Beijing's 6th Theater Olympics shifts into high gear

A program at the 6th Theatre Olympics, Folding by Shen Wei Dance Arts, a piece inspired by Tao Te Ching, astonishes by its ultramodern treatment of age-old themes. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

Beijing turns into a stage as a world-class theater festival unfolds to enchant audiences, reports Raymond Zhou.

Theater lovers are rushing from one venue to another as the 6th Theatre Olympics shifts into high gear in Beijing. While thunderous applause is filling the houses, people are emerging scratching their heads and raising sharp questions in conversations after the shows. A festive mood permeates the Chinese capital, a metropolis so mammoth as to threaten to drown out any such activities.

The festival started earlier this month with a revival of a Peking Opera production titled You and Me. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it was also the title of the theme song for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Another similarity is the director, the renowned filmmaker Zhang Yimou, a reminder of that other event with the word "Olympics" in it. The opening show may not be a typical theater piece in your imagination, but the festival calendar has such an eclectic mix of programs that it includes operas, musicals, dance dramas - almost everything except a rock concert.

The theme "Dream" does not appear to tie up neatly the 47 productions in the lineup, which is as sprawling as the city itself and its venues. Most of the Chinese pieces are revivals, including Meng Jinghui's Amber at the Poly Theater. Two more of Meng's plays, also revivals, follow in its footsteps, yet are not found on the festival menu. Overall, the Chinese selections are so varied they seem a bit haphazard and spoken plays occupy only a minority position.

The first production to take the audience by storm is Folding by Shen Wei Dance Arts, a piece inspired by Tao Te Ching, a classic treatise on Chinese philosophy. Shen, a Chinese choreographer who made his name and now resides in New York, has been astonishing his home country with ultramodern treatments of age-old themes every time he brings back his work.