Avignon Festival director introduces his own play to China

Olivier Py introduces the Avignon Festival at the China Millenium Monument on May 12. The writer, director and actor Olivier Py is a revered giant of French theater. [Photo by Ruan Fan/chinadaily.com.cn]

On his trip to Beijing last Thursday to promote the Avignon Festival - one of the world's most renowned drama festivals, director Olivier Py talked to China Daily Website about his original play, The Girl, the Devil and the Mill.

It is adapted from the Grimm's Fairy Tale, The Girl without Hands. Py preserved only the storyline, and added many songs, refreshing the audiences with a bittersweet confession that reflects on the actual world we live in.

During the interview, Py talked about how he arrived at the idea for the play. He took into account how audiences reacted to its over 150 performances in the past 25 years. He explained why he insisted in presenting children with a play he described as "cruel yet hopeful".

The play has been performed in Beijing and Shanghai. It will be shown in Guangzhou this Friday and Saturday at the Guangzhou Opera House. Below are excerpts from the interview.

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You said you haven't read the Grimm's Fairy Tales until you were 20, and the stories amazed you. Why is that? And why did you choose to adapt The Girl without Hands?

Some fairytales in France are not particularly for children, so I didn't read them until I was in my late teens. The Grimm's Fairy Tales, compared to other fairytales I've read, are relatively easy and simple to read, without many literary references, and quite suit the popular taste. So it leaves a lot of space for re-creation. The play, though adapted from The Girl without Hands, is however quite different from the original story, not a single line was taken from the story directly.

The play is somewhat cruel, as it contains violence, specifically against the little girl. Is it good for children to watch it?

The play did sound a bit violent. But it is a children's play. In fact, children will encounter different kinds of violence in their lives, especially girls. There's no way we can ignore it. The play was created 25 years ago, and now it's in its fifth version. Every five years, we will make some alterations.