Feature: Plays of Shakespeare, Tang Xianzu become bridge between British, Chinese students

Britons will soon celebrate the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare this week across Britain, while a Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu who died in the same year, will "travel" to the bard's hometown Stratford-upon-Avon to "meet" his counterpart.

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the deaths of the two great playwrights, a series of events, including seminars, forums and performances, have been held in the two countries this year.

A highlight of those spectacle events through this year will be a project: A Midsummer Night's DEARMING Under the Southern Bough, conducted by the University of Leeds and the University of International Business and Economics, with Chinese students performing Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, while British students will act Tang Xianzu's Dreaming Under the Southern Bough.

Li Ruru, professor of Chinese Theater Studies at the University of Leeds initiated a range of events of Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu in 2014. She and her students who were selected to play Tang's work are now preparing their drama which will be shown in second half of this year.

"All the British students have never heard about Tang Xianzu before we launched the project, however, they have a common interest of loving dramas. Therefore, dramas become the bridge between British and Chinese young people, they could understand each other's history and culture through dramas," said Li.

Earlier in March, the University of Leeds also invited a Chinese expert of Tang Xianzu's works, Professor Zou Yuanjiang, to give lectures about Tang Xianzu's works at several universities in Britain. Most of students who took part in the lectures learnt Tang Xianzu and his works for the first time.

"As a student of the Chinese language and culture, I was intrigued to hear that Tang Xianzu is often dubbed 'the Chinese Shakespeare', which sparked my initial interest in him," said George Clifford, an actor of the project.

He said Tang Xianzu makes extensive use of dreams to explore themes in human relationships, and this technique is also used by Shakespeare.

"Both playwrights were pioneers in using dreams as a vehicle to explore alternative aspects of the human psyche which, in both their cases, was unique at the time," he said.

Arlie Haslam, who is studying theater and performance at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds said she only came to know about Tang Xianzu and his works through this project.

"I would certainly say that in learning more about Tang's work, we can also learn so much more about Chinese culture. Tang's work is such a big part of China's theatrical history, just as how Shakespeare is for Britain," she told Xinhua.

Steve Ansell, director of DREAMING Under the Southern Bough, and also the artistic director stage@leedscompany, said learning Tang's work is a gateway for his company to Chinese culture.

The work itself undoubtedly provides some context and understanding for their cast, while cooperating with a Chinese company and students will also have a profound effect on his company and their understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture, he added.

The debut of A Midsummer Night's DEARMING Under the Southern Bough is expected to be shown at the opening of Leeds Intercultural Theater Festival in July. Endit