On Sunday afternoon I attended a play at the Riverside Theatre in Iowa City that was minimalist in every way.

The set of the show, entitled "I Am My Own Wife," consisted of a chair, a table and a cupboard upon which stood an old-fashioned gramophone from the Thomas Edison era. There was also a wooden case that housed doll's furniture, which periodically came out of the box to represent other props.

There were just two costumes: a pair of overalls, which were worn for a brief period at the start of the second act, and for the rest of the show a black dress, black stockings and black leather shoes, with a pearl necklace.

There are three major roles in the play and three dozen or so minor and even momentary parts. An Equity actor named Dennis Fox played them all.

Alone, Fox demonstrated the quintessence of performance, keeping us captivated and enthralled through his artistry rather than gimmickry. By changing his facial expressions and body movements and switching between German and English in various tones and accents, Fox led his audience not only through the tortuous life of a transvestite from the period of Nazi Germany up to his death in 2002, but also into the emotional and mental ups and downs of a unique person.

Sadly, the audience only half-filled a small theatre with fewer than 100 seats, and most were seniors aged over 60.

Nowadays, in China and elsewhere, the most popular productions for stage as well as the big screen invariably involve mega budgets, super movie and pop stars, panoramic scenes of mountains, prairie, forest and plains, and/or 3D computer effects featuring tens of thousands of people (or animals or insects or any objects that might run, roam or battle each other).

Evidently that's what sells. "The Promise," said to be the most expensive film ever made on the Chinese mainland with an investment of US$30-40 million, ranked number one at the cinema box office last year, earning around US$18 million in China; and foreign rights were also sold for several times that amount.

They may revel in the grandiose scenes, but viewers of "The Promise" are unlikely to identify with the lead roles or the story itself. However, Hu Ge's short video, "The blood case that started from a steamed bun," a parody of the film available on the Internet, has drawn lots of fans, and probably even more viewers to the original at the cinema.

Meanwhile, we've heard very little about the box office performance of the film "You and Me," a story of the generation gap and emotional clashes between a young college girl and an elderly landlady in her 80s.

Like "I Am My Own Wife," this film seems like it should attract large audiences because the performers enable viewers to enter the minds and hearts of the protagonists, sharing their joys, misgivings or frustrations, without being overwhelmed by hordes of rampaging mobs, lavish sets and special effects.

That's why the jurors at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival gave kudos for best leading actress to Jin Yaqin, also in her 80s, who plays the elderly landlady.

Beyond applauding, publicizing and rewarding actors like Fox and Jin, we should figure out ways to bring more people to arthouse shows and films.

The cost of tickets for live productions is likely to be higher than most young people are willing to pay. We paid US$23 per seat for Fox's one-man show. And seeing a film is not cheap either; tickets to see "You and Me," at 60 yuan (US$7.50), cost the same as for "The Promise." Theatres should offer discounts to young people to encourage them to appreciate true performing arts, and to help society retrieve the best of artistic creativity from the deluge of mega-productions.

Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/06/2006 page4)