Multimedia play has charm of old movie

Chinese theater director Wang Chong's avant-garde work Ghost 2.0 debuted in Seoul.Photo provided to China Daily

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"I like the lively atmosphere of South Korea's theater. Also, the performers in my play are very diligent and punctual. They like to take notes such as their inner feelings and will do more research after rehearsals," says Wang, who spent more than 40 days in rehearsal.

The play is about ordinary people's stories, and the characters have no names. All performers' faces are painted white with black-rimmed eyes, except the 10-year-old kid, so they look like ghosts.

"Black-and-white silent film has its own charm. When you see the actress in red clothes onstage, you will also see her in the black-and-white video. It shows you a kind of special beauty," he says.

The work also delves into the definition of media, he says. "You watch the lips of performers and the subtitles on the projector; their movement and sounds are separated."

Wang strives to transform Ibsen's more descriptive lines into intelligible performances and scenes. The play is full of conflicts, and the key is to display them without talking and make a production that's appealing to audiences. The onstage actions are a bit exaggerated.

"I'd like to make some performances more like movie scenes. For instance, in a traditional play, the priest would pace back and forth after the fire in a flurry, but in our version, he held his shirt tightly and stood still," he says.