Beijing Stage: Jackie Chan Cracks Down on Pirates & Don Quixote Tilts at the Egg

On a recent flight from Bangkok to Beijing, I caught a new public service announcement from Jackie Chan. He was dressed up as a customs officer, telling foreigners not to buy pirated DVDs, and to respect intellectual property rights. It was like he was speaking directly to me. I’m sure most of us have bought cheap tickets from scalpers, since the price of a show, especially international performances, can be ridiculously expensive. If you want to avoid dealing with a sleazy scalper, you’d better hurry and book before all the affordable tickets are gone. Cats (Sep 19-27) is back, and The Merchants of Bollywood (Sep 25-29) is premiering, and both are sure to sell out fast.

In comparison, it makes sense to pay more reasonable prices to see cutting-edge modern dance. We are lucky to have three major Chinese modern dance companies in Beijing, all working hard to create something original. Thanks to them, the local modern dance scene is flourishing. Under the lead of artistic director Gaoyan Jinzi, with the help of her husband Zhang Changcheng, a former investment banker, the Beijing Modern Dance Company unveiled their new theater, No. 46 Theater, once the site of China’s most important munitions factory.

Depending on when you read this column, you may still have a chance to catch the world premiere of the sensational international collaboration, Prism (Aug 28-29), performed by Beijing Contemporary Dance Theater.

If not, Beijing Dance/LDTX will be back on September 25 with a stunning new work, One Table N Chairs (see photo, top). Choreographed by artistic director Willy Tsao and charismatic duo Li Hanzhong and Ma Bo, it captures the stylized gestures from various kinds of Chinese opera and expands the traditional concept of stage props.

To promote Mandarin-language dramas, the National Theatre Company of China is launching a Chinese drama series, “The Autumn of National Drama” (Guohua Zhi Qiu), which will run until next February. It brings together 18 or so classic and newly produced Chinese dramas, including City Playboy and It Is the Last War. Innovative drama director Meng Jinghui wants to add a bit of Spanish flavor to this festival. He’s brought Don Quixote (Sep 2-6) to the Egg to tell the legend of the loveable Spanish hero in Chinese.

Lastly, one of the top world music festivals, Switzerland’s Lucerne Festival, will open at the NCPA with the return of conductor Claudio Abbado, after 36 years. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra stages four symphonic concerts, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra will perform two chamber concerts. Performances from young and talented Chinese pianist Yu Jiawang and the versatile Chinese musician Tan Dun will add color to this landmark festival.