Meng Jinghui directed the play "The Red and the Black" on the weekend

Tianjin Daily reporter Zhai Zhipeng

As the opening play of this year's Wuzhen Drama Festival, the drama "Red and Black" directed by the famous director Meng Jinghui and starring the famous actor Mei Ting will be staged at the Tianjin Grand Theatre this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when the audience will re-taste the shocking story written by Stendhal through Meng Jinghui's unique theatrical language.

As the most prestigious work of Stendhal, the novel "The Red and the Black" has achieved a generation of literary classics with the deep excavation of the psychology of the characters since its inception in 1830, and is considered to have created a precedent for the "stream of consciousness novel" and "psychological novel" in later generations. The novel tells the history of Jullien's short life struggle from a carpenter family during the Restoration of the Bourbon Dynasty in France, as well as his two love stories with Madame de Rainer and Mathille, which profoundly reflects the social reality of France at that time and the humanity of the characters in reality.

Meng Jinghui is one of the most active and representative avant-garde theater directors today, and this new work "Red and Black" has not been performed first, attracting the attention of the industry and audiences early. On October 15, the play premiered at this year's Wuzhen Drama Festival, which triggered heated discussions from all walks of life, and Tianjin audiences will also welcome this high-profile work a month after the premiere. Compared with Meng Jinghui's other famous works and plays with many adaptations, "The Red and the Black" is a very close to the original work, in his view, the profound spiritual power contained in the original work has great vitality, and the growth, love, and self-knowledge of the characters will also resonate with contemporary audiences.

The joining of actor Mei Ting has made "The Red and the Black" have more attention. Mei Ting, who has portrayed classic roles in many film and television dramas, challenged the role of Madame de Rainer in the play. This role has a unique color in the female group portraits of literary masterpieces, she is a rich lady from a famous family, the mayor's wife, and the mother of three children, until she met Jullien, she sprouted love, and her love has a magnificent meaning and heroic atmosphere. It can be said that Madame de Rena herself is a synthesis of "red and black", and how Mei Ting will interpret the state of the character is expected. Actor Zhang Yicheng led by Meng Jinghui Drama Studio "Empty Flower Group" actors starred in Yu Lian and other roles.

"The Red and the Black" continues the extremely rich stage elements in Meng Jinghui's plays, using a large number of well-known artistic symbols. A giant "head" will appear in the background of the stage, although it is imprisoned by steel, but the "thoughts" in the "head" are gradually bursting out, creating a huge impact on the stage. The addition of multimedia and real-time imagery will also expand the perspective of the story, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the story from the perspective of the characters.