Der Ring Des Nibelungen: Das Rheingold and Roméo et Juliette, dramas The Crossroad and Returning Home on a Snowy Night, etc. His representative works include A Millennium Promise, a theatrical performance held at the “Belt and Road” Forum for International Cooperation, I Grow Up with My Motherland—For the International Children’s Day of 2019, and self-produced plays Turandot, Der Fliegende Holländer, Snow White, You and Me, The Long March, Minning Town, The Wild Rhododendron, etc.
YANG YangMusic Designer
YANG Yang
YANG Yang, who holds an academic degree in music editing from the Communication University of China, now works as a sound engineer and programme producer at the CMG China Traffic Radio. Some programmes produced with her involvement have won numerous national and CNR awards. She has made musical designs for a number of productions, including the Beijing People’s Art Theatre dramas Open the Door, Dad, The Chosen One, Mean Girls, etc.
The radio play Nitpicker SONG Xiao’e won the Excellent Production Award at the 15th “Five-One Project” Awards for Spiritual Civilisation Construction by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. The radio play The Overhead Cableway in the Heart won the Award for Best Radio Play at the 2015-2016 China Radio and TV Awards. The History of Radio Publicity won the Second Prize for Advertising Programme Packaging by CNR. The China Traffic Radio Image Promotion—Husband and Wife won the Third Prize for Public Service Advertising by CNR.
LIU LiyanMusic/Sound Designer
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