On August 6, 2024, the press conference of the 11th Wuzhen Theater Festival was held in Wuzhen. The theme of this year's Drama Festival is "Like a Rock" - Spirit is like a torch, faith is like a rock, and it will be held from October 17th to October 27th. The 11th Wuzhen Theatre Festival set sail again, innovating and seeking for the future.
2024 The 11th Wuzhen Theater Festival Main Visual Poster "Like a Rock"
At the press conference, the initiators of the Wuzhen Theater Festival, Chen Xianghong, Huang Lei, Lai Shengchuan, Meng Jinghui, Chief Planner Ding Naizhu, and Youth Competition Judge Zhou Liming all attended, and Artistic Director Meng Jinghui announced the list of this year's special invited plays and highlights - [Bright International], [Theater Heroic], [Across the World], [New Light], [Dance Theater], [Academy Observation], [No Impossible] Seven sections.
The 11-day theatrical extravaganza is about to begin, with 24 productions from 11 countries presenting 86 performances at 11 theaters in Wuzhen. The 24 works include 13 cutting-edge works from United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Belgium and other overseas countries, as well as 11 top Chinese works, including world-famous troupes, masterpieces, classic new choreography, avant-garde drama, body dance drama, academy observation and other excellent works, including a public performance as special attention.
Wuzhen Theater Festival
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Here's a sneak peek of the five highlights of this year's invited plays:
A still from ©"Let's Go" by Magda Hueckel
Stills ©from "Seaside" by Tuong-Vi Nguyen
Stills from "Bacchus".
《哈姆雷特的云》剧照 ©Stephen of Buduo
《依娜娜计划》剧照 ©LEIW XUAN HE
Stills from "River/Cloud/Of/Room".
《卡尔·博姆》剧照 ©Foam Wolves
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The famous European theater and opera director Krzysztof · Warikovsky, with the new theater in Warsaw, directly attacked the essence of human existence with "Let's Go", and explored the meaning of life in the tension between comedy and death; Wardy · Muwwald, one of the most important directors and playwrights of the contemporary French-speaking theater scene, presents "By the Sea" with the Colin National Theater, listening to the anxieties of the younger generation in the face of love, sadness, fear and death; Tadashi Suzuki, a national treasure of the Japan, returns with the Suzuki Toshiga Theater Company to present the work "Bacchus", which interprets the Greece tragedy of Euripides in a way full of oriental connotations; World class theater master Eugenio · Barba led the Odin Theater Company to add Shakespeare characters in "Hamlet's Cloud", allowing him to experience and witness the tragedy of Hamlet; Thomas · Richards, one of the most influential dramatists of the 20th century, brought the Unbounded Theatre Company to "The Inana Project", from which the Sumerian priestess Inana, a symbol of femininity, strength, spirituality and fortitude, came to earth; The famous Chinese dramatist Lai Shengchuan and the Shanghai Theatre present "River/Clouds/Space", depicting a missed era with delicate and rich brushstrokes; Nicholas ·Habiyan, who is regarded as one of the best puppeteers in the world today, has teamed up with the Viennese writer Paulus · Hogatler to bring one of the most important theaters in the German-speaking world to the Deutsches Theater Berlin through the puppet show "Karl · Bohm", bringing a much-anticipated and controversial conductor to life.
《彼得曼和纵火犯》剧照 ©Susanne Reichardt
This is a dialogue between famous artists, a collision across the ages. The absurdist drama classic "Waiting for Godot" meets with the avant-garde and personal Chinese theater director Meng Jinghui across time and space, and the great tension between the absurdity of drama and the reality of life is about to leap onto the stage. The pure Brechtian allegorical drama "Peterman and the Arsonist", under the rearrangement of Suzanne · Schmelcher, integrates rap, reinvents the stage language, closely follows the pulse of the times in socio-political, cultural and aesthetic aspects, and once again rings the alarm bell half a century ago; Li Jianjun, an important practitioner of contemporary Chinese theater art, challenged Bertolt · Brecht's opera "The Three-Cent Opera" to recreate a "alienated" story about eternal betrayal, creating an anti-mythological myth.
Concept art of Lie Flat 2.0
Stills from "Summer Sounds: The Seagull".
《人工智能与亚伯》剧照 ©Victoria Nazarova
A still from "Werther: Based on a novel by Johann · Wolfgang · von · Goethe".
A still from "Alert".
A still from "The Hammer of the Witch".
Stills from "Epilogue".
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This is the condensation of the new power of drama. Wang Chong, the initiator of the New Wave Theatre, has created an innovative masterpiece "Lying Flat 2.0", which interacts the script created by artificial intelligence with the "lying flat" style of drama viewing, opening up a unique artistic experience. Hu Xuanyi and He Qi, theater creators who came out of the youth competition, returned with "Summer Sound: The Seagull" to reconstruct Chekhov's famous "The Seagull" from a female perspective, pointing out the eternal subject between reality and ideals; Xiao Jing, an outstanding young director, joined hands with the Institute of Daily Poetry to bring the work "Running to the Moon", which subverts the linear narrative in Lu Min's novel of the same name, shows the portrait of contemporary urban people, and outlines the distant "utopia" in everyone's heart; Bianca · Thomas, who is active in the field of visual arts, collaborated with ChatGPT to write the script of "Artificial Intelligence and Abel", reflecting on the major propositions of science and technology ethics through very interesting performances; "Werther: Adapted from a Novel by Johann · Wolfgang · Von · Goethe" is co-written by director Sebastian · Kaiser and the Nanjing University Master of Fine Arts Troupe, translating Werther from Goethe's pen to modern Nanjing, and then glimpsing the troubles of youth; The Epilogue/Witch's Hammer/Siren, a student work by Artez University of the Arts, interweaves the keen insights of young people with the creative language of the stage, focusing on acute issues such as existence, patriarchal oppression, and feminism. New forces from home and abroad gathered in Wuzhen, and the free and stirring drama festival was about to begin.
《舞者的一天》剧照 ©Sabrina Cirillo
《皆归尘土》剧照 ©Genevieve Reeves
A still from ©Medea by Loizenbauer
Stills from "Event" Photography: Li Xiaocao
《指尖情愫》剧照 ©Julien Lambert
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Eugenio · Barba, together with Lorenzo · Gregers and Julia · Valré, "A Day in the Day of a Dancer" presents the dancer's debut anxiety and extreme dedication to the profession through rigid and repetitive body movements; Independent dancer Soren · Weinacht's "All to Dust" blends dance, comedy, narrative and drama to humorously dissolve taboo red threads when people talk about death; The fluid space theater company "Medea" collects associative fragments of ancient Greece Medea mythology, intervenes media devices in performances, and reflects on the transformation of the old and new order; The famous France choreographer Jerome · Bell's "Extravaganza" subverts the definition of dance, puts aside the ultimate pursuit of dance skills, and leads the audience to indulge in the pure joy of dance; Belgium's "Fingertip Love" by the Finger Theatre Company dances together in the long river of history with flying fingertips, composing a chronicle epic about dance.
There are artistic adventures created by multiple transformations. Yu Rongjun, a national first-class screenwriter, brought his first self-written and self-directed work "Unspeakable" to Wuzhen, from a "gold medal" screenwriter to a "newcomer" director, bringing more possibilities to the stage, seeking the true life and the invisible avenue of words; Li Luka, who has been deeply involved in the creation of drama as a music designer and actor, brings "Animals That Can Be Called Human" for the first time as a director, with a comprehensive artistic perception and visual stage language, constantly excavating the psychological dilemma of human beings and the enterprising spirit of inquiry.
Director Ma Yan and Leyi Theatre Troupe bring the first pan-barrier open disability integration drama in China - the public welfare performance "Reversing the Future", in which identities are reversed, strengths and weaknesses are reversed, the future is inverted with the present, and science fiction and reality are intertwined. Eliminate the barriers of expression through drama and witness the infinite possibilities of sincere expression on the stage.
Stills from "Reversing the Future".
The 10th Wuzhen Theatre Festival Youth Competition attracted more than 10,000 young people to sign up, and more than 600 young theatre artists brought 161 original theatrical works to the stage of Bengwan Theatre. This year's youth competition takes "pillows, sunshine, and big dinosaurs" as the three creative elements, and looks forward to more and more young theater artists bringing more and more excellent original drama works. The Ancient Town Carnival presents a unique visual feast for visitors in a variety of art forms, and looks forward to more artists from all over the world to use the thousand-year-old town as a canvas to jointly create a dreamlike artistic rhapsody. This year, the Drama Bazaar will continue to explore the infinite creativity and possibilities beyond the theater, and create an unprecedented art feast for the audience with rich activities such as art exhibitions, installation art, music scenes, and trendy food markets, and go on a carnival journey of art and life!
In the new decade and a new starting point, the 11th Wuzhen Theatre Festival has launched a new unit [Granary of Drama Dreams] to once again broaden the boundaries of drama. Cangli is real, and the drama is born, and young people will find another world here. The granary is the accumulation of theatrical dreams and the fertile soil for nurturing creativity. The heat of drama and the purity of art converge into a new picture scroll, which slowly unfolds. The vastness of the stage is not in the shining lights, but in being seen, every performance is a profound interpretation of life, and every applause is the most sincere affirmation of dreams. Young people's concern for reality, concern and thinking about society, and exploration of human nature and the universe...... Like a bright star, it becomes a prairie fire, hoping to evoke the shocking power of drama, and the seeds of idealism will once again bloom the miracle of life.
granary
The 11th Wuzhen Theatre Festival teamed up with Jia Aili, a young contemporary Chinese artist and painter, to create the main visual painting "Rupan". "Like a rock in the storm", in the face of the ever-changing storm, personal choices will determine the direction of things and their own destiny, or like the white gods chasing hard, relying on the guidance of the spiritual torch, constantly attacking the determined goal; Or like the Night Walker, he resists the world with a rock-solid faith, and his heart is precipitated and full of strength. No matter what kind of choice, because of the experience of life entanglement, the false and the true, there is no mutual birth, everything flows.
Jia Aili and the main visual of the 2024 Wuzhen Theater Festival
In addition to the original jury: Lai Shengchuan, Huang Lei, He Jiong, Zhou Liming, Cheng Er, Li Bo, Wu Bi, and Situ Jiayi, the Youth Competition Judging Committee of this year's Wuzhen Theater Festival has expanded a new lineup, and invited Xu Fan, Chen Minghao, Liu Xiaoyi, Wei Jiayi, Ding Yiteng, Su Xiaogang, and Zhu Hongxuan to join as members of the jury. Among them, there are many drama creators who have come out of the youth competition and have become the mainstay of Chinese theater. Now they are back here to contribute to the selection of original Chinese young theater talents.
Jury of the 11th Wuzhen Theatre Festival 2024
All-encompassing, colorful! Standing at a new starting point, the 11th Wuzhen Theatre Festival brings together specially invited plays, youth competitions, ancient town carnivals, small town dialogues, drama fairs, and a new granary of opera dreams. The Organizing Committee of Wuzhen Theatre Festival has always selected high-quality theatrical works based on international, contemporary and professional standards, and invited artists and audiences from all over the world to participate in the grand carnival in the name of drama.
Drama, as the common language of mankind, narrates the world in its unique way, dialogues the joys and sorrows of the past and the present, and seeks the meaning of existence in the long river of time and space. Over the past ten years, the Wuzhen Theatre Festival has always been committed to building an international and intergenerational artistic bridge, becoming a window for the world to see China. In the next decade, the Wuzhen Theater Festival will accompany more theater lovers and life dreamers to create more laughter and memories!
After clicking on the picture, it will be clearer to see
Please note!
The first round of invoicing is time
August 17 at 10 o'clock!
The 11th Wuzhen Theatre Festival will be held on August 17 at 10 a.m. and September 3 at 10 a.m. on the Damai platform! The ticket price of this year's invited plays will implement the policy of benefiting the people at a low price within 380 yuan (the performance tickets of the Wuzhen Theater Festival do not include the tickets of Wuzhen Xizha Scenic Area, but except for the special tickets or free reservation tickets, the rest of the invited repertoire performance tickets can enter the Wuzhen Xizha Scenic Area once free of charge on the day of the performance).
In response to the requirements of the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of the Performance Market and Standardizing the Order of the Performance Market" issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the supervision of ticket purchase channels has been strengthened to ensure the transparency and fairness of the ticket purchase process. This year's Wuzhen Theater Festival will implement the "one ticket, one card" real-name ticket purchase policy, and will also provide refund channels for audiences who purchase tickets for specially invited plays, and formulate refund rules, so that the audience can make a ladder refund within the corresponding time period. Once again, please refrain from purchasing tickets through informal channels.
How to buy tickets
Press and hold to scan the QR code to enter the ticket purchase page
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www.damai.cn
Wuzhen Scenic Area Consultation Hotline
0573-88731088
Let's Go
We Are Leaving
New Theatre Warsaw, Poland
Adapted from the original Hannoch · Levin
Director: Krzysztof · Varikovsky
One of Europe's most famous theatre and opera directors, Krzysztof · Warikovsky, brings the production "Let's Go" with the New Theatre in Warsaw. This contemporary avant-garde drama about life and death, self and belonging will be the opening drama of this year! As founder and artistic director of the Warsaw New Theatre, Warikowski pioneered a new way of performing Shakespeare's plays, with subversive interpretations of Greece's tragedy, and he is also known for his adaptations of works by modern writers.
"Let's Go" is adapted from Hanoch · Levin's classic "Traveler", which was screened in the Best from the World section of the 8th Wuzhen Theater Festival in 2021. In Levin's playbook, the Great Migration around the world finds its true face and scale, reflecting all the anxieties and movements that take place on a macro scale. In this "comedy with eight funerals", there is no clear identity, only travelers who keep passing by and stay for a short time, in the tension between comedy and the theme of death, explore the serious meaning of life. It is a profound exploration of identity and displacement, a work that goes straight to the essence of human existence. Poland theater critic and artist Marcelina · Opassa once said of Let's Go: "Instead of creating a narrative with heavy meaning, Warikowski created a small, narrow life story that seemed to have action." The play won many awards at the 11th Krakow Divine Comedy Festival, including Best Set Design and Best Music Design. This time, "Let's Go" will usher in the first offline performance in China at the Wuzhen Theater Festival.
"By the Sea"
Littoral
Theatre National de Collin, France
Writer/Director: Wazhidi · Muwad
"By the Sea" is a work by Vagedy · Muwwald, one of the most important directors and playwrights of the contemporary French-language theater scene, and the Théâtre Nationale Collin, one of the five national theatres of France as director. The production won the Molière Prize for Best Screenplay , the highest award in France theatre, but Murvad declined the award in protest against the unfair treatment of young playwrights. Murwad's art projects often revolve around four themes: writing and creativity, diversity, youth, and place.
"By the Sea" tells the story of a troubled young man who tries to find a quiet place to bury his father's body after learning the news of his father's death. In 1997, Murward and his friends as a writer created the play to explore the existential issues faced by people in their thirties. Twenty years later, the same anxiety about love, sorrow, fear, and death exists in a new generation. This unprecedented era seems to have exacerbated this anxiety. So, the director and the young actors in their thirties at this time co-adapted and created a new version of "By the Sea". "By the Sea" will be the closing act of this year's Wuzhen Theatre Festival, which will be staged in China for the first time.
Carl · Bohm
Karl Böhm
Deutsches Theater Berlin, Germany
Screenwriter: Paulus · Hogatler
Director: Nicholas · Habiyan
Nicholas · Habiyan, who is a professional musical theater director, is known as one of the best puppet actors in the world today. This time, he presented Carl · Bohm, a work nominated for the 2018 Austria Theatre Prize, with the Deutsches Theater Berlin. Karl · Bohm (1894-1981) is still revered by many music lovers as a famous conductor of the twentieth century. There is a profound duality in his life: on the one hand, he was a great artist, but he had to compromise for the sake of his career, and he became the beneficiary of a particular historical period, which also made him controversial. In this one-man show, talented puppeteer and producer Habiyan skillfully combines the captivating poetry of stage art, the stellar story, and the highly revealing text to bring the contradictions of the characters to life and explore one of the darkest chapters in European history. Viennese writer Paulus · Hogatler created the text of the play for Habiyan and his puppets.
Habiyan won the highest honour in Austria theatre for his puppet one-man show "· Zavel – Genetic and Social Inferiority". Karl · Bohm premiered in Graz, Austria in 2018 and is currently a fixture at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, with more than 60 performances in Graz, Berlin, Vienna and more.
Peterman and the Arsonist
Biedermann and the arsonists
Heidelberg Theater, Germany
Screenwriter: Max · Frisch
Director: Suzanne · Schmelcher
The Brechtian allegorical play Petermann and the Arsonist is based on the 1958 play of the same name by Switzerland playwright Max · Frisch and brought to her by director Suzanne · Schmelcher and Germany's historic and acclaimed Heidelberg Theater. The arsonists came to the town and, in the sleep of the townspeople, set fire to their roofs. Despite all the warnings he received about arson in the town, Gottlip · Peedman sheltered two "peddlers" and let them live in his attic, which eventually led to tragedy.
Known as one of the "Gemini Constellations of German-German Literature in Contemporary Switzerland", Frisch is also well-known in the international literary scene, exploring social constraints, the power of language, and the difference between personal and national identity. Schmelcher, the director of the play, has adapted and won several awards for his adaptation of Anna ·Karenina, which won the 2015 Néstor Loy Theatre Prize. Schmelcher rearranged the classic play "Peterman and the Arsonist", changing the interlude from the original chorus to a "expression of the zeitgeist"—rap. The Rhein-Neckar Zeitung once commented that Schmelcher's work "keeps its finger on the pulse of the times, not only socio-politically, but also culturally and aesthetically".
Bacchus
Dionysus
Japan SCOT Theatre Company
Adapted from the original book by Euripides
Director: Tadashi Suzuki
After five years, Asia's most influential contemporary theater master and Japan's national treasure theater master Tadashi Suzuki visited Wuzhen again with his masterpiece! This time, the master will bring "Bacchus", adapted from ancient Greece mythology and Euripides' original work, to interpret the classic of ancient Greece tragedy in a way full of oriental meaning. The story tells the story of Dionysus, the god of wine, who designed to kill him in order to get rid of Pentheus, who was blocking his mission. Penthos' mother, Agoe, was unwittingly involved in the scheme. The actor's great physical energy, as well as a high degree of precision and control, bring the solemnity and sacredness of this ancient Greece tragedy to the extreme.
Tadashi Suzuki is one of the most influential directors, critics, thinkers and theorists in the contemporary world theatre, with innovative interpretations of classics and elegant and musical performances. He specializes in dealing with cross-cultural contemporary issues, and has made postmodern adaptations and presentations of theatrical classics such as Tsuruya North and South, Euripides, Shakespeare and Chekhov, and his representative works include "Electra", "Trojan Women", "Dionysus", "King Lear", etc. In addition, he combined Noh theater, kabuki, and Western realism to create a unique Suzuki method of actor training. At the 6th Wuzhen Theatre Festival, his "Spring in the North" was staged in Wuzhen as a special guest play, and the response was enthusiastic and rave reviews.
Hamlet's Clouds
Hamlet's Clouds
Denmark Odin Theatre Company
Writer/Director: Eugenio · Barba
Hamlet's Clouds is a production by world-class theatre masters Eugenio· Barba and the Odin Theatre Company, which will have its Asian premiere in Wuzhen. Eugenio · Barba is one of the most important figures in the history of theater in the second half of the twentieth century. His activities have had an international impact for more than half a century and involve several fields: the creation of performing arts, theoretical reflection, the transmission of education and experience, the preservation of historical memory, and the application of "theater outside the theater" in a global social and intercultural context, with the aim of activating relations between different cultures and ethnicities. Eugenio · Barba founded the Odin Theatre Company in 1964. The troupe is known for its poetic genre and deep philosophical significance, and the way in which the plays are presented is imaginative and dramatic. This year, the Odin Theatre Company celebrates its 60th anniversary with tours and events at theater festivals in Mexico, Italy, Norway, Romania, Denmark, Greece, Brazil and Wuzhen.
"Hamlet's Clouds" tells the story of King Hamlet of Denmark, who is poisoned by his brother Claudius and his mistress Gertrude. Their passion is intertwined with another tragic love story, that of Prince Hamlet, who has the same name as his father, and young Ophelia. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to his son and instigates him to kill Claudius to avenge himself. Eugenio · Barbarling Shakespeare also becomes a character in the play, mourning his father and son and witnessing the tragedy of Hamlet.
A Day in the Life of a Dancer
An Ordinary Day in the Life of
the Dancer Gregor Samsa
Italy/Denmark Gitise Art Theatre & Oudin Theatre
Writer/Director: Eugenio · Barba,
Lorenzo · Gregers, Julia · Valé
"A Day in the Life of a Dancer" is a work written and directed by world class theater masters Eugenio · Barba, Lorenzo · Gregers and Julia · Valé, co-produced by the Gitise Arts Company (Naples) and the Odin Theater Company (Denmark). It was also the first time that Barba had worked outside of the Odin Theatre Company and without his actors. The play has received great praise from critics at home and abroad, and its performances in overseas theaters have been almost to full capacity.
The physical drama is created around the world of Franz · Kafka, in which three different narrative cores are intertwined: some biographical elements of Kafka himself, the story of Gregor Samsa, the protagonist of the novel The Metamorphosis· and the story of a fictional dancer of the same name. The play tells the story of a dancer who is imprisoned in a forced repetition of his performance in the face of an upcoming premiere. On stage, the dancer shares the stage with a robot vacuum, and the lack of security, combined with perfectionism, forces the dancer to rehearse in and out of the theater without stopping, sacrificing himself for the theater profession. Stereotyped, repetitive behavior makes the dancer converge with a robot vacuum.
"River/Cloud, · Room"
River/Cloud
China Upper Theatre
Screenwriter/Director: Lai Shengchuan
Lai Shengchuan, a famous Chinese dramatist and the initiator and permanent chairman of the Wuzhen Theater Festival, will bring the 40th play of his theater career, "Between Jiang and Yun", starring film and television actor Zhang Zhen and Xiao Ai, the "theater diva" who played Yun Zhifan in 1991, and Hu Defu, the father of Taiwan folk songs, singing live. In "Secret Love in Peach Blossom Spring", the love story of Jiang Binliu and Yun Zhifan makes people see regrets and misses, and also makes people full of curiosity about the 40 years that they have been unable to reach each other. 35 years after the premiere of "Secret Love in Peach Blossom Spring", director Lai Shengchuan wrote a theatrical poem and replied in person, "Have you ever thought about me over the years? "Documenting a missed era in the theater. He used more delicate and rich brushstrokes, on top of those blank spaces, to depict the love story of Jiangbin Liu and Yun Zhifan. This work is not only a complement to the story of the two protagonists, but also a deep reflection on life and times. Lai Shengchuan uses layers of words and philosophical scenes to construct a narrative structure that transcends time and space, presenting the audience with a work full of emotional depth and artistic beauty through a bard-like narrative.
Lai Shengchuan is known as "the top Chinese playwright today" (BBC) and "the leading Asian theater director" ("Asia Weekly"), more than 40 theater works have influenced the Chinese-speaking world, representative works include "That Night, We Say Crosstalk", "Secret Love in Peach Blossom Garden", "Dream Like a Dream", "Treasure Island Village", etc., and is currently the artistic director of Shanghai Upper Theatre and Taiwan [Performance Workshop].
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Meng Jinghui Theatre Studio, China
Screenwriter: Samuel · Beckett
Director: Meng Jinghui
Meng Jinghui, Founder and Artistic Director of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, will recreate Ireland modernist playwright Samuel · Beckett's absurdist classic "Waiting for Godot". In 1991, Meng Jinghui directed the graduation drama "Waiting for Godot" at the Central Academy of Drama, and this time his new rehearsal version of the classic ushered in the world premiere in Wuzhen. After a lapse of 30 years, the world-acclaimed absurdist drama classics collide with Chinese theater directors who are known for their avant-garde and personal colors. Meng Jinghui is one of the most influential directors in the Chinese theater scene today, and his spicy, humorous and critical artistic language makes his works resonate strongly every time they appear.
Waiting for Godot is a world-class masterpiece of absurdist theatre, more than 60 years after its premiere. For a long time, the discussion, research, adaptation and reproduction of this work have never stopped. The two homeless men waited for "Godot" day after day, but "Godot" never appeared. The world is changing rapidly, and life is an aimless wait. A lifetime of waiting, a lifetime of searching for meaning. The great tension between the absurdity of drama and the reality of life is about to leap onto the stage.
"Inana Project"
The Inanna Project
Italy Theatre Without Borders
Director: Thomas · Richards
As one of the most influential theatrical reformers of contemporary theatre, one of the most influential theatrical reformers of the contemporary theater, Tje· Grotowski's close disciple Thomas · Richards, who is also known as one of the most influential dramatists of the 20th century, brings the Unbounded Theatre Company to present the work "The Inana Project", which is based on Sumerian mythology. The priestess Inana is a central figure in Sumerian mythology, symbolizing femininity, strength, spirituality, and fortitude. Her story dates back to the third millennium BC and is full of trials and tribulations of comedy and tragedy, highlighting the eternal struggle for self-improvement and inner evolution. Inspired by the way of singing and storytelling, director Thomas · Richards' Drama Unbounded Theatre Company developed musical compositions by translating poetry into the performers' languages (Spain, English, Korean, Italy, Hebrew). The performers bridge the gap between themselves and their personal traditions, weaving the tapestry of the performance.
Thomas · Richards studied under Jerzy ·Grotowski, a master of 20th-century theater and founder of rustic theatre (also known as poor theatre). From the concept of "poor theater" to the study of "art as a carrier", Richards' long-term and systematic exploration of the possibility of human beings in the performance environment continues to influence the world theater system. At the 6th Wuzhen Theater Festival, his "Living Room" was performed in the Shenjia Theater, which also left a deep memory on the audience at that time.
"Unspeakable"
Left Unsaid
Shanghai Dramatic Art Center, China
Writer/Director: Yu Rongjun
Yu Rongjun, a national first-class playwright in China, and the powerful team of Shanghai Dramatic Art Center, will bring his first self-written and directed work "Unspeakable". A decent and glamorous and enviable family of three, due to the visit of college classmates, the secrets hidden in this family for many years were gradually revealed. When a lie is exposed, countless lies fall like dominoes. The reversal and reversal in the lie provoke thinking in reality and absurdity. "The Tao is the Tao, the very Tao", the avenue is invisible, and the "Tao" that can be spoken is not the eternal "Tao". Yu Rongjun uses this work to project the essence of "Tao", the drama, story, plot, characters, etc. are all external appearances, and the ineffable parts are internal.
Yu Rongjun, a "gold-medal" playwright in the contemporary drama industry known for his "high yield", "high quality" and "high box office", has won many Cao Yu Outstanding Repertoire Awards, Lao She Drama Literature Award, Chinese Drama Golden Lion Award Screenwriting Award, Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival "Jury Most Outstanding Social Achievement Award" and other professional awards at home and abroad. His main works include "Home Guest", "Last Winter", "The Boss", "The Count of Monte Cristo" and so on. This time, Yu Rongjun's "Unspeakable" is his first work as a director.
"Fingertip Love"
At your fingertips
Belgium is all about the Masters Theatre Company
Choreographer/Director: Gabriela · Yakono,
Gregory · Grosjean
The language of modern dance, which can sometimes seem closed or challenging to those who have never been exposed to it. The two ballet directors, Gabriela · Jacono and Gregory · Grosjean, wanted to develop a story without the use of words, to present the audience with the richness of dance expression, and to let the imagination run free. In "Fingertip Love", a pair of men and women played by fingers dance together in the long river of time, returning to important events in world history. Iconic dance pieces of the 20th century are re-choreographed in miniature sets, and the performance scenes are simple but evocative. In the miniature theatre, the flapping fingertips act as narrators of world memory, recalling dance genres such as ballet, Lindy, musical, modern and hip-hop through the lens of photography. They use the body to ...... Start with your hands and fingertips, from Broadway to Paris, from Brussels to Harlem, across many of the world's most famous scenes.
Jacono and Grosjean have a solid foundation in dance education and a wealth of performance experience. The duo founded the Palm Theatre Company in Brussels, Belgium, in 2019. This work is also the first joint creation of the two directors since the founding of the troupe, and has been performed at FIMFA Lx23 - 23rd International Festival of Puppet and Animation Arts, one of the most important puppet and theatre festivals in Portugal.
"Three-Cent Opera"
The Threepenny Opera
China New Youth Theatre Troupe
Based on a play by Brecht
Director: Li Jianjun
Li Jianjun, an important practitioner of Chinese contemporary theater art and a powerful director of the Mesozoic Generation, joined hands with the New Youth Theater Company to reproduce the famous Germany dramatist Bertolt · Brecht's play of the same name, "Three-Cent Dollar Opera". On August 31, 1928, the opera premiered as one of the most influential cultural events of the 20th century. This allegorical drama, through the bloody plot of robbers, profiteers, prostitutes, and police officers who use each other, fight, and betray, depicts the survival landscape of an era of industrial capitalism, presenting a system full of eternal exploitation and universal evil. The story of the eternal betrayal of the characters in the play is a revelation and mockery of the theme of "alienation". Now, Li Jianjun and the New Youth Troupe's reproduction of this "alienation" story has become an anti-mythological myth.
The works of independent theater director Li Jianjun often reflect the concern for the survival situation of ordinary people. He combines the historical experience of the visual arts with the study of theatrical mediums, giving his work a distinctly innovative spirit. In 2011, he founded the New Youth Theatre Company. The troupe has created works such as "Diary of a Madman", "Metamorphosis", "Between the Worlds" and "The Master and Margaret", and is committed to exploring new theatrical aesthetics and intervening in contemporary Chinese life through theater.
"Animals that can be called people"
The Animals
China
Based on a play by Eugene · O'Neill
Director: Li Luka
"Animals That Can Be Called Humans" is brought by Li Luka, a musical crossover drama. The play is based on Nobel Prize-winning writer Eugene · Neill's 1921 classic play "Hairy Ape" that combines realism, expressionism and symbolism. As the foundation work of modern drama in United States, "Hairy Ape" often uses large inner monologues to show the contradictions and conflicts in the deep hearts of the characters, and express the deep psychological content and spiritual world, which is a major feature of O'Neill's entire creation. The work depicts the psychological process of the little people at the bottom of society, from being optimistic and blindly optimistic to recognizing their pathetic position in society. Director Li Luka uses "Animals That Can Be Called Humans" to explore the value of human existence and the contradiction between people and society.
In the past, Li Luka, who was active on the theater stage as a musician and actor, has designed music for works such as "Misunderstanding" directed by Yang Ting and "Rhino in Love" directed by Meng Jinghui, and participated in works such as "Shakespeare's Women" and "Universal Robot". This time, Li Luka came to the Wuzhen Theater Festival for the first time as a director.
Running to the Moon
Run Away to the Moon
China Institute of Everyday Poetry
Adapted from Lu Min's original book of the same name
Writer/Director: Xiao Jing
Xiao Jing, a young Chinese director, will bring a new work "Running to the Moon" with the Institute of Daily Poetry. The play is based on writer Lu Min's novel of the same name, published in 2017, and subverts the chronological linear narrative of the original book. The story will lead the audience to shuttle through the two time and space of Nanjing and Wuque, and unfold the different aspects and endings of this "escape" story from three perspectives in three chapters. Nanjing, full of symbols of life, represents the ordinary and trivial reality, and the dreamy and ethereal black magpie is as fascinating as a utopia. Many people have fantasized about breaking away from the ordinary life and running towards the eternal ideal country. "Chang'e Running to the Moon" flew to the lonely Guanghan Palace, is it to gain real liberation, or to continue to carry the shackles elsewhere? In this journey of constant search and escape, we are always searching for the true meaning of self and freedom.
Xiao Jing has been selected as a resident artist in 2021, Switzerland Cultural Foundation in 2022, and A4 International Art Residency in 2023. She has come to the special guest repertoire section of the Wuzhen Theater Festival with her works "Peach Blossom Fan" and "Romantic Occasional Arrival". In 2021, she founded the Institute of Everyday Poetry with the motto "What if ......? "As the starting point of creation, historical records and documentary materials are introduced into the theater, and the ambiguous area between reality and fiction is continuously explored.
Lie Flat 2.0
Lying Flat 2.0
China Experimental Theatre Troupe
Director: Wang Chong
Wang Chong, the initiator of New Wave theatre and the most influential post-80s theatre director in China, continues to explore the most contemporary artistic vocabulary and explore the immediacy of theatrical issues. This time, he will join hands with the Experimental Theatre Troupe to bring "Lying Flat 2.0" to continue to explore the new aesthetics of drama. When you lie down, what falls from the sky? What will feather and ascend to immortal? It's a play that must be watched lying down. The script is created by artificial intelligence, combined with an innovative form of viewing, leading the audience to dive into dreams and explore dreams.
Wang Chong was praised by the media in China, the United States and the United Kingdom as "the most experimental temperament among the new generation of directors", "the hope of Chinese experimental theater", and "changing the face of Chinese theater", and was named the 2012 new artist by the Beijing News. In 2008, Wang Chong founded the Experimental Theatre Troupe with the aim of finding a new aesthetic of theatre. The members of the troupe are all post-80s theater people, who are committed to using the current theatrical language, paying attention to the current social reality, creating current theatrical works, and quickly becoming the most internationally influential Chinese theater troupe.
Summer Sounds: The Seagull
Echoing: the Seagull
P.R. China Bad sleep studio
Adapted from Chekhov's original work
Screenwriter: Hu Xuanyi
Director: He Qi
The studio founded by young theater creators He Qi and Hu Xuanyi will bring an all-female team to dialogue with the classics, and bring a work adapted from Chekhov's "The Seagull" - "Summer Sound: The Seagull". They deconstruct the master's masterpiece and transplant the story to China in 2023. Sounds of Summer: The Seagull revolves around five young girls in their mid-25s, presenting the confusion and anxiety that pervade contemporary Chinese society, as well as people's fear of abstract ideals when confronted with reality. The all-female lineup made up by chance focuses on the memories of the times that contemporary young women have reached consensus in the process of growing up, the growth and entanglement of friendship, and the pull between ideals and reality. Through the reconstruction of the classics, they explore an eternal question: What is the essence of life?
In 2018, the outstanding works created by He Qi and Hu Xuanyi were shortlisted for the Youth Competition of the Wuzhen Theater Festival. The two creators walked out of the youth competition, and they sang all the way, and their masterpieces continued. Their works have been staged in the 8th and 10th Wuzhen Theatre Festival. The Wuzhen Theatre Festival has witnessed and accompanied the rapid growth of two young theatre creators. The studio they founded is "a place for creativity out of nothing, an amusement park that records the present and collides with reality, a social institution, and a kind of resistance."
"All to Dust"
AFTER ALL
United Kingdom
Choreographer/Director: Søren · Weinacht
Independent artist Soren · Weinacht presents her first choreographic work "All to Dust". The show was featured at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Weenacht tries to blend dance, comedy, narrative and drama through a series of passionate re-enactments – the funeral of a loved one, the funeral of one's imaginary own – in an attempt to create a better space for the audience to face the loss and loss. Although death is an inevitable end for everyone, talking about it always touches the red line of taboos. This makes people have to endure grief in solitude when they think about death. "All to Dust" is a heartfelt exploration of the rituals of death – the ones we have lost and the ones we need to invent – and composes a powerful ode to life in a joyful way. "Funerals have never been so fun," The Times said of the work.
As an independent dancer and choreographer, Weenacht has extensive experience working with many of Europe's leading dance and body theatre companies. She has worked with the Scottish Dance Theatre, Lost Dogs, Joan · Clayville, Gecko Theatre, Vera · Tucin, and most recently, Una · Doherty. In addition, she is one of the founding members of a music and dance improvisation collective, Collective Power.
Medea
IN MEDEAS RES
Austria Fluid Space Theatre Company
Choreographers: Chris · Haring, Hannah· Tambell, Kim Dong-wook
Director: Chris · Haring
Director Chris ·Haring and his ingenious Fluid Space Theatre Company explore and reimagine the myth of Euripides' Medea with his ingenious Fluid Space Theatre Company to produce a dance drama of the same name. Inspired by the narrative style and philosophy of Italy theorists and filmmakers Pier·Paul · Pasolini, the Fluid Space Theatre collects associative fragments of ancient Greece Medea mythology, juxtaposing with the current male-dominated, logic-centric digital civilization, reflecting on the transition from the old order to the new. Harlem's main inspiration came from science fiction and the idea of the body as an electronic landscape. The work sits somewhere between performance and media installation, providing a space for an associative transformation. The objects and projected landscapes are constantly transformed, turning into Medea's clothes, almost even her second skin. At the same time, cameras, projectors, and light and sound systems operating in feedback loops create an almost cybernetic environment.
Chris Haring · currently choreographer and artistic director of the Fluid Space Theatre Company. In 2007, he won the Golden Lion for Best Performance at the Venice Biennale for "Posing Project B – The Art of Glamour". In 2010, he was awarded the Outstanding Artist Award for Performing Arts by the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture of Austria. He has choreographed for international groups such as Shanghai Venus Dance Company, Monte-Carlo Ballet, Moscow Contemporary Ballet, and Roman Ballet.
"Event"
Gala
China is in a state of flux
Director: Jerome · Bell
Executive directors: Xiao Jing, Chen Xindi, Henrik · Neves
Famous France choreographer Jerome · Bell will present the world-class dance work "Grand Event" with the Beijing Endless Cultural Exchange Center. Since 2015, "The Event" has been performed in more than ten countries and regions such as Belgium, Germany, France, Austria and Portugal, and has been widely acclaimed. Eighteen dancers of different ages, occupations, and backgrounds perform their dances with different body postures, blurring the boundaries between professional and amateur, reflecting on and redefining the aesthetics of dance art. Breaking the shackles of technique and aesthetics, the stage has also become a very inclusive and free field, and the purity and emotion brought by dance flow between the dancers and the audience. Therefore, "The Event" is a work that can be copied but cannot be pasted with content.
In his early works, Jerome · Bell used structuralism to create dance. Subsequently, his interest shifted to performers as specific individuals. In providing performance opportunities to non-traditional performers, he has shown a concern for special groups and a love for spontaneous dance. Jerome · Bell has been invited to participate in several contemporary art biennials and museum exhibitions, and his work has won numerous international awards. In 2005, "The Show Must Go On" won the "Bessie Award" in New York. In 2008, "Pichette · Cren and Myself" won the European Cultural Fund's Princess Margaret Prize for Cultural Diversity. In 2013, "Theatre for the Handicapped" was shortlisted for the Berlin Theaterffen and won the "Dance Today Award" in Switzerland.
Artificial Intelligence and Abel
K.I. and Abel
Reinhardt Theatre Academy, Austria
Writer/Director: Bianca · Thomas
Artificial intelligence, which is not limited by time and space, has aroused the curiosity and panic of all mankind with its rapid development. Director Bianca · Thomas brought "Artificial Intelligence and Abel", a work co-produced by ChatGPT, to examine the contradictions of technological progress. This year, the film was invited to inaugurate the Körber Young Directors Festival, the most important platform for young directors in the German-speaking region. Thomas questions artificial intelligence in his work, generates text through ChatGPT, and plays ensemble with his own work. Her focus is on the role of AI in our society and the responsibilities of programmers. How does AI deal with the fact that it is easily manipulated and relies on pre-programmed facts? What influences does it allow and what positions does it take on complex issues such as war and relationships?
Bianca · Thomas, at the Reinhardt Theatre Academy in Budapest, studied directing and psychology. The Reinhardt School of Drama, founded by Max · Reinhardt, one of the most important theatre directors in Austria in the 20th century, is one of the most important training centres for young theatre professionals in Europe. Thomas co-created a playbook with ChatGPT that allows ChatGPT to explain the impact of artificial intelligence on people. She has shown her ability to coach the actors, as well as to blend acting and audiovisual elements. In addition to directing, Thomas is also active as a creator in the field of visual arts and literature, having received the Gubis Visual Arts Award and the Műút Special Literary Award.
Werther: Adapted from
A novel by Johann · Wolfgang · von · Goethe"
Werther. Based on a novel
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Master of Fine Arts Troupe, Nanjing University, China
Adapted from Goethe's original book
Director: Sebastian · Caesar
German theatre director and dramaturgy Sébastian · Kaiser is known for his bold and direct stage style. This time, he collaborated with the Master of Fine Arts Troupe of Nanjing University to present a new work, Werther: An Adaptation of a Novel by Johann · Wolfgang · von · Goethe. While providing a contemporary interpretation of Goethe's classics, the work also introduces other important texts in the field of philosophy and literature to dialogue with the characters in the play. The characters who remained silent in Goethe's original work finally have a chance to speak out. Love is complex in any era, and even more so in the age of capitalization, for a person who pursues independence and freedom. When love is not enough, do you choose to self-destruct or drag others down? Do you want to go crazy, or do you want to become an artist?
Director Kaiser has worked as a dramatist at the Volkstheater in Berlin, where he planned large-scale art events and initiated a series of dialogues. In 2018, he co-choreographed the premiere of Teahouse with Meng Jinghui in Wuzhen, and has since worked closely with Chinese artists and directors. Since 2020, he has been a visiting professor at the Central Academy of Drama and Nanjing University. Nanjing University Master of Fine Arts Troupe is a theater art group under the guidance of the Department of Drama, Film and Television Arts, School of Liberal Arts, Nanjing University. It integrates teaching, literature and theater creation, and in addition to performing domestic and foreign drama masterpieces, it has also successively launched original plays such as "I Am the Moon", "The Face of Jiang Gong" and "Faust III".
Epilogue/Witch's Hammer/Alarm
An Approaching End/
The Witches' Hammer/ Trigger Warning
Netherlands University of the Arts in Artez
Epilogue/Witch's Hammer/Alarm includes three student works from the Artez University of the Arts in Netherlands, telling three different stories with humor and emotion through a fresh creative perspective. Young theatre creators bring the ultimate destiny, patriarchal oppression, and women's freedom to the theatre stage, presenting a wonderful performance that is both entertaining and critical. "Epilogue" uses storytelling, singing, and movement-controlled music to think about and explore those things that will eventually disappear; Hammer of the Witches is the first work of the Gentle Theatre Company, with harmonious vocals, acoustic guitars, and a series of humorous characters, taking the audience back to the Middle Ages and revealing the harsh reality behind the witch hunt. "Alarm" explores what happens when women break societal dissuasions, using drama as a blade to attack bourgeois norms and call for the embrace of freedom and non-scrutiny.
Artez University of the Arts is one of the leading art schools in Netherlands, and as a pioneer in Netherlands arts education, it supports students' artistic, intellectual, and personal growth with personalized instruction and experienced faculty guidance. The Gentle Theatre Troupe is composed of Issa · Zvat and Clay · Delphi, graduates of the Artez University of the Arts, who have a deep insight into historical issues and social realities, and are adept at presenting their thoughts in an unusual and creative artistic way.
Special attention is paid to charity performances
Special Public Service Performance
"Reverse the Future"
The Revised Future
China Leyi Theatre Company
Screenwriter: Gao Yuan
Director: Ma Yan
"Reversing the Future", created by director Ma Yan and Leyi Theater Troupe, is the first pan-barrier open disability integration drama in China. This special theatrical work will be given special attention to this year's Wuzhen Theatre Festival for a public performance. Most of the actors in the play are pan-disabled theater lovers, and they throw themselves into the stage where time and space are intertwined with their extraordinary love and hard work. Identities are reversed, strengths and weaknesses are reversed, the future is inverted with the present, and science fiction and reality are intertwined...... Inspire the audience to empathize with each other and promote mutual understanding among different groups. In the face of the witty and relaxed performance style and the complex and contradictory facts of the case, the existential dilemma of the invisible edge has been solved in the public eye.
Ma Yan is currently a co-screenwriter and director of CCTV's social and legal channel, and is committed to advocating "national drama" and devoting himself to the popularization of drama art. Happy Theatre is an original theater brand jointly initiated by theater lovers from all walks of life. It has always practiced the concept of disability integration, aiming to tell the story of the disabled community in the form of drama, reproduce, expand and extend the diverse life experiences of individuals with disabilities, and present the unique personality and true temperament of this community in the light and shadow. The troupe emphasizes the use of artistic practice to connect the disabled and non-disabled groups, transcend physical constraints, achieve emotional integration, and create an inclusive, harmonious and integrated social environment.