Cover news reporter Xun Chao
Shakespeare, as a world master of dramatic fiction, has influenced generations of literary enthusiasts. "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", and "King Lear" are all very familiar works. On October 24th and 25th, Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's four tragedies, will come to Chengdu to bring a reflection on good and evil to Chengdu Shakespeare fans and theater fans. On the afternoon of October 23, the West China Metropolis Daily-Cover News reporter interviewed Chen Dalian, the director of the experimental theater "Macbeth", and two leading actors, Wang Yi and Ding Yi, to reveal the behind-the-scenes story of the drama creation.
General Macbeth in Shakespeare's original book is a noble, brave Scottish general who is fearless and distinguished in battle. But he went down the path of sin — General Macbeth, the cousin of King Duncan of Scotland, returned from defending the king against the invasion, and met a witch who predicted that he would become king. Macbeth was an ambitious hero who murdered Duncan at the instigation of his wife and became king. In order to hide his eyes and ears and prevent others from seizing the throne, he killed Duncan's bodyguards step by step, killed Banko, and killed the wife and children of the nobleman McDuff. Fear and suspicion made Macbeth more and more cold, and Lady Macbeth died of insanity. In the face of the rebellion of Duncan's son and the siege of reinforcements, Macbeth cut himself off.
On the surface, this is a sinful tale of greed, power, and lust, but in reality Shakespeare shows the natural annihilation and spiritual decay of a noble soul. Directed by Chen Dalian and starring Wang Yi, Ding Yi and Geng Tao, the experimental theater "Macbeth" puts Macbeth's evil retribution in a secondary position, paying more attention to the conflict, struggle, pain, and despair of Macbeth's inner world, and the long-dead soul before he is in a different place; it is concerned about the inducements and motives behind all the actions of the characters, the distinction between good and evil, and the deep thinking of the dilemma of the choice of one thought life and one thought death.
In Chen Dalian's view, Shakespeare's plays should never be on top, "Many people will make him high-end and cloud-like when they talk about Shakespeare, and this concept isolates many people." We hope that through the experimental theater "Macbeth", we will lower him to the ground, normalize and popularize the classic drama, and express the meaning of Shakespeare's drama in a more grounded way. ”
With this concept, Chen Dalian decisively turned the story of Shakespeare, which has many characters and magnificent waves, into a "confession of the Macbeth couple" of three actors and a trance. The story is also transplanted from the ancient battlefield to the slaughterhouse of the meat factory, in the bloody "meat forest", the male "Macbeth" and the female "Macbeth" dressed as butchers kill, run wildly and whisper in trembling and fear.
Although the interpretation is different, Chen Dalian has great respect for Shakespeare's original work. The lines are still Shakespeare's words, and they do not contradict what the original book wants to express. Classics can be interpreted in countless ways, and we just blend the contemporary aesthetic to interpret Shakespeare's plays from a contemporary perspective. It is hoped that through this play, it can resonate with contemporary audiences and explore the irrationality and absurdity that exist in the depths of human nature. ”
Because the stage was transformed from an ancient battlefield into a slaughterhouse, the entire stage of Macbeth was "bloody": the internal space of the "workshop" hung the torsos of the slaughtered animals in front of and behind, left and right, up and down, and a workbench could be set up in the middle and front areas of the space, as well as a rusty bathtub... In this aesthetic way, it stimulates a certain connection and imagination of the audience and produces the expected theater effect.
This effect is inseparable from Chen Dalian's personal characteristics of "using material to write freehand". "I come from a background in stage design, and I like to achieve a simple, powerful and strong visual expression through the visual display of stage art, the processing of spatial structure, and the cooperation of lighting, props and actor performances."
It is worth mentioning that the play boldly adopts the way of actresses (with objective female bodies) playing "Macbeth" and male actors (with objective male bodies) playing "Lady Macbeth", which constitutes a unique stage appearance of the experimental theater "Macbeth".
Macbeth is played by Wang Yi, vice president of Chongqing Municipal Theatre and a national first-class actor. Wang Yi, who has performed wonderfully in many dramas such as "La Traviata", "Thunderstorm", "Doll's House", "River Street Tea House" and so on, frankly said: "The play of "Macbeth" is very bold and also 'murderous', it extracts many classic shakespeak spirits of the original work, and preserves the essence of the original work. I feel particularly fortunate to be able to perform Macbeth in this way, and it will be a valuable experience for me in my life. ”
However, interpreting "Macbeth" in female characters is not an easy task. "Entering Macbeth from a female perspective is a convenience, but it is very difficult to really interpret. It takes a lot of work on the lines, the form, and the technique. Especially before landing, the director made a lot of elaboration on us, and the actors also had to dig into the characters themselves word by word. After entering the role, the emotions of the characters are instinctively externalized and expressed. ”
Also deeply felt is the actor of "Lady Macbeth" and the post-90s actor Ding Yi. Graduated from the Russian Academy of Stage Arts with a degree in directing, he has been exposed to many classic masterpieces. This time starring in "Macbeth", for him is both a challenge and a driving force, "whether it is the role or himself, I hope that through a kind of time and space resonance, I can bring good expression to the audience." On October 24th and 25th, "Macbeth" will come to the stage of the "First Chengdu Drama Festival and 2017 Sichuan-Chongqing Drama Two Cities (Chengdu)" event, presenting a different Shakespeare classic for Chengdu audiences.