On December 10, the classic drama "Li Bai" starring Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun came to an end. And this day thirty years ago was the day they collaborated on the premiere of "Li Bai". Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun, the "golden partners" on the stage of human art, have been cooperating for thirty years to perform "Li Bai".
After acting in "Li Bai" for thirty years, there are always new sparks
Since 1989, when they performed together in the classic Drama "Thunderstorm" of Beijing Renyi, Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun, the golden partners of the stage, have been cooperating for 32 years. On December 10 this year, the longest-running play "Li Bai" between the two of them ushered in the 30th anniversary of the performance on the stage of the Capital Theatre, achieving a stage legend. And this long-term performance of the play also witnessed the continuous growth of the two of them, more and more tacit understanding and constant performance.
"You see Pu Ge's current physical condition, although he is not as strong as when he was young, his current state has fully performed Li Bai's feelings!" And after playing this play with him for so many years, I can still feel that he has a new understanding and change in his performance, which will be different every day, and always bring me new sparks. Before the last performance of "Li Bai" in this round of performances, in the backstage dressing room of Renyi, Gong Lijun, who played Li Bai's wife Zong Yan, couldn't help but sigh: "When he stood there and said his lines the day before yesterday, he paused, and as a result, he poked me in the heart!" Do you know? An actor can play the play to this point, can trigger the feelings of the opponent actor, can affect the audience's emotions, it is really quite difficult! Gong Lijun sincerely praised at the same time, but also laughed: "Acting with him is actually quite difficult, because your brain must also be moving all the time, and no matter how familiar the play is, you must also devote yourself to feeling, so it is also enjoyable!" ”
The tacit cooperation between the two is also reflected in each other's care and care. In recent years, Pu Cunxin's knee has had problems, and it is even difficult to walk when he is serious, but he has always stuck to the stage he loves. Once before the performance, it was really painful, and there was a scene in the play where Li Bai knelt down to thank his wife, and Gong Li said to Pu Cunxin: "You don't kneel to perform, you sit on the big rock, we can do a good job!" Therefore, they did not rehearse, and when the scene came to be performed in the evening, it was naturally changed to the scheduling sitting on the big rock, and the audience still felt very suitable and comfortable.
Among the many plays cooperated by Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun, "Li Bai" is also the work that Gong Lijun feels most pleasant and tacit understanding. Her positioning for herself is like Zong Yan, who is open-minded, wise, and never abandons his support and understanding to accompany Li Bai in the play: "In this play, I am a green leaf, and the red flowers want to compete for glory, so I accompany him." For Pu Cunxin, who has been exploring practice for many years and has been mentally inseparable from the character of Li Bai, this work and this role have always maintained his love and pursuit of artistic authenticity: "From the beginning of playing Li Bai's full of sorrow and indignation, to the return to the truth of playing him now, I will always have a new understanding of life and art. At the end of the final scene of "Li Bai", Pu Cunxin said to all the audiences: "Thirty years ago, we did not act very well, but the audience has been paying money to buy tickets to pay for our tuition. We have performed 237 times to this day, and it is the audience that accompanies us in our progress and supports us. Gong Lijun also said, "This play has been performed for thirty years, it is created with the audience, and we are also making progress with the audience." ”
"Xin" director first directed "Thunderstorm", let the gentle Gong sister "shoot the table"
This year, Pu Cunxin took on the responsibility of director in Beijing Renyi for the first time, interpreting the classic drama "Thunderstorm" that he had been thinking about for many years from a new perspective. At that time, the first play that Pu Cunxin cooperated with Gong Lijun was "Thunderstorm", he played Zhou Ping, and Gong Lijun played Prosperity. At that time, Gong Lijun's interpretation of The Prosperity was very exciting, and it was also known as the "First Prosperity of the Heavenly Character"; but Zhou Ping, played by Pu Cunxin, was not very successful, and the snickering of the audience made him feel depressed and painful, and even later withdrew from the "Thunderstorm" crew with regret. But "Thunderstorm" has always been a knot in Pu Cunxin's heart. Many years later, Pu Cunxin, who was becoming more and more mature, finally returned to the "Zhou Mansion" as the dual identity of the director and star of the play, Zhou Puyuan. But at the beginning, he did not want to invite his old partner Gong Lijun to join: "Because she has been acting in the classic version of "Thunderstorm" for so many years, and my version of "Thunderstorm" will be greatly changed, so I am afraid that she will not be able to adapt." But once during a chat, I found that she was quite willing to try something new, so I asked her to play Lu Shuping. This challenge is quite big, and I didn't know what she would be like at first, after all, she has been acting for too many years! In this regard, Gong Lijun behaved like the attitude of Zong Yan, the wife of Li Bai, whom she played, when facing Li Bai, who was in his sixties, and still wanted to invite Miao to go out to kill the enemy: "Pu Ge directed this play, and there are many new ideas. I said to him, I support your work. After all, I know him well, and he doesn't have to work too hard when he creates. However, Gong Lijun also admitted, "In fact, in the face of this creation, I also play drums in my heart." Yang Lixin teased me, saying, 'Can you still give the performance flowers?' ’”
In the rehearsal of the new version of "Thunderstorm", Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun and the entire crew have had countless arguments, discussions, and even won the face for some new interpretations and details. According to another director, Tang Ye, "During the rehearsal, the gentle Sister Gong slapped the table! She said to Pu Ge: 'You must explain your ideas clearly, let us understand, we can reach a consensus, work together in this direction, in order to put this play through, the audience can understand and accept." At the same time, Gong Lijun also gave Pu Cunxin the greatest support in action: "I actually have long developed the habit of listening to him!" So he wants me to act, I give him what he wants. After a while he wants to adjust, and I'll give him the other look he wants. So he has an actor like me, which should be quite happy! In the end, Pu Cunxin's director's version of "Thunderstorm" was successfully unveiled in the Cao Yu Theater of Renyi New Theater, and his new interpretation and stage presentation of this work were also recognized and appreciated by everyone. In this regard, Gong Lijun is also very happy: "Our version of "Thunderstorm", from the interpretation of the relationship between the characters, looks further ahead and is more contemporary. ”
The biggest breakthrough and the most difficult cooperation is "Yan Mahjong"
In addition to "Thunderstorm" and "Li Bai", Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun have also partnered in many classic dramas such as "Xiaojing Hutong", "North Street South Courtyard", "The Proud Son of Heaven", "Koshien", "Home" and so on, playing husbands, wives, lovers and lovers countless times... For the two of them, the biggest breakthrough and the most difficult cooperation process is "Yan Mahjong". In this play, Pu Cunxin is no longer elegant and handsome, but old and ugly, cursing and grinning; Gong Lijun is no longer elegant and beautiful, not only to speak dirty words, but also the old lady She plays Fencia is provoked, and also gives a big slap to Wei Le, played by Pu Cunxin. Gong Lijun once said that it was really difficult to "give a cruel hand" to Pu Cunxin. Gong Lijun said: "I watch the old version of the video, Teacher Zhu Lin is really a teacher, but I can't get my hands on it, I want to play twelve games in a row!" And I'm afraid to blow his hood away! However, Pu Cunxin took the initiative to ask Gong Lijun to "really fight": "Actors should have dedication, saying that if they are beaten, they will be beaten." The character of this play is also very challenging to the two people, Pu Cunxin said: "Gong Lijun and I are gentle and frugal, indisputable people, but in this play, we must show the vulgarity of the two old people who have been abandoned by life, and the injustice and resentment in their hearts can have strength." ”
When they first pulled director Tang Ye together to rehearse this scene, Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun were still eager to try various challenges, but when they really ranked up, the huge difficulty once made Pu Cunxin regret it, "I feel that I don't have this diamond diamond, I shouldn't take this porcelain job." Gong Lijun also said: "After decades of acting, this play is the most difficult one!" There are a total of fourteen cards in the play, each of which is different, and they must bring out different lines and plots, and they all need to remember very clearly, which is too difficult! Moreover, Gong Lijun also experienced the heavy blow of her father's death in rehearsal, rushed to her hometown with a sad mood, and hurried back to Beijing to perform: "At that time, there was no kung fu sadness, just thinking that I could not fall down for this." At that time, I really understood what loyalty and filial piety could not be both! ”
Although they have cooperated on the stage for so many years and so many works, in life, Pu Cunxin and Gong Lijun have maintained a state of getting along with each other as light as water, and there is little intersection and exchange. "Usually, if we don't rehearse, we hardly even make a phone call. At most, I would sometimes make some bread and send it to Pu Ge's whole family, and his wife would say that what I made was better than what I made in the bakery. Gong Lijun said, "We keep a certain distance in life, in fact, this distance is the same as the distance between the actor and the audience, and there must be a certain distance between the actor and the actor, so that we can understand each other and have a tacit understanding, but also have a certain sense of mystery." This distance produces something beautiful and magical. In fact, between husband and wife, between friends, any kind of relationship is like this, which is also a kind of wisdom to get along. ”