"The kingdom cannot be saved. If others do not save, they rely only on myself; if others cannot save, they rely on myself; if others do not sincerely save, they rely only on myself..." On the stage, accompanied by deafening shouts, the martyrs took firm steps and resolutely walked towards the raging fire, and the curtain slowly closed... Off the stage, the audience responded with warm and lasting applause, tears in their eyes, and expressed their hearts of emotion and shock.
On the evening of April 24, the drama "Yuhuatai" was grandly staged at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, participating in the "Outstanding Stage Art Exhibition and Performance Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China" sponsored by the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Federation of Chinese Literary and Art Circles, which aroused strong repercussions and heated discussions. This is not the first time that the drama "Yuhuatai" has been performed in Beijing, but the shock and emotion brought to the Beijing audience is as always; this is the 150th performance of the drama "Yuhuatai", and the "red whirlwind" set off is also the same as always.
The performance is shocking - straight to the depths of the heart, reproducing the "Tears Stage"!
"I don't have a single thing of value on me, just a pair of myopic glasses, worth a few bucks. The phosphorus on my body can only make four boxes of foreign fire. I want my phosphorus to emit more heat and light, and I hope it burns up, burns away the old China, and gives birth to a new China! ”...... On the stage, the heroic and sonorous words reverberated; offstage, the audience responded excitedly in unison, and the stage and offstage converged into a heroic hymn. On the stage, the actors bowed affectionately and closed the curtain; offstage, the audience responded warmly and did not want to leave, their eyes were full of tears of emotion, and the theater was full of applause. This familiar scene has appeared countless times in the scene of the performance of the drama "Yuhuatai" for more than 5 years, and the drama "Yuhuatai" has become the "Tears Stage" that touched the audience. The same scene, once again, took place at the National Centre for the Performing Arts that night.
The two-hour performance, with 3 interrogation rooms as the main scene, in the dark prison, Yun Daiying, Leng Shaonong, Xu Baoye, Shi Di and other martyrs, in the face of the enemy's threats and inducements, they strengthened their ideals and beliefs, adhered to their inner beliefs, fought heroically, and were tenacious and unyielding. The drama "Yuhuatai" is produced by the Propaganda Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Propaganda Department of the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee, and created and performed by the Nanjing Repertory Theatre. Invited the famous director Hu Zongqi to direct, Shanghai Theater Academy Associate Professor Gao Cheng as a screenwriter, set up a domestic first-class creative team. After consulting a large number of documents and conducting in-depth research on the Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery, using the condensed method of time and space, the gripping plot, and a large number of multimedia historical materials were used to put the martyrs who died in different periods and different places in the same time and space, and a group portrait of the Martyrs of Yuhuatai was created. The loyalty, faith, and responsibility of the early Chinese communists and the heroic spirit of generously dying for the country and the people were presented on the stage.
One expert commented: "The power of authenticity is the most moving." "In the drama "Yuhuatai", many lines and stories, most of which have not been artistically processed, but are restored according to historical materials, including the family letters of martyrs, etc., which are directly moved to the stage. Most of the lines or plots are the words and events of the martyrs, so each performance can deeply touch the hearts of the audience and reach the depths of people's hearts. For more than five years, more than 100 high-standard performances have been continuously polished and refined, and the stage of the drama "Yuhuatai" has become more and more perfect, and the heroic spirit of Yuhua has set off a "red whirlwind" everywhere with wonderful performances. Performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts this time, the "Red Whirlwind" once again allows people to enter the spiritual world of Yuhua heroic martyrs and feel the power of faith.
The audience responded enthusiastically - inheriting the red gene and creating a better future
At the end of the performance, the audience was still immersed in the aftermath of the shock and emotion, and some people said: "This is really a shocking party history study and education." The passionate words of Yuhua Heroic Martyrs in the previous paragraphs of righteousness aroused a series of echoes in people's hearts; at the intersection of life facing life and death choices, Yuhua Heroic Martyrs' persistence in faith and fearless spirit of sacrifice for the people brought the audience a baptism that reached the heart.
The audience Wang Ke walked out of the theater, and his mind still couldn't forget the close-up of Gu Heng's hand on the stage background curtain. "A pair of white hands that were originally turning books and holding pens, in order to mingle with the toiling masses, soaked in alkaline water and rubbed back and forth in the sand, became extremely rough." Wang Ke said, "These young beings have told us what faith is with their adherence to a righteous conscience and their adherence to revolutionary ideals. ”
"Our beautiful life comes from thousands of revolutionary martyrs who went forward for the ideal, for justice, and for the sake of new China." On the stage, the 16-year-old martyr Yuan Zhitong and the 17-year-old martyr Shi Pu left an indelible impression on the post-95 audience Hu Yi. "What is supporting the indomitable backbone of the heroes of The Rain Flower?" What makes them fearless and generous to die? The last scene of the play shocked me the most, and also let me find the answer. 'The nation cannot be saved. If others do not save, I am on my own. If others cannot be saved, I am on my own. Such a strong faith is their spiritual pillar, and it is also the spirit that we need to inherit and carry forward now. ”
"Shi Di and Xu Baoye were the elite figures of that era. They studied abroad at a young age; they could easily have a rich and decent life, but they made a different choice. From them, we deeply feel the power of faith. Audience member Chen Di said that the scene of the two martyrs and their wives saying goodbye in the play is also particularly touching, "They are also flesh and blood people, sacrificing their small families for the country, throwing their heads and spilling blood for the people, they are really great!" ”
In the play, Xu Baoye's words to Shi Di before the righteousness deeply touched many viewers - "You and I pay the life of one person, perhaps the birth of new China is an hour ahead, thousands of colleagues pay their lives, then the ideal country is close at hand." This beautiful day, leave it to future generations! The audience said that they should take the martyrs as an example, inherit the heroic spirit of Yuhua, and use red genes to cast the future of life and the future of the motherland.
The creators went all out – every performance was the first
Scene 150, for the actors, every line, every expression, every step can be described as pure fire. The play was solemnly premiered on September 28, 2015 for the Revolutionary Martyrs' Memorial Day, and it is now the sixth year, and Cui Zhong, an outstanding young actor of the Nanjing Repertory Theatre who played Yun Daiying, still clearly remembers the scene when the drama "Yuhuatai" launched the "National College 100 Tours" at Peking University, which happened to be his birthday. In the 150th scene, he, like all actors, has experienced from youth to maturity and grown all the way.
"When I first acted, I felt that there was still a distance between the character and us personally, and I could only draw its shape, and I was still a little bit short of understanding its god." Li Zhu, an outstanding young actor of the Nanjing Repertory Theatre Troupe who played Shi Di, said what everyone felt. After the polishing of time and practice, now standing on the stage, they are the heroes of the rain flowers. "It's not that I've reached the height of Yuhua Heroic, but I feel that during the two-hour presentation process on stage, I don't feel that I am Cui Zhong, and I feel that all my behavior, including my thoughts, all the things I release on the stage, I am Yun Daiying." Cui Zhong said.
Although they are already so familiar with the drama "Rain Flower Stage", all the cast and crew still regard each performance as a first time, still serious, rigorous, and fully committed to each performance. They said: "We have been using the heroic spirit of Yuhua to inspire and motivate ourselves to create and learn, to perform every play well, and to complete the performance with the best mental outlook and the most perfect state." It is precisely this spirit that has made the drama "Yuhuatai" perform more than 100 times, and in 2017, it won the 14th "Five One Project" Excellent Work Award of the Central Propaganda Department's Spiritual Civilization Construction, and this time it was honorably selected for the "Outstanding Stage Art Exhibition and Performance Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China" sponsored by the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and became one of the ten works that were keyly publicized. On April 24 and 25, the National Centre for the Performing Arts was performed for two consecutive days, bringing shock and emotion to more audiences in the capital.
Yangtze Evening News/Purple Cow News reporter Kong Xiaoping
Photo courtesy of Nanjing Repertory Theatre
Proofread by Xu Heng
Source: Purple Cow News