A theatrical sight to see, and feel

Inspired by the largest theater arts festival in the world, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (EFF), cosmopolitan Shanghai - in its continued aspiration to be envied as the most cultured metropolis in the region - is ready to host the Chinese mainland's first-ever event of its kind, a quieter version of EFF, Shanghai EFF.　
In stark contrast to the larger-than-life success of EFF 2012, which closed at the end of last month with a copious 42,096 performances and 2,695 shows, Shanghai organizers will stage a modest five theater works at Shanghai Grand Theater from October 10 to 28.

But the few, carefully selected performances, chosen from EFF's 2012 and 2011 programs, are sure to evoke strong emotion from local audiences and stir a new chapter of festival theater in the city, promises Shanghai EFF producer Yuan Ming. 

More than words

Featuring The Monster in the Hall from The National Theatre of Scotland, Watch Me Fall by Britain's Action Hero, André and Dorine by the Kulunka Theater Company of Spain, Detention by Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio from Hong Kong, and I'm Moon by Shanghai's Damen Theater Studio.

Beyond simply the language of the works, it is hoped that the theater performances will convey more to audiences by capturing both their hearts and minds, Yuan told the Global Times.

"We noticed that physical theater without language and theater works presented using other artistic forms apart from language, have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially in various international theater festivals," he said.

After seeing the works at EFF, Yuan, who has been involved in theater art in China for the past decade, was most attracted to these performances due to their astounding visual impact.

"These kinds of works are much simpler to understand and accept by foreign audiences," he said. "None of them are traditional dramas, but they all have their own novel art forms, which make it easy for audiences to resonate with the stories." 

A 'live textbook'

A musical comedy depicting complex family issues between an adolescent girl and her father, The Monster in the Hall stars a feisty 16-year-old girl, Duck Macatarsney, who is burdened with caring for her biker father, Duke, a drug abuser who relies on heavy metal and horror movies to continue through life after his wife's death. The situation is exacerbated by Duke's worsening multiple sclerosis and the threat of Duck being removed from her home by social services.

Yuan hailed the actors of the show for their exemplary performances, which he believes will also provide a valuable "live textbook" for theater enthusiasts in China.

"No special costumes, props or stage backdrops are used during the show," he said about the work that won Best Ensemble at EFF 2011. "The entire performance depends solely on the acting of its four actors."

"It inspires a new era of theater," said Yuan.

It's all in the gesture

André and Dorine by the Kulunka Theater Company from the Basque country is a mask drama that makes use of bare walls, the sound of typewriter keys being tapped and the lone notes of a single cellist to tell the story of an elderly couple, who cling to their memories to remember how they loved in order to sustain their love for one another.

Garbi e Insausti, producer of the Kulunka Theater Company, told the Global Times that, in Spain, they have a specific term for masked drama - "gestual theater."

Insausti said that, "For us, gestual theater doesn't need words to tell stories and provoke emotions; it is a universal language that transcends all cultural differences. It is a language which subject is the human being, whose verbs are composed by actions and whose grammar is articulated by emotions. This is most definitely our great discovery with André and Dorine, in which a non-text dramaturgy is built to tell a seemingly conventional story."

A personal favorite of Yuan's, Detention by Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio from Hong Kong is a purely comical physical theater work, in which the Hong Kong theater director explores the possibilities of stage work to great extremes.

After repeat performances at EFF 2012, the first Chinese theater production in years staged at EFF for weeks on end, tells the lives of four children kept late after school, and how they escape their punishment by dancing, singing and trickery behind their teacher's back.

Yuan described EFF as the exploration of limitless freedom and possibilities in theater, saying that he hopes to further this kind of movement in Chinese theater with Shanghai EFF.

"I hope that this platform can provide Chinese theater insiders with an outlet for more creative ideas on theater, which will enable them to breakthrough traditional modes of performance and signal a way for them to enhance play script writing," Yuan said.

For a detailed schedule of Shanghai EFF, please visit http://www.shgtheatre.com/enec/searchTopProgram.do