"Chekhov's literary works are like a garden of love treasures to me". Our descendants are fortunate to be the little 'gardener' in his garden, looking for and picking a bouquet of flowers in the garden, which is extremely fragrant, beautiful and gentle, and offering them to more people, so that more people can smell the fragrance of flowers. Director Cha Wenhao said. Chekhov, a drama produced and performed by the National Theatre of China, will be staged at FANCl Art Center Yihai Theater from May 10 to 11 as part of the 2024 Shanghai Jing'an Modern Drama Valley.
When it comes to Chekhov, his classic plays always appear in the shadows, and people's impression of Chekhov is always full of awe: he can observe the deeper inner philosophy of life through the appearance of life, and mock ugly people and things with concise and accurate language, humor and banter. As a representative of Russian realist literature in the 19th century, Chekhov left immortal masterpieces for the world.
But Chekhov's short stories show a more life-like side of the author, not heavy and serious, but full of the lightness and happiness of the little people. The National Theatre of China's drama "Let's Love! Chekhov" continues Chekhov's humor and wittyness, interpreting the deep meaning behind the story in a light-hearted and pleasant way. Construct Chekhov's "parallel universe of love".
Director Cha Wenhao studied Chekhov's novels, scripts, and biographies of nearly one million words, and took "enigmatic love" as the starting point, juxtaposing and integrating the three one-act plays of "Stupid Bear", "Marriage Proposal" and "Wedding", and kneading the famous characters and stories in several novels of "Trick", "The Man in the Suit", "The Bride" and "About Love", framing classic stories from the perspective of contemporary young people and a new narrative method, and exploring the eternal mystery of life.
"Let's Be in Love! Chekhov" pays attention to the current young people's concept of love, and integrates the practical problems they encounter in life into the play, which can make young people more resonant and touched. Walk into the theater, understand the master's concept of love, and then return to life, reflect and change. In Director Cha Wenhao's view, reading Chekhov is also reading his own youth and growth. "Since we were rehearsing Chekhov's plays, we studied him with a learning attitude. "It's a process of precipitation and rethinking, and once again entering Chekhov's literary and theatrical world, I get a different feeling.
"In each rehearsal, we continue to improve and upgrade, as close as possible to our inner feelings when we read Chekhov, to his literary world, and to the self-youthful growth that we reflect after reading his literature. Cha Wenhao said. "Let's Love! Chekhov" does not stay at the level of the original work, but injects the perspective and emotions of young people today, so that the scene in the play is connected with the current life, and the people in the play reproduce not only the story of the original work, but also the epitome portrayal of contemporary life.
"Let's Love: Chekhov" is a new interpretation of Chekhov, a world literary giant, on the stage of Chinese drama, and it is also a sincere tribute to Chekhov, an "immortal great man", by Mandarin artists. "Its mother is Chekhov's, but Chekhov belongs to the world, he belongs to the people of the world, and his characters can resonate with readers and theatergoers all over the world. Cha Wenhao said.