An old-fashioned coffee table
A few iron pots
A shelf for newspapers and magazines
A corner cabinet with some small porcelain in it
The pink one
The orange chair
Pillows, carpets, vases, wine glasses
And that bed
……
This is a common object in the family, but also a symbol of parents and children's memories and warmth, but when these things are to be disposed of, when family affection begins to become overwhelmed, how can people stitch up cracks and pains? Perhaps the contemporary drama "Daddy's Bed" can give some answers, a little inspiration.
From October 28th to 31st, the contemporary drama "Daddy's Bed", produced by Shi Theater and starring Wang Xuexi and Zhou Minghan, will appear on the stage of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, which will face the family dilemma of contemporary society through a family dialogue and bring the audience a theater experience related to family affection. On the afternoon of the 25th, the famous actor Wang Xuexi and the young actor Zhou Minghan shared with everyone in advance the journey and wonderful highlights of this drama.
Wonderful Q&A
Q: Why did you choose "Daddy's Bed" among the many scripts?
Wang Xuexi: This play is the first play I have returned to the stage after 20 years. This play is very simple, on the surface it is the dialogue between father and daughter, but this play is very complicated, its amount of information is very large, and the space left for creation is also very large, so it is not only the story of two people, but also involves every family, everyone will think of themselves when they see this play, this sentence my daughter said, this sentence my father said, the dialogue is ordinary and ordinary, as if we all forgot, but it seems that we also remember very clearly, this is the most touching place for me in this play, it reminds everyone that it is indeed very important to be able to clearly see family affection As I often say – affection can't give you a solution, but it can give you the courage and strength to solve it.
Q: What does the title of "Daddy's Bed" mean?
Wang Xuexi: This play is about a father who has lost his wife and a daughter who has lost his mother. In the first half of the play, the father sorts out the old furniture of the family, sofas, cabinets, coffee tables, hangers... These things he wanted to dispose of wanted to be left behind in the eyes of his daughter, but only the bed, the daughter wanted her father to throw away, but the father felt very strange, so many can not be thrown away, but why throw the bed away... As for why, please come to the scene and look for answers in the play.
Q: What are the contradictions and conflicts at the heart of this show? How do you view the current family dilemma?
Zhou Minghan: For the daughter in the play, the contradiction of this play is that her sense of security from the family has been broken and violated, so the daughter in the play repeatedly reminds her father that she is very important, even if she wants to pull her father into a particularly uncomfortable context, we must also remind him, I think this is where the daughter is most afraid and contradictory. Looking back at the present, because I am a teacher in school, I will find that in fact, many families have different contradictions and conflicts between parents and children, and in my opinion, we must find a way to communicate, because only the power of family and affection is infinite.
Q: In this 80-minute play, the father and daughter have been communicating on the phone, not even face-to-face with each other, how do the two interpret and convey the emotional emotions in it?
Wang Xuexi: For example, "How are you?" "Good" Sometimes a slight change in tone can make the mood change, just like a family, subtle emotions can make people who cherish you instantly capture your happiness or unhappiness. This is a very delicate expression, but also can convey a very weighty message.
Zhou Minghan: In our acting training as actors, phone calls are actually object communication, but others are not in front of you, and you have to rely on yourself to establish a very rich imagination and establish a specific life imagination. But the biggest advantage of this drama is that I and Teacher Wang are actually in the same space, and when I call, he will also be on the stage, and he will give a reaction to give emotions, which will give me stimulation, and will also allow the audience to grasp the state of two people at both ends of the phone at the same time.
Q: The stage of this play is built with a lot of boxes, so what is the original intention of this design? And what do you want to show from it?
Wang Xuexi: There are a lot of boxes as props in this play, the father always wants to put things in, and the daughter always wants to take things out, so the boxes are the externalization of their contradictions and conflicts. The stage design of this play is French, he first let me see this box, let me imagine that it is a doll toy, this is filled with spices and tea sets, on the stage, we are constantly upside down the box, which is the past that the father wants to forget, but the most precious memory for the daughter.
Past Reading:
Wang Xuexi x "Daddy's Bed" | A heart-wrenching and wonderful family experience
↑Slide to learn more about the show↑
2021 National Centre for the Performing Arts International Theatre Season:
Theater production
Wang Xuexi and Zhou Minghan starred in the contemporary drama "Daddy's Bed"
Performance time: 2021.10.28 - 2021.10.31
Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts, Theatre
Creators:
Writers: Magne van Den Borg
Director: Martin Engel
Stage Design: Sai Fang Lei Mei
Lighting Design: Tan Hua
Graphic Visual Design: Dai Wei
Sound design: Yan Jiaqing
Starring:
Father: Wang Xuexi
Daughter: Zhou Minghan
Copywriter: Zi Xin
Photography: Xiao Yi, Yin Xuefeng
Edit: Drama Courtyard