In the early 50s of the last century, You Benchang, a young man who was studying at the Shanghai Theater Academy, took advantage of the spring break of the first year to go to Hangzhou and stopped at Su Di, which coincided with the Qingming Festival; 70 years later, the same Qingming, the 90-year-old National Theatre artist You Benchang walked into the theater after many years at the invitation of the dean Tian Qinxin, and happily went on a date with "Master Su".
This original drama "Spring Dawn at Su Causeway" jointly produced by the National Theatre and Hangzhou Performing Arts Group is undoubtedly the hit of this stage performance during the Qingming holiday - the encounter of famous people in the Northern Song Dynasty in Yizhuang and harmony, and the fantasy and real Song Yun landscape and painting. It is also this elegance and affection that attracted a group of artists from Mandarin to come to cheer, and on the evening of April 7, You Benchang, who had not entered the theater for many years, came......
What impressed You Benchang the most may not be Su Dongpo's words, but the perseverance of the literati in him, "It is the spirit of morale and the integrity in the bones of the intellectuals of the Chinese nation from ancient times to the present." Open-mindedness cannot be seen, it can only be revealed after experiencing setbacks, and Su Dongpo is exactly like this. ”
Although he has recently become the top of the Dinghai god needle due to TV dramas and short videos, You Benchang's obsession with the stage has not changed for decades. "It is said that stage performance is a fresh art, and film and television are canned art, but in fact, each has its own preciousness. I remember that in January 1959, the Central Experimental Theater and Premier Zhou had a meeting at the Summer Palace, and Premier Zhou mentioned that movies and dramas should join hands. After acting in movies, drama actors return to the drama stage with influence, and they have box office value, while film actors can enhance their acting skills through stage practice. ”
And You Benchang didn't play Master Hongyi on the drama stage until he was over 80 years old, and the two-hour performance was completed in one go. "I just like acting, especially dramas and movies, but drama is the foundation of acting in a good movie, I haven't seen a performance in the theater for a long time, and I am looking forward to the performance of the new generation of Mandarin on stage. At the same time, having acted in a lifetime, he also firmly believes that the inner soul conveyed by the eyes is irreplaceable, "At this point, acting is irreplaceable by AI." ”
Before the performance, You Benchang came backstage to cheer up the actors, and in the face of the young juniors shouting "Teacher You is good", he responded with a full atmosphere: I was flattered. "Sixty-eight years ago, when I was the same age as you, I said to Sun Weishi, the chief director of the Central Experimental Theater and my mentor, 'I will give you my whole life!' Calm down and don't be in a hurry, work steadily, follow the road, walk steadily, and you can come out sooner or later. Everyone should insist that I will always be with you!"
Subsequently, the actors recited Su Shi's "Drinking the Lake after the Rain" in unison - "The water is shining, the sun is clear, the mountains are empty and the rain is strange, and if you want to compare the West Lake with Xizi, it is always appropriate to wear light makeup and heavy makeup", this unique "Spring Dawn on the Su Causeway" echoed in the background, and the encouragement and response of the two generations were just like the superb scenery of Su Shi's work that has been passed down to future generations for thousands of years, stretching endlessly......
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Guo Jia
Editor/Gong Lifang