Bringing international flair to the city

Although the play has gone on three tours of China since 2004, winning high praise from critics and the public alike, this is the first time it had been performed in Shanghai. One of those responsible for its debut in the city is Yu Rongjun, a Shanghai-based playwright-turned cultural official, and the current deputy president of SMG Live, a State-owned theater company that brought the highly-acclaimed immersive theater show Sleep No More to the city.

Over the past 15 years, Yu and colleagues in Shanghai's theater scene have made several unsuccessful attempts to introduce Requiem to the city.

"This is a large and expensive production. We either had difficulty finding another Chinese theater to split the cost, or the company didn't have the time slot for us," explains Yu.

"The cast have aged significantly, and this might be one of the few opportunities we could see the production from the original creative team," he adds.

The opening play, Heart of Heroes, premiered on April 26 at the Majestic Theatre. This Chinese production by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, which is meant as a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, is about the development of China's first large passenger aircraft. The C919, China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, conducted its successful maiden flight on May 5, 2017, at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The stage setting featured LED displays and digital visual projections tilted at different angles. Director Hu Zongqi hopes to show audiences "bigger scenes and bigger themes".

Cai Jun, the pilot of C919, attended the opening show. He says that "the storytelling was flawless from an engineer's professional point of view".

The play will have two more performances at the Majestic Theatre on May 23 and 24.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn