If there are only a few plays jointly performed by many veteran artists of the Beijing People's Art Theater, then the play "Butcher" can be said to be one of the most classic works in several works. Especially now, some of the artists participating in the exhibition have gone to the west, so their creations at that time are even more memorable today.
Actor Carl Berkeley (Zhu Xu)
Playman von Ram (played by Zheng Rong)
I remember that on the evening of May 25, 2005, at the Beijing Capital Theater, the Beijing People's Art Theater held a rehearsal performance of the drama "Butcher" launched to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. In the play, Veteran Artists Zhu Xu, Zheng Rong, Zhou Zheng, Li Yuan, and other veteran Artists of Beijing Renyi took the stage one after another, and the wonderful performances made the reporters and professional theater workers of the capital news units who came to observe them excited and amazed.
In the play (left) Bittel (played by Gong Lijun) and Dr. Blatter (played by Zhou Zheng)
In the play (left), Inspector Guric (played by Li Yuan) and Hazinger (played by Mi Tiezeng)
The Butcher takes place in an ordinary family in Vienna at the beginning of World War II. In a small alley in Vienna, the quiet and happy life of the butcher shopkeeper Berkler family was shrouded in the shadow of war, and the Berkeler couple and their son Hans were caught up in the political whirlpool of the fascist dictatorship, causing father-son opposition and family discord. Through the mortal trivia of the Berkler family, the play depicts the life of the people under the rule of fascism, reflecting the disaster brought by the Second World War to the entire human society.
The people in the play (left) Hans (played by He Jing) and Gschtener (played by Wang Gang)
The play's people (left) Herman (Zhang Wankun) with Carl Berkeler (center) and Hatzinger
Veteran artist Zhu Xu starred in the protagonist, Carl Berkeler. In the whole performance, his role is the heaviest, although it has entered the ancient rarity, but Zhu Lao portrays the characters with his solid artistic skills. The rhythm grasp of the flowing clouds and the witty and humorous line processing make the performance achieve the viewing effect of pure fire.
Selected Stills: (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Zheng Rong, an old artist who was already more than eighty years old at the time, although there were not many scenes, he played the Gestapo von Ram, portraying it into three points and out of the blue. His interrogation rivalry with Berkeley, played by Zhu Xu, is one of the most exciting scenes in "Butcher". The performance style of young and middle-aged actors Gong Lijun, Mi Tiezeng, Wang Gang, He Jing, Zhang Wankun and others is still the same, reflecting the solid performance strength of the Beijing People's Art Theater.
In early May 1982, the play "The Butcher" was performed in Beijing and Shanghai with this realist masterpiece by the Sidmanheim National Theatre, and participated in the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Establishment of the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Beijing Renyi also rehearsed the play in 1983.
Perfect ending (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
In order to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, director Gu Wei and several old artists and young and middle-aged actors joined hands to launch this drama, which can be described as wonderful. Later, the drama "Butcher", which was performed in the first round of 25 performances, was warmly sought after by many audiences who loved renyi dramas, and its unprecedented performance scene at that time still left people with unforgettable memories. (Photo: Feng Ganyong)