A total of 12 plays will be staged at the Silk Road Traditional Performing Arts Festival and the 12th Shanghai International Experimental Theater Festival.
The Silk Road Traditional Performing Arts Festival and the 12th Shanghai International Experimental Theater Festival will be hosted from November 10 to 16 at the Shanghai Theater Academy.
The performing arts festival is a joint effort of the academy and the ITI/UNESCO Network for Higher Education in the Performing Arts.
A cultural brand of the academy, it also offers an artistic exchange platform for international theater artists and scholars to explore and practice the dissemination and innovation of traditional performing arts in the new era, providing ideas and directions for their contemporary expression and future development.
A total of 12 plays, including puppet show “Othello,” comedy “Kolumbine,” and drama “The Waste Land,” as well as art workshops and lectures will be staged during the festival.
Xie Wei, Party secretary of Shanghai Theater Academy
Tobias Biancone, director general of International Theater Institute
A poster for the festival
Artists from Georgia, Armenia, Germany, Brazil, and Russia will bring the distinct culture and arts of their countries through varied styles of stage performance.
Shanghai Theater Academy has prepared three plays — “Lady White Snake,” “Daiyu Buries the Flowers” and “Our Hearts Are with the Trees” — for the festival.
Xiao Ying, director of the academy’s acting department, said the production crew for “Lady White Snake” is an outstanding team of both Chinese and French artists.
“Rooted in the charm of traditional Chinese opera, the play explores the infinite possibilities of body expression,” Xiao said.
“Lady White Snake” features an outstanding team of Chinese and French artists.
“Lady White Snake” explores the infinite possibilities of body expression.
Elements of traditional performing arts are retained in “Lady White Snake.”
All works selected for the festival revolve around a common and profound theme — the fate of humanity. This covers multiple dimensions, whether it is the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, or the reflection of the real world and the fantastic virtual space.
Tobias Biancone, director general of the International Theater Institute, said the festival will be a perfect start to foster cultural exchanges of ideas and diverse art forms.
It should not only happen in China in the future, he said. It can also be held in Silk Road countries for people to share art and techniques through workshops, performances and conferences.
Xie Wei, Party secretary of the Shanghai Theater Academy, said they had established a long-term strategic partnership with the institute. Xie also advised that the pavilions of China International Import Expo can set up a dedicated area for art displays.
A scene from “Hamlet”
A scene from “The Waste Land”
A scene from the puppet show “Othello”