Original title: Beijing People’s Art Shows Annual Report Cards of 502 Games
Beijing Youth Daily reporter Guo Jia
As 2023 approaches the end of the year, Beijing People’s Arts officially announced the last two new plays of the year – the play of the same name adapted from Xiong Zhaozheng’s Mao Dun Literature Award-winning work “Zhang Juzheng” and the small theater play “Zhang Juzheng” created by Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan more than 20 years ago. “Farewell My Concubine”, two pioneering works of literature will also conclude the fully loaded People’s Art 2023.
Will perform in Shanghai for the third time next year
In the words of Dean Feng Yuanzheng, 2023 will be a year of top-notch performances for Beijing People’s Art Theatre. Simultaneous performances in four theaters have become the norm. Among the 36 plays throughout the year, 10 are newly scheduled, and the number of performances is expected to reach 502. Recently, the 9th Art Committee of the People’s Arts also held a plenary meeting, which not only attracted more young people to join, but also reduced the number of actors and increased the proportion of directors and stage artists. Although next year’s play creation plan is still in preparation, the first stop of the overseas tour has been decided on Serbia, a country along the Belt and Road. In addition, following 1988 and 2012, Renyi will perform in Shanghai for the third time in 2024 as a group of five works.
Poster for new drama “Zhang Juzheng” released
Different from the past, Beijing People’s Art Theater did not announce the new play through group formation or open rehearsals this time. Instead, it officially announced the new play “Zhang Juzheng” with a concept poster with simple information. This work is written by Xiong Zhaozheng and directed by Feng Yuanzheng and Yan Rui.
After seven or eight years of discussion from novel to drama, Xiong Zhaozheng’s drama script was revised eight times. According to Feng Yuanzheng, Xiong Zhaozheng still retains the habit of writing by hand, so every draft is written by hand first and then entered by an assistant. “There are a lot of changes in each draft. From the first draft to the current draft, there are almost two plays. This play will be a brand-new exploration in terms of style and performance, and may be among the costume dramas of Renyi. Unique.” In Feng Yuanzheng’s view, Zhang Juzheng’s image as a reformer, now on the stage, is definitely not just a historical drama, but must have a spiritual resonance with modern audiences.
Mo Yan’s work “Farewell My Concubine” will be on stage
The other one is “Farewell My Concubine” written by Mo Yan 20 years ago. This time it will be brought to the stage of human art with a very experimental interpretation. In Feng Yuanzheng’s eyes, this is persistence and return to experimentation and exploration. This interpretation is also recognized by Mo Yan himself.
