"Chongqing 1949" allows the audience to sit on the "time machine"

Stills from "Chongqing 1949". Courtesy of respondents

On the evening of February 3, on the third day of the Chinese New Year, the Chongqing 1949 Grand Theater was warm and melting.

On the same day, the large-scale red stage play "Chongqing · 1949" opened the first performance of the Spring Festival, and the applause from the audience was overwhelming.

In a corner of the theater, Song Xiaoping, the producer of "Chongqing 1949", looked at the full audience and couldn't help but sigh: "At the beginning of the performance of this play, I didn't expect it to have so many audiences. ”

Since its performance, "Chongqing 1949" has been favored by the general public and tourists, and its reputation has exploded. During the Spring Festival, many citizens took their families into the theater and felt their original intentions by watching the performances.

Why is a red resident performance so popular? What is the successful experience of the play in the integration of culture and tourism, stage art creation, etc.? Over the past few days, reporters have conducted interviews.

The high-tech stage meets the red story

Majestic Songle Mountain, leisurely magnetic mouth. On the evening of February 3, outside the Chongqing 1949 Grand Theater at the foot of Gele Mountain, the poster of "Chongqing 1949" was particularly eye-catching, attracting tourists to stop.

The stage play "Chongqing 1949" takes the eve of the liberation of Chongqing in 1949 as the historical background, and tells the touching story of many Chinese Communists imprisoned in the slag cave and the White Mansion, on the eve of the dawn, fighting the enemy to the death and preferring to die. The poster of this red repertoire has also appeared in chongqing's major tourist attractions, subways and other urban public windows. As of this year's Spring Festival, "Chongqing 1949" has completed 138 performances, with a total of more than 93,000 viewers.

Why create a red show? Song Xiaoping said that the original intention of creating this drama is related to his personal experience. "Since I was a child, I have lived in Ciqikou Ancient Town, which is close to the White Mansion of Gele Mountain and the Slag Cave, and I am a generation that grew up reading the novel "Red Rock", and I have been touched by the heroic stories of this land since I was a child." Song Xiaoping said that these growth experiences have made him firm in his idea of promoting red culture.

How to make a red story attract more viewers? The idea of creating an immersive repertoire gradually became clear in Song Xiaoping's mind.

"I wanted to make it an immersive scene, through a montage approach, showing the characteristics of Chongqing in multiple dimensions." Song Xiaoping said that to this end, they invited experts to create a multi-dimensional three-dimensional immersive indoor stage. In order to restore the appearance of Chongqing at that time, the main body of the stage was designed as a five-story nested disc turntable, and the audience area and the stage were completely integrated to form an immersive theater.

On the stage, the wonderful content and exquisite dance complement each other, and the Ciqikou, stilt house and long ladder are close at hand, as if within reach, and Chongqing's unique urban elements are deeply memorable. The actors appear in front of the audience like a picture scroll, and they are pushed closer and farther away like a movie lens, bringing a unique visual experience to the audience.

"One of the great features of this stage play is the integration of cool stage technology, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the 'red' charm and look back at the tragic and awe-inspiring history." Zhou Huifang, deputy general manager of Chongqing 1949 Performing Arts Culture Co., Ltd., said that the team is trying to find a balance in the combination of science and technology and the main theme of theatrical works, hoping to pay tribute to this heroic city with such a work.

The main theme meets the young audience

The turntable in the center of the stage is a steep pier stone staircase, and on the outside are a staggered stilt house. The lights come on and the audience feels as if they are on a never-ending clock dial, spinning along with the stage. As the music changes and the stage turns, the audience's seats also rotate, and in scenes such as the dock, prison guard post, and iron prison, the audience sometimes passes through the narrow streets and alleys, and sometimes faces the raging Jialing River.

In less than a year, the Chongqing 1949 Grand Theater has become a popular place for citizens to punch cards, and even many foreign audiences have dragged suitcases directly to the scene, including many "two brushes" and "three brushes" audiences.

"I was first attracted by the high-tech effects of this show, and then it was a sincere story that made me think deeply." Audience member Zhang Hanrui said that what impressed him was the last scene, the actors walked down the stone steps hand in hand, which was the admonition of the revolutionaries through time and space: "Please forget us, dry our tears, forget the grief, and go to the light..." Zhang Hanrui said that as revolutionaries, they insisted on their faith and gave up everything, hoping that thousands of future generations would be happy. But I will always remember them. ”

In fact, since the premiere of the play, many young people have favored this red play. "We have done statistics, 'post-00s' and 'post-90s' account for more than half of our audience, and 70% of the audience is under the age of 35, which I did not expect at the beginning." Song Xiaoping said that the experience of "Chongqing 1949" tells us that as long as we find the right form of expression, the works with the main theme will definitely be popular.

Although a good viewing experience can improve the "repurchase rate", the most fundamental thing about a work is its core and the quality of "one hundred matches". In the interview, many viewers who repeatedly watched "Chongqing 1949" said that new details could be found every time they watched, "Of course, the most important thing is whether the emotions and ideas of the work can be deeply rooted in people's hearts." What can touch the soul can become a classic. One audience member said.

Chongqing's hot land meets literary and artistic masterpieces

Qianqiu Red Rock is an immortal monument. A "Red Rock" novel has become an indelible memory of a generation; a song "Red Meizan", singing the motherland' great rivers and north and south; a "Chongqing • 1949" let the audience flock to come... What makes people applaud these red literary and artistic works from Chongqing?

Zheng Jinsong, deputy director of the Archives of Southwest University, is one of the authors of the Hongyan Family Book. In his view, Chongqing's red-themed literary and artistic works express things with bones and bones, which stimulates the audience's sense of cultural identity. He believes that inheriting the spirit of heroism and martyrdom should innovate the form, make the inheritance more fashionable, and make the communication more grounded, "In this regard, the stage play "Chongqing · 1949" gives a good case. ”

The revolutionary spirit and heroic feelings contained in these classics have lasted for a long time and have shone brightly in the long river of history. It is through these innovative ways that the works of the Red Rock theme are accepted and understood by more young audiences, so that they can further feel the power of faith and the call of mission.

"Previously, we have also been planning to promote large-scale live performances and supporting facilities in Gele Mountain Scenic Area, and "Chongqing 1949" has a positive effect on the spread of the Hongyan spirit and is a new carrier for inheriting and carrying forward the Hongyan spirit." Zhu Jun, secretary of the party committee of the Hongyan Linkage Management Center and dean of the Hongyan Cadre College, said in an interview with reporters that in the future, in addition to including the Chongqing 1949 Grand Theater in the Shuttle Bus Station of the Hongyan Linkage Management Center and providing the "Chongqing • 1949" display area in the scenic spot, zhu Jun, will also conduct Hongyan historical and cultural training for the "Chongqing • 1949" cast team from time to time, so that the actors can more deeply understand the Red Rock, feel the Red Rock, interpret the Red Rock, and better promote the inheritance and promotion of the Spirit of Hongyan.

In this regard, Song Xiaoping is also full of confidence. "We have created a special theater and a special team for this play, just hoping that it can be performed for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years or even longer." He said frankly that in this process, the team also needs to continuously absorb the opinions of all parties, strengthen the polishing of the repertoire, and build it into a new landmark of cultural tourism, so that more people can understand the story of Hongyan and feel the spirit of Hongyan from the stage play.