Classic drama creative expression, Beijing People's Art Theatre's drama "Hamlet" was staged at the China Millennium Monument Small Theater
2024-08-17
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Beijing News (Reporter Zhan Shengjie) "To be or not to be, this is a question worth considering." On the evening of August 16, another small theater work "Hamlet" by Beijing People's Art Theater premiered on the stage of the China Millennium Monument Theater, and will continue to be performed on the 17th and 18th. The small theater brings an immersive viewing experience to the audience, and the interactivity is further enhanced. During the performance, the young actors on the stage asked questions to the audience from time to time, and the humorous expression made the ancient work revitalized.
On the evening of August 16, the Beijing People's Art Theatre's small theatre production "Hamlet" premiered at the China Millennium Monument Theatre, with the audience preparing to enter. Photo by Beijing News reporter Pu Feng
It is reported that the joint cooperation between Beijing Gehua Cultural Center and Beijing People's Art Theater aims to enrich the cultural content of the western part of Beijing and create a new consumption scene integrating culture and tourism.
Over the past 400 years since Shakespeare completed Hamlet, a story of a prince's revenge has been told countless times in different cultures, and the phrase "to be or not to be" has been given countless meanings in different contexts. "Hamlet" has become a symbol, a symbol, and it carries the deep thoughts and expectations of readers and audiences.
The Beijing People's Art Theatre's play "Hamlet" staged at the China Millennium Monument Theater was artistically directed by President Feng Yuanzheng, directed by Yang Jiayin, and co-starred by actors Wei Jiacheng, Zhang Yezi, Wang Junqi, and Fang Yangfei. As Shakespeare's world-famous work, Beijing People's Art Theatre takes exploration and innovation as its main appeal when reinterpreting "Hamlet". The stage presentation full of metaphors and symbols allows the audience to see the modern side of the classic play and also brings a lot of thinking.
The performance of Hamlet by Beijing People's Art Theatre. Photo by Pu Feng, a reporter from the Beijing News
The play went to Macau to participate in the "4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Chinese Drama Culture Festival" in April this year and received rave reviews from Macau audiences. The youthful cast, creative interpretation, and interesting interactions have made this ancient work closely connected with today's audiences.
Hu Wei, professor of the Department of Drama Literature at the Central Academy of Drama, commented on the play: "The strategy followed by the Beijing People's Art Theatre's youth version of the classic re-staging is to closely follow the essence of the original work while showing its own artistic independence. It attempts to re-examine Hamlet's inner hesitation and struggle from the perspective of today's young people, and give him the courage to find a way out, and to achieve a dialogue with the original work through its own personalized expression."
The play explores and interprets Shakespeare's original work in a brand new way, simplifies the text with a strong classical flavor, explores the poetic expression of drama from the complexity, seeks the moment of soul connection from the characters, and sees "others" and "oneself". There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. As the artistic director of the play, Dean Feng Yuanzheng, said: "A Hamlet full of youthful tension, young actors talk to Shakespeare in their own way. Youth is not impossible. It's great to be young!"
It is worth mentioning that the four actors in the play play multiple roles. The prince Hamlet who has a strong sense of life on the stage, the delicate Ophelia and the queen full of contradictions, the inner struggle of King Claudius and the funny actors, the father and son Polonius and Laertes with their own missions, etc. These role changes do not rely on external costumes, but are completed through a symbolic prop in the hands of the actors, or a turn or a head-up in the behavior. The audience can be brought into the new role through the emotional changes of the actors on the stage.
Editor: Liu Mengjie
Proofreading to Fu Chunyin