A proverbial Chinese proclamation that “Guilin’s landscape is the best under heaven” reflects its fame.
With the first Guilin Festival taking place from December 10 to December 18, the city has suddenly emerged as a new destination for theatre enthusiasts.

There will be 29 indoor and outdoor theatre productions in 10 different Guilin locales. There will be a total of 128 performances, in addition to on-the-street performances.

“The Guilin Festival will take place every year. International theatre companies will be invited to participate in the event. It will provide a platform for international artists and a chance to develop budding theatrical talent “Yang Yanyan, head of Guilin’s publicity department and one of the festival’s organisers, makes this statement.

She continues by saying that the festival will also include musical and dance acts in addition to theatrical shows.

Two performances of Two Capitals, Fifteen Days, a play by Chinese award-winning author Ma Boyong that is based on his best-selling novel of the same name, were held at Guilin Grand Theater on December 10 and 11. The play is set during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and follows a prince named Zhu Zhanji as he makes the absurd 15-day trip from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, to Beijing down the Grand Canal in an effort to preserve both the dynasty and himself.

The play has 226 characters and is directed by Zhao Miao, who is renowned for his avant-garde theatrical plays, particularly his physical theatre works. Additionally, viewers will be able to enjoy a colourful scroll that depicts sights along the Grand Canal during the Ming Dynasty in addition to the suspenseful and romantic storyline.

The production incorporates more than ten different genres of folk art, including shadow play and pingtan, a storytelling and ballad singing style from Suzhou.

Another festival co-organizer is the Central Academy of Drama, which is situated in Beijing.

The Central Academy of Drama’s president, Hao Rong, claims that theatre has a long history in Guilin and that the school has a strong bond with the city.

The first president of the Central Academy of Drama and well-known Chinese playwright and director Ouyang Yuqian both resided and worked in Guilin. He founded the Guangxi Provincial Art Center in 1940 and served as its first president. This theatre was one of the earliest professional playhouses in China. He composed plays for Guiju Opera and popularised Guiju Opera, a historic Chinese opera style that first appeared in Guilin during the Ming Dynasty. A proverbial Chinese proclamation that “Guilin’s landscape is the best under heaven” reflects its fame.

With the first Guilin Festival taking place from December 10 to December 18, the city has suddenly emerged as a new destination for theatre enthusiasts.

There will be 29 indoor and outdoor theatre productions in 10 different Guilin locales. There will be a total of 128 performances, in addition to on-the-street performances.

“The Guilin Festival will take place every year. International theatre companies will be invited to participate in the event. It will provide a platform for international artists and a chance to develop budding theatrical talent “Yang Yanyan, head of Guilin’s publicity department and one of the festival’s organisers, makes this statement.

She continues by saying that the festival will also include musical and dance acts in addition to theatrical shows.

The play has 226 characters and is directed by Zhao Miao, who is renowned for his avant-garde theatrical plays, particularly his physical theatre works. Additionally, viewers will be able to enjoy a colourful scroll that depicts sights along the Grand Canal during the Ming Dynasty in addition to the suspenseful and romantic storyline.

The production incorporates more than ten different genres of folk art, including shadow play and pingtan, a storytelling and ballad singing style from Suzhou.

Another festival co-organizer is the Central Academy of Drama, which is situated in Beijing.

The Central Academy of Drama’s president, Hao Rong, claims that theatre has a long history in Guilin and that the school has a strong bond with the city.

The first president of the Central Academy of Drama and well-known Chinese playwright and director Ouyang Yuqian both resided and worked in Guilin. He founded the Guangxi Provincial Art Center in 1940 and served as its first president. This theatre was one of the earliest professional playhouses in China. He composed plays for Guiju Opera and popularised Guiju Opera, a historic Chinese opera style that first appeared in Guilin during the Ming Dynasty.

Source: Prnewswire