French adaptation of Bergman play makes a scene in Beijing
In Scenes from a Marriage, the late Swedish director and writer Ingmar Bergman laid bare his own life, including his relationship with his ex-lover, Norwegian actress and director Liv Johanne Ullmann, as well as his failed marriages and that of his parents.
Originally conceived as a six-episode Swedish TV drama in 1973, Bergman, who wrote and directed Scenes
from a Marriage, also adapted the script for film.
Additionally, there have been more than a hundred stage adaptations worldwide, performed in numerous languages.
Most recently, French director, Safy Nebbou, turned the classic into a French-language play, which premiered in Paris in February 2017.
With more than 150 performances worldwide, the production, Scenes from a
Marriage, made its debut in China on June 12 at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing — a month before what would have been Bergman’s 100th birthday.
The 90-minute play follows a couple who have been married for over ten years. They have two daughters and enjoy a happy, peaceful life. However, the husband has fallen in love with another woman, and the couple has to separate.
“My mother was a big fan of Bergman and she took me to watch the film version when I was 13 years old,” Nebbou recalled, speaking before the play’s opening. “I couldn’t understand the film then, but I always wanted to adapt Bergman’s work into a theatrical play.”
He added: “I kept the play as simple as possible because Bergman’s script is very strong. His insight about marital breakdown is very sharp and accurate, like a surgeon performing an operation.
“For me, the process of adapting Scenes from a Marriage into a play was a process of self-realization,” Nebbou continued, “I am not married but I learned a lot about marriage from this play and what I knew myself.”
The lead roles are performed by French actress and actor, Laetitia Casta and Raphaël Personnaz.
“I play the role of the wife as a woman, not as an actress,” explained Casta. “I feel her pain and anxiety in marriage.”
Personnaz adds that the couple in the play are well-educated and have decent jobs, but they cannot open up to each other in their marriage.
“They hold back their emotions and they are lost when they face marriage,” Personnaz observes. “It happens to many couples of different ages and cultures.
“When we stage the play in China, we are sure that Chinese audiences will spare a thought for their own marriages.”
In 2008, the first Chinese stage production of Scenes
from a Marriage was created by Ke Center for Contemporary Arts and premiered at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre before coming to Beijing.
Director Zhou Ke said about the play at the time: “Although the film and TV program were directed by Bergman in 1973, many Chinese can relate to the turmoil and love that binds the couple together in the play.
“Through the re-staging of Bergman’s masterpiece, we hope that people can reflect on issues in their own marriages and cherish their current relationships.”
The most recent Chinese adaptation was in last December, when director Guo Shixing put on the play in Beijing.
The play is part of the ongoing 2018 NCPA International Theater Festival, which will see Chinese theaters, alongside theaters from France, Germany, Australia and Denmark perform 20 plays over 84 performances.
The festival, which started in May, will run through Sept 15.