Time will tell
Though welcomed by young people in recent years, private theaters have a long way to go before becoming mainstream. Compared with Stated-backed theaters and epic historical plays, private theaters and experimental plays are still not accepted and known by the general public.
In recent years, many small theaters have opened. But unlike State-owned theaters, they do not have fixed investment for development and advertisement. In order to survive, some theaters have wound up producing low-quality plays and focusing too much on creating profits.
Bubbles in the market and a lack of variety in themes have also hindered the development of private theaters. "The market still needs time to mature and form a complete industry chain, and playwrights and directors are working to improve the quality," said an industry insider.
Every year there are dozens of plays staged in small theaters, but most of them, in order to attract audiences, focus on similar themes and pay too much attention to popular online phenomena, which often fail to move people.
Private theater plays have been developed in China for over 30 years. The art has been accepted not only because of cheaper ticket prices, but also for its reflection of the times, said He Yi. If the plays fail to touch people's hearts, they will lose their meaning and significance.
