The Shanghai Culture Square theater will present three plays in Hebrew during its first Israel Theatre Showcase, which will take place from July to November.
In recent years, a series of outstanding Israeli plays, such as Requiem, Village and Ghetto, have toured China and showcased colorful styles, diverse subjects and high artistic standards, winning plaudits from theater lovers in China, according to Fei Yuanhong, deputy general manager of Shanghai Culture Square.
In line with its mission to introduce high-quality theater works to Shanghai, the theater decided to stage a series of Israeli productions this year to facilitate cultural exchanges between China and abroad, broaden the audience's vision and enrich the theater programming, according to Fei. He also hopes the event will help audiences better appreciate international shows.
Based on the novel Oblomov by Russian author Ivan Goncharov, The Superfluous Man by the Israeli Mitcha Figa theater will be staged on July 8 and 9.
According to the director of the play Yehezkel Lazarov, he wanted to use the story of a character that is frequently featured in Russian literature in the late 1800s to address the notion of the "nothingness of being"; what it means to be nothing; and if we are allowed to live life without leaving anything behind.
Second on the list is The Dybbuk by Gesher Theatre, which will be performed on Oct 27 and 28.
Created in 1914 by famous Jewish writer, polemicist and political and cultural activist Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (also known as S.Ansky), the play is often known as "the brightest pearl in the history of Jewish theater".
In Jewish folklore, the dybbuk is a disembodied human spirit that wanders restlessly until it finds shelter in a living person. In the play, a bride is possessed by a dybbuk on her wedding day. As it turns out, the dybbuk is a young man in love with her and had died upon knowing about her being married to another man.
The third play is Hamlet, which is scheduled for Nov 10 and 11. The play will be presented by the Beit Lessin Theater with new interpretation by award-winning director Yair Sherman.
Sherman was the director of Requiem, a play that toured China in 2019.
The version of Requiem written and directed by Hanoch Levin is arguably the Israeli play that Chinese audiences are most familiar with. The play toured China in 2004,2006, 2012 and 2019.
Sherman also directed the 2019 Chinese edition of Requiem, which starred renowned film actors Ni Dahong and Sun Li.
Another play by Levin, The Child Dreams, was presented at Shanghai Culture Square in 2019, which marked the first time an Israeli production was shown at the theater.
If you go
The Superfluous Man
7:30 pm, July 8-9
The Dybbuk
7:30 pm, Oct 27-28
Hamlet
7:30 pm, Nov 10-11
Shanghai Culture Square, 597 Fuxing Road Middle, Huangpu district, Shanghai.
021-5461-9961.
