The Paper's reporter Wang Yi
Stills from "Raisins in the Sun"
On the evening of September 1, Beijing Renyi's first new play of 2020, "Raisins in the Sun", will appear on the stage of the Capital Theatre. In the post-epidemic period, although the national theater has resumed work for a period of time, the sign of "Renyi, Yingda, and the first new drama in 2020" has made many audiences wait.
Raisins in the Sun, a masterpiece by The African-American playwright Loren Hansberry, was a huge success on Broadway in 1959. Later, Yingda's mother, Beijing-based actor and translator Wu Shiliang, translated the work into Chinese. Nowadays, this work has appeared on the stage of human art, which can be described as the continuation and salary of two generations of artists for the pursuit and expression of a work.
The play depicts a poor African-American family in contemporary Chicago who receive a large sum of money after their elderly father dies. This huge amount of money that can make life turn around has made everyone in the family have different expectations, and conflicts and contradictions have arisen..." This play is about the relationship between people, between people and money, and between people and ideal reality. Director Yingda said that although it is a foreign work more than half a century ago, the content of its expression has practical significance.
Yingda, who has always been known for comedy, has returned to the renyi stage to direct dramas this time. The understanding and grasp of comedy allowed him to fully explore the comedic elements in this play, and also let the audience look forward to the comedy of this play, "In fact, this is not a comedy, it can be said that it is a tragicomedy." But I could feel where the author was writing for comedy, and I dug it all out without wasting these comedic moments. "Whether you can seamlessly connect between laughing and crying, every minute of the school is the director's directing skills in retirement."
Throughout the play, in addition to "I have the flu, the flu is a serious disease, and white people have it too." Such lines made the audience laugh, and "Raisins in the Sun" revealed the profound paradoxes and speculations behind the realistic slogans: in front of white Americans, black Americans demanding equal rights is considered a natural human right; in front of African blacks, black Americans have to be questioned about assimilation and ask themselves where the "roots" are? And within the black family in the United States, there are also puzzles and demands between women and men... Too complicated? Then go back to the essence. The final answer to this play is: forget the color of your skin and be a dignified person.
"Beijing renyi performs foreign dramas without relying on makeup and exaggerated external movements, and we can let the audience understand the joys and sorrows of people on the stage." Yingda said that this is not only a specific requirement for the director's second creation, but also the absolute confidence of Beijing artists when shaping their roles on the stage. The African-American mother played by Wang Xihua not only has the unique life imprint of the character, but also has the love and sunshine that belongs to each mother, so that people can see the spiritual strength of people on the stage; the son played by Jin Han has the impulses of young people and unrealistic fantasies, but all his ideas have a beautiful starting point; the daughter-in-law played by Xu Jingyao is simple and kind, and her love for the family and family is moving; the daughter played by Xu Cenzi carries a medical dream that transcends race and gender. Trying to find a home for your own spirit... Three-act play, the first and second half, when a group of actors appeared collectively to close the curtain, the uninterrupted applause expressed the recognition of the audience.
Although the expression of the whole play breaks through the limitations of time and space, the stage beauty still creates a pure American family environment. With nearly twenty original Chicago blues music in the whole play, it together creates the dramatic atmosphere depicted by the author, and has to admire Yingda as the "first person in Chinese sitcoms" and has not lost his craft. It is also reported that the play will be performed today until September 15.
Editor-in-Charge: Liang Jia
Proofreader: Shi Gong