Dramas tell the story of ordinary people and developing city
Original dramas celebrating the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up will be staged during the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Featuring the renovation of the old area, urban relocation, aging issues, grassroots cadres, the shows will portray the lives of ordinary people and the development of the city over the past 40 years.
Inspired by Xupu Village in Minhang District’s Huacao Town, “The Story of Xu Village” focuses on the renovation of the village as well as the stories of its residents.
Xupu is the largest of the so-called “villages in the city” in Shanghai. In just two months, the village underwent a dramatic facelift — the illegal construction has been razed, the river cleaned up and the roadway repaved.
“The Story of Xu Village” is produced by Shanghai Theater Academy and Shanghai Art Theater, which are presenting another original drama “The Song of Life.”
The drama set in a hospice ward deals with people’s fear of death, regrets in life and its warmth.
The creative team researched the drama in a community health care center in Jinshan District.
For many people, China’s reform and opening up policy has created many unprecedented opportunities.
In the early 1980s, a group of around 600 intellectuals nicknamed “Sunday engineers” helped social enterprises solve technical problems join their days off and earned extra money in return.
The drama “The Sunday Engineer” depicts the story of Han Kun, an engineer of Shanghai Institute of Rubber Products.
In his free time, Han worked for an enterprise under threat of closure. Through his efforts, the enterprise was put on the right track. Han obtained around 3,000 yuan (US$435) as labor remuneration, which was misjudged by prosecutors as a bribe.
That sparked a nationwide debate and the mishandled case was eventually redressed.
“Born in the 1980s, I was shocked when I received the task of directing the play because the thing happened before I was born. To bridge the gap, I interviewed the people concerned. Intriguingly, they encountered the situation just at my age,” said Wang Lihe, the drama’s director and scriptwriter.
“China further deepens reform and opening up today. We young people need to work hard like these predecessors,” Wang added.
The story of “Love Under the Stars” is set in a or traditional alleyway housing, called “Starlight Lane.” The old neighborhood, just like those in real life, goes through various transformations to become a fashionable landmark.
Its residents also change with time. Growing from children who played games in the alleyway together to young adults, two protagonists drift apart due to relocation. But their love for music allows them to connect again.
Adapted from the deeds of Zhu Guoping, the chief of Party branch of the Hongchu Residential Committee of Changning District, the Huju opera drama “Director of the Lane” depicts the life of a grassroots cadre and relationships between neighborhoods.
“In this version, young actors will play leading roles while veteran actors will play the supporting roles. We want to provide the youngsters with more opportunities to advance their work,” said Chen Suping, art director of Shanghai Changning District Center for Shanghai Opera.