Produced by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, directed by Wang Huan, and co-starring Gong Yuhang, Shen Lei, Yang Ning, Wen Yang, Jiang Ke and Youmei, Ibsen's masterpiece A DOLL'S HOUSE returns to Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center art theater tonight (November 28).
The performance received applause and heated discussion from the audience:
"The drama of more than a hundred years ago is still a problem today, and that is enough to say that."
"The stage is bold and innovative, and itself has its own contradictions and conflicts, so it makes the story more interesting."
"The powerful actors are presented with all their might, which makes people watch it with great joy."
<h2>Long-term performances have been sensational to this day</h2>
"Doll's House" explores with the audience such a topic: having a happy marriage, cute children, pampering her husband, friends who can talk to... Will life be fulfilled because of this?!
The story of the play tells the news that her husband Haiermao is about to be promoted to bank manager, so that the family who has been overwhelmed by constraints has finally ushered in a turnaround. All of His wife Nala's dreams seemed to be just around the corner. But on the eve of this Christmas Eve, it was not Santa Claus who knocked on the door, but Kloxte, who a few years ago borrowed money from Kloxster by forging a note to save Helmaeus' life. In order to keep his position in the bank, Croxster threatens to reveal this secret to Helmo, and as the secret is gradually revealed, Nala's long-standing illusion is peeled off layer by layer: in front of Helmo, she has never been able to become a person in the true sense of the word, but just a doll at the mercy of others. So, can the doll finally leave her "doll's house"?!
The Doll's House was the first sensation by norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and to this day is his most famous and iconic play. At the beginning of publication, since nothing could be more sacred to Europeans than the contract of marriage, the depiction of marriage in "Doll's House" caused great controversy. The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, however, was heartened by Ibsen's "willingness to examine the spirit of society without prejudice." Because Of Nala's departure from home from traditional behavior and the conventions of drama, her act of slamming the door when she leaves home has also become a representative of the play. In his 1905 book Iconoclasts, the American writer James Huneker praised "the slamming of a closed door reverberating on the roof of the world." ”
In 1879, just two weeks after the script was published, it was staged in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Norwegian critic Erik Bøgh praised Ibsen's creativity and technical mastery: "There are no impassioned words, no exuberant theatrical acts, not a drop of blood, not even a single tear." But every show sold out. In the following years, the play was staged in Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom.
During the May Fourth New Culture Movement, China also began to stage "Doll's House". In 1918, "New Youth" also published a special "Ibsen Special Number", so that Chinese knew that there was a woman named "Nala" in the West, who dared to resist sexism and bravely ran away from home, and finally got rid of the fate of "dolls" bound by husband's power. During this period, Lu Xun, Hu Shi and Mao Dun, three pioneers of the "May Fourth" new cultural movement, also interpreted and judged the "Doll's House" from their own different angles, reflecting their new thinking on women's emancipation at that time.
<h2>The same classic, a new interpretation</h2>
Over the years, "Doll's House" has become a classic play staged by the world's major theaters. At the end of 2019, as the third work directed by director Wang Huan after "Love Letters" and "Desire StreetCar", he said: "This version of "Doll's House", I want to explore 'marriage'; in the 'most intimate relationship' established by people themselves, how can they see themselves in each other's eyes?! ”
Speaking about the peculiarities of this edition of Doll's House, he believes that
"'Doll's House,' which has been reopened in every era, should be different. Ibsen himself did not define "The Doll's House" as just a 'feminist' work, I think it is time to dust off the dust and look at the story that is still happening and spreading today, and my interpretation of the theme will lead to the growth of marriage and the examination of self-control, and this difference will lead to all other differences. Of course, I can't make this version the same as other versions, whether it's a classic or an original, I can only and only want to tell our own story, the story of our own time; I am actually one of the audience, and I am also one of the stories. This version of "Doll's House" will be Chinese and will be the present. ”
In 2020, the play returned again, and moved from the small theater to the big theater, for the director Wang Huan, "this is both a touchstone and a whetstone." Every round of rehearsal is a possibility to explore progress; every round of performance is an opportunity to hone your craft. Theater art, repetition is a shortcut to death, sailing against the current, not advancing or retreating. A new round of performances will have a new round of appearances, so stay tuned! ”
<h2>Stage design is unique and innovative</h2>
The stage space that carries the contradictions of the drama is designed as a "home": there is no division between the living room, the bedroom and the study, and the six actors freely shuttle through it, the whole time present, no one has really stepped out of this space. Furnishing elements such as walls, tables and chairs, fireplaces, and bookshelves are painted white, as if they could not contain any secrets.
Everything seems to be everyday, but the details reveal danger and grotesqueness: the well-behaved tree grows out of the living room and seems to be overturning the roof in the next second; the atmosphere should be warm At the Christmas Ball, eerie electronic music is played, and the characters are dressed in animal head suits, dancing with their own shadows like dolls... And when the secret of the heroine Nala is revealed, the whole space begins to twist and deform under the action of the stage installation, the floor rises, the furniture falls, the actor is suspended in mid-air - the accessible door in Ibsen's original script becomes untouchable...
<h2>Powerful actors join forces</h2>
This round of "Doll's House" is still played by his wife Nala, a young generation of "little flowers of strength" who has played the heroine in classic dramas such as "Mrs. School", "Telephone Murder", "Desire Street Car" and so on;
Shen Lei, a national first-class actor who plays the male lead in popular works such as "Half Life", "Pillow Man" and "Doubt", plays her husband Haiermao, bringing a hearty opponent scene to the audience. As fellow performers from Shangjiao, the two have also had tacit cooperation in many drama works and dubbing works such as "Oriana" and "Step by Step". This time, the re-cooperation has filled many audiences with expectations and excitement.
In addition, Dr. Ruan Ke, played by Yang Ning, former director of jiangsu Provincial Drama Theatre and national first-class actor, Kristen Lin Dan, played by Actor Wen Yang, Neil Krokstay, played by Actor Jiang Ke, and Helen, played by Actor Youmei, also won the hearts of the audience.
It is reported that the play will continue to be staged until December 13, 2020.
<h4>Performance information</h4>
Synopsis:
A happy marriage, a lovely child, a loving husband, a friend who can talk to, will life be completed because of this? The news that her husband, Helmau, is about to be promoted to bank manager has finally brought a turnaround for the family, which has been overwhelmed by constraints. All of His wife Nala's dreams seemed to be just around the corner. But on the eve of this Christmas Eve, it was not Santa Claus who knocked on the door, but Kloxte, who a few years ago borrowed money from Kloxster by forging a note to save Helmaeus' life. In order to keep his position in the bank, Croxster threatens to reveal this secret to Helmo, and as the secret is gradually revealed, Nala's long-standing illusion is peeled off layer by layer: in front of Helmo, she has never been able to become a person in the true sense of the word, but just a doll at the mercy of others. Dolls, can they be separated from her "doll's house"?
Starring: Gong Yuhang, Shen Lei, Yang Ning, Wen Yang, Jiang Ke, Youmei
Performance time: November 28, 2020 - December 6, 2020 19:30 (no performance on Mondays, only 14:00 pm on Sundays)
December 11 at 7:30 PM, December 13 at 2:00 PM
Venue: Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center , Art Theatre ( 1st Floor, No. 288 Anfu Road , Xuhui District, Shanghai)
Ticket price: 180/280/380 yuan
* Recommended for viewers aged 12+
* The specific performance information and performance lineup are subject to the announcement of the theater on the day of the performance
Source: Thoughtful