The cascading stairs and platforms divide the rehearsal hall into a staggered space, and the actors walk through it, and their positions naturally bring a sense of disparity - this is like a metaphor for the protagonist Deng Shichang's state of mind. "If "Lin Zexu" is about the struggle of several big people who can influence the fate of the country, then "Deng Shichang" is like a one-man war. Wang Xiaodi, the director who directed the two works, said. On April 27, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, following the original drama "Lin Zexu", will usher in the first round of performances of another "historical figure series" drama and the original drama "Deng Shichang". On April 15, the crew of "Deng Shichang" opened the class and showed some clips in the play in advance.
The original drama "Deng Shichang" uses flashbacks to connect the stories of the famous patriotic general Deng Shichang's youthful ambition, young enlistment in the army, and middle-aged martyrdom, and in-depth portrayal of the glorious success of the Beiyang Naval Division, the fiasco of the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese War, and the heartache brought about by the Treaty of Shimonoseki. In the first paragraph, Deng Shichang met with Li Hongzhang and bitterly explained the various hidden dangers faced by the Beiyang Naval Division, known as "Asia's first", but was told that the top priority at present was to celebrate the birth of the Empress Dowager Cixi; in the second paragraph, the Battle of the Yellow Sea was about to start, and Deng Shichang said goodbye to his pregnant concubine and named the child "Hao Qian". 6 years have worn out the fighting spirit of many people, but Deng Shichang has always had the ambition to serve the country and moved forward......
In the late Qing Dynasty, the political situation was troubled internally and externally, and the interests were complicated. In the multi-party wrestling, Deng Shichang, as a small sailor, has too many things that he can't change. "There is always a conflict between the spirit of grandeur and the spirit of decay in "Deng Shichang". Wang Xiaodi said, even if the people around him are busy buying houses and land, living a living, Deng Shichang still refuses to go with the flow, he sticks to the last moment of his life, the fall of "sinking Yoshino" to die and live, heroic and romantic, is an eternal and shocking tragic song. Wang Lei, who plays Deng Shichang in the play, captures the character's sense of mission to link the fate of the country with self-choice, "We hope to present the image of this hero to the audience in three dimensions, and use our performance to shape those moments in history that may happen but have not been recorded in writing." ”
"Deng Shichang" is Wang Lei's first real participation in costume dramas, and his figure and eyes are very different from modern dramas. These days, the physical designer Yao Xiaoming has always asked him to practice swordsmanship, and when he walks, "there is strength under his feet, not fluttering and crackling", and he is close to the character's heart from the externalized movements. Li Xiaomeng, who plays Deng Shichang's concubine Water Girl, is also looking for inspiration from her posture, and she insists on wearing a pair of shoes with a very low heel to shape the character's "admiration" for Deng Shichang. In Li Xiaomeng's view, women in that era had a particularly strong tenacity, and their support for their husbands and the fulfillment of the great cause of their family and country actually needed to be supported by extraordinarily strong inner strength. In the heavy tone of the whole play, "The water girl is like a beam of light sprinkled in the darkness, bringing warmth and light." ”
Including Wang Lei and Li Xiaomeng, Zhang Yechuan, Guan Dongtian, She Nannan and other leading actors and the National Centre for the Performing Arts drama actors will appear in the first round of performances of "Deng Shichang". It is reported that the performance will last until May 4.