Shanghai Stage: Theater festival takes place next month

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02:13

Shanghai's annual theater festival, Modern Drama Valley, is going international this year. 165 shows will be staged during the May event, including plays in the Lithuanian Drama Festival. Reporter Zhang Yue has more.

Seventeen productions from China, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Australia, France, Britain and Japan will be staged during the event. One of the highlights is Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children."

CHEN HONG, DIRECTOR JING'AN DISTRICT BUREAU OF CULTURE "We are going to set up two reading pavilions at Jing'an Park. Anyone who reads Chinese can come and read the scripts of the play's at this year's festival. It's free."

Meanwhile, Lithuania's State Small Theatre of Vilnius will stage "A Spiritual Matter" "The Masquerade" and "The Three Sisters" at Daning Theater during the Lithuanian Drama Festival from May 17th to 23rd. "The Masquerade" and "The Three Sisters" are the works of Rimas Tuminas, an acclaimed Lithuanian director.

MENG BING, VICE CHAIRMAN CHINA THEATER ASSOCIATION "This year, people will not only have the chance to see these famous dramas from other countries, but also directors and playwrights, including 80-year-old Japanese playwright Suzuki Tadashi."

Famous Kunqu Opera actor Zhang Jun and his troupe are going to perform on May 18th at Mercedes Benz Arena as part of the event.

ZHANG JUN KUNQU OPERA ACTOR "The theme of this year's event is "Acting", which means taking action to bring opera and drama closer to more people. It is challenging to perform Kunqu Opera in front of tens of thousands of people, but it is exciting to see more people interested in traditional culture."

Tickets for all Modern Drama Valley shows are priced between 180 yuan and 380 yuan. It runs from May 5th to 23rd.

Organizers also say Edinburgh International Festival representatives will be on hand and both sides hope to work together in the future.