China Exclusive: Chinese, British students team up to honor legendary playwrights

The Bard of England and the "Chinese Shakespeare" came together this week in the heart of Beijing, 400 years after their deaths.

Students from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing and the University of Leeds teamed up in a performance to honor legendary dramatists William Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. Their two-day show, in a theater near the Forbidden City, wrapped up on Tuesday.

"The show, which brings the 'dreams' of the two drama masters together, is a cultural conversation between China and Britain," said Li Jun, who teaches English drama at UIBE.

TWO DREAMS

The performance, "A Midsummer Night's Dreaming under the Southern Bough," is actually a double bill featuring cross-cultural interpretations of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Tang's "A Dream under the Southern Bough."

Tang Xianzu, a contemporary of Shakespeare active in the late 16th to early 17th century, was a prominent Ming dynasty playwright. His major works, the most famous of which is "The Peony Pavilion," are collectively called the "Four Dreams."

UIBE and Leeds launched the project in August 2014 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the deaths of Shakespeare and Tang.

"We find it is not only a coincidence that Shakespeare and Tang died in the same year, but their literature also shared similar themes," Li, director of "A Midsummer Night's Dreaming," told Xinhua.

Seven students from UIBE acted in the Shakespeare adaptation that tells a story of modern-day Chinese youth who pursue romance with confusion and hope.

Nine students from Leeds starred in the Tang adaption, in which a discharged British army officer dreams of entering an ant kingdom, marrying the princess and gaining status, only to later be expelled following some unforeseen events.

Both the Chinese and British groups added contemporary perspectives to the plays, while respecting the original works.

A CULTURAL CONVERSATION

After casting and rehearsal, the Chinese and British students performed at the University of Leeds on July 27.

"The response was tremendous," Li Jun said.

In August, the show was staged eight times at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's leading arts festival.

"The British audience was fond of our performance, which served as a 'cultural passport,'" said Chinese cast member, Chen Ruqing, a junior majoring in English financial journalism at UIBE.

"Everyone there was familiar with 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' but they wanted to see how young Chinese people interpret and perform the classic," Chen said, adding that when British audience members flashed a smile from time to time, she knew that they understood and appreciated their performance.

Both the Chinese and British actors were happy to make new friends and showed appreciation for each other's cultures.

"We quickly became friends and talked about everything without any reservations," said Huang Yangxin, a UIBE accounting major, adding that the Chinese and British actors are around the same age and share a lot of similar views.

"Before going to Leeds, we thought that British people were gentle but distant. They turned out to be quite responsive and warm-hearted," said Huang.

WEST MEETS EAST

Most cast members from Leeds had not been exposed to Chinese language or culture before, but they vowed to "break the wall." Before the performance, they stepped into the audience to shake hands. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers.

Speaking with Xinhua, many cast members expressed their interest in China and its culture, mentioning everything from the Forbidden City to Chinese food.

Rachel Turner, who studies theater and performance at Leeds, fell in love with the "amazing cultural experiences in China." Turner has successfully applied for a one-year exchange program with the Shanghai Theater Academy. She hopes to someday introduce Chinese opera to people back home.

George Clifford, who performs in fluent Mandarin during the show, has changed his career plan from the well-paid financial industry and instead hopes to dedicate himself to exchanges between China and Britain.

"Chinese culture is increasingly exciting to the West. It is time for us to do more," said Adam Strickson, a Leeds faculty member who adapted Tang's play.

"The impact of their experience acting in Tang's play will be life-long," said Li Ruru, a professor of Chinese theater studies at Leeds. "Although many of them probably will not work in Chinese studies in the future, cross-cultural exchange will be something they want to explore forever."

Li Ruru argued that the show helps raise the profile of Tang's work and Chinese culture among Chinese people as well.

"Tang Xianzu is far less known in Britain, and the show makes more British people aware of him," Li said, adding that Tang's reputation is not even that widespread in China.

"The fact that even British college students are performing Tang's play may urge more Chinese people to pay attention to their own cultural legacy," said Li.

The Leeds group is scheduled to perform "Dreaming Under the Southern Bough" on September 25 in Fuzhou in east China's Jiangxi Province, Tang's birthplace. Endit