Fostering dialogue with artful endeavor

Portraying the stories of the underwater world with puppetry, a stage adaptation of French author Jules Verne's sci-fi masterpiece Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was held in Shenzhen on April 11-12, marking the opening of the 19th Festival Croisements.

Launched in 2006, the annual cultural festival organized by the French embassy in China and the French Institute of Beijing encourages and facilitates exchanges between artists and institutions from China and France.

From April to July, more than 300 events, including stage performances, art exhibitions and a French film panorama, will take place in 31 cities across China.

French Ambassador to China Bertrand Lortholary says that the 19th Festival Croisements will offer an ambitious program and explore multiple artistic disciplines to foster cultural dialogue between the two countries.

He adds that this year's festival resonates with the major environmental challenges facing the contemporary world. As France and Costa Rica co-host the third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, in June, the festival highlights the stage adaptation of the novel, inviting Chinese audiences to a poetic reflection on ocean preservation.

Verne's novel follows the adventures of Captain Nemo aboard the submarine Nautilus along with marine biologist Pierre Aronnax, who narrates the story, his servant Conseil, and harpooner Ned Land. Readers experience the mysterious, stunning yet thrilling undersea world through their eyes.

Directed by Christian Hecq, an actor and director from the French theater company Comedie-Francaise, and Valerie Lesort, a director, visual artist and actress, the adaptation features an immersive and visually captivating approach, adopting puppetry to present underwater life onstage. Hecq also portrayed Captain Nemo.

In 2016, the production won the Moliere Award for Visual Creation. The Moliere Awards are France's highest theater honor.

He says during the initial creation in 2015 they endeavored to restore the artistry of puppetry, which was often mistakenly perceived as a minor art form intended for children.

The lightness and flexibility of the materials used allow the puppets to reproduce the expressive, gestural language of aquatic creatures. Each fish, manipulated by the performers, has its own character. Hecq adds that manual animations enabled them to fully exhibit the richness of the live performance.

Staged during the festival is a new edition joined by a Chinese production team and cast, including director Zha Wenyuan, playwright Tian Xiaowei and performers such as actor Bao Jianfeng, which will tour Beijing and Shanghai, Nanjing and Nantong in Jiangsu province, as well as Chengdu in Sichuan province.

According to Hecq, the Chinese edition is distinguished by some of its puppets, which have been reimagined by visual artist Kain Liu Kaiyin.

This new edition is coproduced by the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and Tempest Projects, an international performing arts company based in London and Shanghai.