At the Wuzhen Theatre Festival in October, Meng Jinghui and German theatrical structure writer Sebastian Caesar brought the new stage adaptation "Red and Black" to the water village stage. After nearly two months, Meng Jinghui put this deconstructed classic "Red and Black", which lasted for more than three hours, onto the stage of the Oriental Art Center.
The Meng version of "The Red and the Black" is basically consistent with the original in the narrative order, telling the emotional entanglement between the two women in the process of growing up with Lian Sohail, who is full of talent and ambition, and the poor intellectual youth. Zhang Yicheng played the role of Yu Lian in the play, Mei Ting played his first lover, the mayor's wife, Madame de Rainer, and Luo Huan played the aristocratic maiden Mathilde.
Zhang Wu, a visual artist who has created nearly 40 stages for Meng Jinghui, uses hundreds of giant steel brackets to metaphorically depict the three-story Desire Loft in "Red and Black". In the first half, Newton's head is imprisoned in this cage of steel; in the second half, the iron frame becomes a brain that symbolizes universal humanity.
The actors of the "Empty Flower Group" of Meng Jinghui Drama Studio constantly change their identities on the stage, helping to explain the drama and era background in which Yu Lian is located, and also playing a role in stabilizing the tone of Meng Jinghui-style drama.
Yu Lian, played by Zhang Yicheng, is tall and handsome, frank and sunny, and talented, which contrasts significantly with Yu Lian's yin and weak in the book, reflecting a stronger life tension that the director wants to convey.
Mrs. De Renner, played by Mei Ting, combines the style of a mature woman with the innocence of an aristocratic lady.
Actor Luo Huan plays the aristocratic young woman Mathilde in the play. Luo Huan often plays important roles on meng jinghui stage, and she can grasp the strong emotional expression just right.
This version of "The Red and the Black", from the costume, the transformation, the Tao, to the dramatic structure, does not depict the original work. This is not a modern version of "The Red and the Black", but it has been branded by the director's personal brand.
In front of and behind the scenes, Meng Jinghui firmly grasped all the details from the height of the actor's hairstyle to the position before and after the lighting.
Meng Jinghui's version of "The Red and the Black" premiered at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center at 7:15 p.m. on December 10, and then performed for two consecutive days, a total of three performances. In 2022, the work will begin a new round of national touring.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Chunhai Text Editor: Zhang Mo
Source: Author: Dong Tianye