The most unexpected reversal Welcome to the "Death Trap" of the Broadway suspense master

On September 7, 2021, this network reporter learned at the Poly Theater that in a colonial wooden house full of murder weapons, Jiang Lang's suspense writer Sidney learned that student Clifford had just written a new suspense work - "Death Trap", which was destined to become famous. The jealous Sidney was murderous for the domination of the work. He lured the students into his private house in an attempt to do so. The timid writer's wife, Myra, tries her best to stop her husband's evil deeds. However, on the night of the full moon, after a scream, everything suddenly flipped...

Hundreds of consecutive performances Broadway classic suspense is back on the stage

Written by the famous American novelist and playwright Ella Levine, "Death Trap" won the Edgar Poe Master Award, the highest honor of the Mystery Writers Association of America, in 2003. Popular suspense writer Stephen King once described Ella Levine as "the Swiss watchmaker of the world of suspense fiction, whose presence makes the rest of us look like cheap watchmakers in grocery stores." "Death Trap" has been performed on Broadway for 1803 consecutive performances, setting a record for the longest suspense thriller comedy in history.

In 2011, the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center and the Shanghai Mousetrap Drama Studio jointly produced the Chinese version of the drama of the same name, directed by young director Lin Yi. Extremely eye-catching emotions, many reversals of the plot, and the interpretation of senior actors make the play once staged, it will cause a boom, and it is difficult to find a ticket. The following year, "Death Trap" was performed 101 times in a row, becoming a comprehensive five-star drama of the audience survey of the drama.

This year, "Death Trap" has been polished for ten years and re-appeared on the stage in a new form, co-performed by Xu Shengnan, Lin Yi, Zhang Xu, Li Jianhua and You Mei. After the lineup update, the spark of relationship between the characters is exciting. After a decade of separation, Lin Yi, who once again directed and acted himself, made relatively large adjustments to the role, and new and old audiences can pick up different new experiences.

Scream Laughter The varied sound and light effects bring the ultimate reversal

The "Death Trap" choreography is layered and orderly, and it is real and tangible. Windows and transparent glass doors enrich the depth of the scene, and the layers of wooden frames create a Hitchcock-esque "vertigo" effect. The brightness of the lights, the roar of thunder, and the sudden ringing of the telephone all indicate that danger is gradually approaching. The blackout on stage also delayed the audience's curiosity, and in the darkness, the atmosphere of fear was prolonged. The guidance of only a flashlight is also very exploratory. In particular, a series of flashes of light and shadow at the end, which bakes the last unexpected murder to the climax of the atmosphere, which really makes people's hearts beat wildly.

In addition to the delicate sound and light effects, the play lays the groundwork through the plot of the ingenious conception, and brings the audience into the trap by means of step-by-step advancement. Many viewers lamented that the big reversal that shocked the whole audience and stimulated everyone's adrenaline before the end of the halfcourt was indeed unexpected and shocked the jaws, but it was not simply "reversed for the sake of reversal", but still fit with the overall trend.

The script of this play is extremely precise and meticulous, and all the truth is hidden in the seemingly random gags in the early stages, and there are missing clues everywhere. Many viewers choose to brush this play twice, in order to experience the puzzle pleasure of being induced by the first brush of the play, and then retrieving the puzzle piece by piece.

Break the fourth wall to explore the puzzle of human nature

"Death Trap" is not only a simple suspense melodrama, but also a meta-theatrical exploration about the creation itself. It is full of suspense writers' fanaticism and questions about horror, and human nature is torn apart in desire and emotion.

Although the scene is locked in the interior of a small room, various details interact with the grand theater under the stage. The protagonist's clever lines accurately correspond to the theater reality at this moment with the writer's imagination, successfully breaking the fourth wall. It not only provides several hilarious jokes for the entire high-density suspense plot, but also enriches the dramatic level and blurs the boundary between real and fictional.

The biggest suspense of this drama is, who is the real creator of these traps, who is the winner who laughs to the end? The fanaticism of horror, the obsession with success, the uneasiness of fate, and the selfishness in human nature constitute the main motivation of the characters in the play. As the curtain falls, every surprise echoes the prophecy of the opening of the play, and it turns out that everyone in the play, including the audience, has stepped into the "death trap" of the original author.

The sophisticated and exciting suspense drama of "Death Trap" will be staged at Shenzhen Poly Theater on October 8-9, and we look forward to experiencing a surprise for you!

(Liu Liqing)