Upstream drama NO.69
Burlesque drama "Chen Yisheng's Eating Problem"
"Eating is a problem, the problem is not eating, it is not a meal problem."
While revealing the theme of the work, this slogan is also very interesting in Chinese. Tongue twister-like wordplay makes people tend to believe that the burlesque drama "Chen Yisheng's Eating Problem" will be an interesting work. Of course, this preconceived notion was also demonstrated on stage.
The burlesque drama "Chen Yisheng's Eating Problem" came to Chongqing for the first time, and its tearful, funny and unsacky presentation won the praise of the audience in Shancheng. Before discussing this work, it is necessary to know about Chen Yisheng.
As long as you have a little understanding of the history of contemporary Chinese literature, you will certainly not be unfamiliar with Chen Wansheng. This classic literary image is the protagonist in a series of novels created by Gao Xiaosheng, a representative writer of reflective literature. In the 1980s, Gao Xiaosheng was a top figure in the Chinese novel industry, and won the 1979 and 1980 National Outstanding Short Story Awards for "Li Shun's Great House" and "Chen Yisheng Shangcheng", and "Chen Yisheng Shangcheng" was selected into the list of "The 40 Most Influential Novels in the 40th Anniversary of China's Reform and Opening Up" published by the China Writers Association.
In Gao Xiaosheng's pen, the peasant Chen Yisheng has experienced a series of events such as going to the city, changing jobs, contracting production, and going abroad, and he has the traditional virtues of Chinese farmers being kind, simple, and loyal, and at the same time has a "inferior root" that is difficult to ignore.
The burlesque drama "Chen Yisheng's Eating Problem" comes from this classic literary image, but the plot content is very different from the novel, mainly continuing the personality logic and characteristics of the original characters. This work was created and arranged by the Changzhou Burlesque Troupe in Gao Xiaosheng's hometown of Jiangsu, and since its inception, it has been selected for the National Arts Fund Fund funding project and the national stage art key creation repertoire, which can be called a stage masterpiece in the new era.
This tour to Chongqing is also the first time that the burlesque drama "Chen Yisheng's Eating Problem" has met with the audience in Shancheng. For the audience in Shancheng, the burlesque dramas that are widely popular in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are rare, as far as the reporter's eyes are concerned, the only burlesque dramas performed by Chongqing in the past three years are "Gu JiaMu Ma" of the Suzhou Burlesque Troupe, and the ordinary and great maternal love interpreted by Gu Qian, the winner of "Three Degrees of Plum", is deeply touching, making people laugh and cry.
Is laughter with tears common to good burlesque? At least "rapping is equally important, and the mix of tragedy and joy" is the artistic characteristic of Changzhou burlesque, and "Chen Yisheng's Eating Problem" fully reflects such a performance effect. The whole drama tells the story of 5 years in 1970, 1978, 1986, 2006 and 2018, and the time span of nearly half a century covers various important historical periods, revolving around the "funnel household" Chen Yisheng and his three children in the land, food and food issues.
The stage cuts from Chen Yisheng in his later years, and the plots of different eras unfold through the form of continuous flashbacks, the irony and conflict of the plot blend with tragedy and joy, the audience laughs while watching, and also follows the creator to think about the problem of "eating", which is commonplace but rarely artistic expression. Because of thinking, this play has also improved the traditional burlesque play from the temperament. It allows the audience to see that expressing a thick realistic theme through the art form of burlesque can also be profound and not tacky.
Originally thought that the Chongqing tour would be cold, in fact, the attendance rate of "Chen Yisheng's Eating Problem" was much better than expected. Ms. Qin, who was born in the 60s of the last century, sighed that the script was quite successful, and she could see a lot of shadows in her own growth from the performance, and there was a real historical restoration. At the same time, Chen Yisheng's actor is also worthy of praise, he is always present in the two-hour performance, and when there is no end in the end, this intensity of performance is a huge challenge for any actor.
Upstream News Chongqing Morning News reporter Text/Video Zhao Xin