Classics, high-tech shows at east China theater fest

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Twenty-four top dramas will be staged across two weeks in a small town in east China's Zhejiang Province once the annual Wuzhen Theater Festival begins on October 19.

The festival, a major fixture in the Chinese and international arts scene, will gather troupes and artists from 13 countries and regions including China, Russia, Germany, Britain, the US, Brazil, Lebanon and Ireland.

Committee members of the Wuzhen Theater Festival /Handout photo

Tian Qinxin, artistic director of this year's event, said she hopes to bring works with diverse styles.

"There are classics and we have not rejected the avant-garde either. Meanwhile, as a female director myself, I am happy to have invited some productions by female directors," said Tian.

She added that audiences can expect some high-tech elements in the productions.

"Eugene Onegin" directed by Russia's Rimas Tuminas, "The Seagull" by Oskaras Korsunovas, and "The Little Prince" by Romanian director Alexandru Dabija are among plays scheduled under the "Classics Revisited" series.

"Eugene Onegin" directed by Russian director Rimas Tuminas /Handout photo

Visitors to the event will also have the chance to watch "Shadow" by award-winning British director Katie Mitchell.

Lebanese director Rabih Mroue’s production "Riding on a Cloud" is the only play from the Middle East. It focuses on the trauma of war on individuals and families. The New Yorker said it investigates "our relationship with words and images and the fine line between the real and the fictive, the actual and the simulated."

"The Little Prince" by Romanian director Alexandru Dabija /Handout photo‍

Tickets will go on sale to the public on August 28, with the price no higher than 300 yuan (45 US dollars).

1085km