In 2010, on the occasion of the 111th anniversary of Mr. Lao She's birth, his short story was adapted into the drama "Five Rules of Lao She" for the first time. This is the only rehearsal of Mr. Lao She's work by the famous director Lin Zhaohua in addition to Beijing Renyi's "Teahouse". 14 years later, director Lin Xiyue, the son of Lin Zhaohua, will present the 2024 version of "Five Rules of Lao She", which is a mixture of joy and sorrow, to the audience with a new lineup, new interpretation, and new style.
The play is a high-quality creation project of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles' "Big Opera Looks at Beijing" literary and artistic creation incubation platform, and is also one of the series of activities to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Lao She's birth.
Screenwriter: Maintain the authentic Beijing flavor and Mr. Lao She's humor
Back then, Wang Xiang, the screenwriter of "Lao She's Five Rules", under the recommendation of Lao She's son Shu Yi, finally selected "Liu Family Compound", "Also Triangle", "Soul Breaking Gun", "Taking Office" and "Rabbit" from Mr. Lao She's many short stories. Shu Yi said, ""Five Rules of Lao She" is of epoch-making significance in the dramatic adaptation of Lao She's short stories. It allows more people to discover that Lao She's short stories are also a fertile ground for drama. ”
However, the biggest difficulty in adapting Lao She's novel into a drama is that there is not enough dialogue in the original work, and the story is often driven by objective narration or a large number of psychological descriptions. Screenwriter Wang Xiang set two principles for himself: "First, to change a drama that reflects the life of the old Beijing city, the language must be authentic Beijing dialect; second, to maintain Mr. Lao She's humorous dramatic temperament." Therefore, although not all of the original novels are set in Beijing, the story of the drama "Five Rules of Lao She" is completely set at the foot of the imperial city, and the dialogues of the main characters also maintain the authentic Beijing flavor, Beijing characters, Beijing rhyme, and Beijing accent.
Performance: Beijing Film Academy attaches great importance to the practice of theatrical stage art
The rehearsal of the 2024 version of "Lao She's Five Rules" is starring Wang Jinsong, a professor at Beijing Film Academy and a famous actor. Wang Jinsong, who is well-known for film and television works such as "Nothing to Steal Music", "Sun Wu", "Zhao's Orphan" and "The Third Army", has always had a soft spot for the drama stage, he has starred in the Beijing Renyi drama "Burning Van Gogh", participated in the National Center for the Performing Arts drama "Wangfujing", and also rehearsed a number of original dramas with students. In the 2024 version of "Lao She's Five Rules", except for the actor Lu Wei, who played the male dan in "Rabbit", is from the China Academy of Drama, the other dozen or so actors are all outstanding graduates and students of Beijing Film Academy. He said: "Beijing Film Academy has always had a tradition of teachers and students practicing creation on the same stage, and acting is not just a theoretical research, but more practice. This time, the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Group jointly launched this play, which provided us with a particularly good stage for practice. We also cherish this opportunity to perform for the public, which is a very good exercise for everyone, especially the students. ”
Directors Lin Xiyue and Wang Jinsong have been friends for many years, and they have a very tacit understanding together. However, Wang Jinsong also revealed that the director's requirements are very strict, "Director Lin Xiyue asked us not to wear microphones, so in order to strengthen the actors' line skills, we spent more than two months on physical training and language training." Director Lim Hee-yue also has a unique training method that has developed the abilities of the actors. ”
Director Lin Xiyue led all the actors to spend ten days carefully studying the script and analyzing the times and characters. In Wang Jinsong's view, Mr. Lao She's words have many profound and approachable philosophies, which are shocking. Wang Jinsong sighed: "In this creative practice, whether it is us teachers or students, we generally reflect that we have greatly improved my basic skills in performance and the consciousness of creation!"
Director: Strive to explore the contemporaneity of Lao She's work
For director Lin Xiyue, the most important thing is to give the work the characteristics of the times. Like his father Lin Zhaohua, Lin Xiyue, who is unwilling to use too many words and theories to summarize his creative pursuits, attaches the most importance to the "degree" and "temperament" of his works. "At that time, "Lao She's Five Rules" gave me a more acute feeling, although it was presented with black humor, but the sadness and depth were especially able to stimulate people's souls. In Lin Xiyue's view, drama should serve the current audience and the times, and strive to excavate the parts related to modern people and arouse the thinking of young people today. "Therefore, what kind of way the actors perform and what kind of visual presentation the stage can form the 'temperament' of the 2024 version of "Lao She's Five Rules" is the 'degree' we need to grasp!"
The actors' performances, the use of music, and the overall stage presentation all made Lin Xiyue very satisfied and recognized by the audience. "The young actors breathed life into the play, they played a different flavor of the work, and some people in the audience said, 'I remember every character. ’”
Lin Xiyue also revealed, "Mr. Lao She also has many short stories that are very contemporary and futuristic, and even very magical. So if I have the opportunity in the future, I would like to choose a few new Lao She short stories and arrange a new version of "Lao She's Five Rules". "Five Rules of Lao She" can be used as an excerpt that can be performed often, which is also a very interesting creative direction. ”
Photo by Liu Hang