Image source/ Beijing Renyi
◎ Ding Mingyong
Time and time again, people go to the plays they really like, expecting to see the actors explain the characters. The new version of "Thunderstorm", co-directed by Pu Cunxin and Tang Ye, meets the audience's expectations for the reinterpretation of the classic, and the aesthetic surprise it brings is worthy of the newly completed international drama center of human art.
First of all, in terms of external form, this version of "Thunderstorm" is very different from all previous versions. The creators carefully created a very novel and charming performance environment on the stage, which greatly expanded the hidden space of the script. Realistic dark clouds of the sky, transparent hazy front curtain, the center of the stage to fix the antique sofa, the rear can be moved arbitrarily combined furniture doors and windows, as well as the lighting with strong contrast between light and dark, as well as the internal emotions of the characters externalized... All these stage means not only meet the requirements of simplicity of non-realistic theater, but also do not depart from the external realist human art tradition, and achieve the integration of tradition and modernity, dream and realism.
The spacious performance space determines the movements of the characters. The beautiful, novel and modern set makes many events that originally occurred in the dark field can be transferred to the bright field to be performed, such as the deaths of Zhou Ping, Si Feng and Zhou Chong, which are the first time to be vividly presented in front of the audience. The death of these young people brought a strong shock to the audience and greatly increased the expressiveness of the play. What is particularly commendable is that the innovative stage set is in harmony with the rhythm of the play, and everything feels so harmonious. In front of such a fantastic stage, the actors and the audience, spirit and material constantly exchange, resulting in a wonderful energy exchange field, a wonderful scene in which the audience is immersed in it and does not know the rapid passage of time. With such an aura, even if the original work is subverted and the performance is flawed, the audience does not feel that there is any problem, because they have been completely wrapped up in the aura into theatrical activities.
What is the theme of Thunderstorm? Anti-feudal, of course. Who are the representatives of feudalism? Nature is Zhou Puyuan. This version of "Thunderstorm" redesigned the prologue and epilogue, the prologue is performed behind the curtain, the traditional tame waiter and the prosperity of the rebellion of the times have left Zhou Puyuan; and at the end, those young people who were killed, stand up from the dead ground, carrying umbrellas to history. Such an ending is full of symbolic meaning, and it will cause the audience to reflect on history.
The combination of the screen and the lighting makes the stage can show the past like a movie, and Lu Shuping in her youth is wearing a white veil and appears on the field many times. Accompanied by the commentary on "Chaotou Phoenix", it expresses the good memories of Zhou Puyuan. This is something that originally existed in the thirty years before and after the script, and it is expressed in this way, so that the whole play conveys a poetic imagery, and this before-and-after contrast deepens the tragedy of Lu Shuping.
This version of "Thunderstorm" did not reduce the number of characters (but increased), did not delete the prologue and epilogue, but actually greatly shortened the performance time, how to do it? It is the result of the director's refined dialogue. For example, Lu Gui's large paragraphs of flashing dialogue have been deleted, and the delay of Shi Ping's desire to leave and say that he will return to Hugh has also been deleted. This speeds up the pace of the play from both content and time, and the use of split-compositing props speeds up the change of scenes between three or four acts. This acceleration solves the problems faced by several generations of directors such as too long performance time, fatigue after the audience's emotions continue to be high-pitched, and the criticism of "too much like a play".
In the climactic part of the concentration of contradictions and conflicts, the role has not decreased at all, and the terrifying appearance of the ripples in the thunder and lightning, and the collapse of the victim in the process of the truth being revealed, are in line with the original meaning of Cao Yu's script: "The universe is like a cruel well, falling inside, and it is difficult to escape this dark pit no matter how to call." ”
The richer the literary, poetic, psychological and emotional content of a script, and the deeper its attainment, the more wonderful its beauty. The greater and more outstanding the script, the more perfect it is in form, the more ingenious it is in style, and the more subtle the questions asked by the director. Being able to cut out the complexity and simplify the subtleties to the audience is the most successful place for this version of "Thunderstorm".
In terms of performance, Gong Lijun, who changed from a prosperous to a waiter, performed best. In the opponent scene with Zhou Puyuan, every expression full of emotion she makes people palpitate. She portrays a traditional, kind, tolerant, principled, and suffering mother to the fullest, from her helplessness, to despair, to collapse, all of which are clearly displayed to the audience one by one, and get empathetic reactions from the audience.
Bai Hui, who plays Fangyi, also shows the same determination and resistance as the previous version, especially deleting the dialogue that can accept si feng to go together, making her closer to the definition of the new woman in the original work. In addition, her youth and beauty also convince the audience of her unrequited love with her stepson. There is also Zhou Chong, who also meets the dream age of 17 years old. Only Lu Gui, who had deleted many lines, seemed to have lost the cunning personality of a cunning servant and became as humane as Zhou Puyuan. The four phoenixes played by Chen Hongxu are too thin, and there is a gap between the four phoenixes in the original book who are "very developed in the whole body".
And Lu Dahai, a small character who was once regarded as dispensable, not only did not delete, but also showed his due generosity and talent, although the image is still reckless, but no longer as brutal as the previous version. In fact, compared with Lu Dahai's identity, it is also a very rich role. He has many faces of a disabled, illegitimate son, father killer and revolutionary, coupled with his brave and resolute character and unhesitating action, the protagonist connotation of this character has not yet been fully demonstrated, and there is still room for further refinement in the dialogue between him and his stepfather Lu Gui.
If you have to nitpick, then Zhou Puyuan is a good object. The famous French director Antoine said: "A good actor, after becoming a director, often makes the mistake of only seeing his own role, and will unconsciously and unquestionably enhance the field and importance of that role, while causing damage to other people." In this version of "Thunderstorm", Pu Dao is suspected of being said to be. He added a lot of scenes to his role of Zhou Puyuan: dress applause took the lead in the scene, greeted the lightning with the window, was too kind and reasonable, had undisguised love for Lu Dahai, and obviously knew the privacy of Zhou Ping, which were all fouls in detail. He was the one who opposed the opening of the window, the source of all tragedies was him, and he was also the feudal patriarch who combined all evil. And restoring humanity to him will definitely weaken the tragedy of the original work, and the prologue and epilogue of the original work can treat Zhou Puyuan as the main bearer of the tragic consequences, and Cao Yu originally let him accept punishment.
Of course, we can also use the words of the famous Austrian director Reinhardt as a justification: "To measure the principles of theatrical art by the same scale, to use the same mold to die, would be a barbaric theory." "A talented director who can put his genius artistic imagination on the stage and achieve internal and external self-consistency is success." There is no reason why an actor with a lot of experience and artistic talent for theater should not become a first-class director. The director is a poet, a cultural relics researcher and a costume expert, who is the one who integrates the script, the performance and the audience. These pu guides have done it, and they have done it very well. But to be a good director, you have to willingly confine yourself to this exciting and obscure work.
Photography / Fang Fei (unsigned)