Stage Roundup: August 2009
Even in a city as big as Beijing, the circus coming to town is a very good reason to get excited – especially if it’s the Nikulin Moscow Circus – Russia’s oldest. Lions and tigers and dancing bears, oh my! Well, the circus’s website mentions tales of vodka-swilling elephants and “troubled bears,” but the only thing we could see any cold hard photographic evidence of was a congo line of shaved poodles. Find out for yourself on August 14-15, when Nikulin raises the big top at the Workers’ Gymnasium.
After more than half a year of touring China’s major cities and Singapore, Sylvia Chang Ai-chia’s stage play, Design for Living, is being made into a film. Since last year, this story of an aggressive female boss has not only been staged twice in town, but it’s also been adapted into a popular TV series. Beyond a plot that’s easy for metropolitan audiences to identify with, the drama’s success relies heavily on the popularity of Chang herself. The talented thespian’s illustrious career has included several turns as screenwriter and director in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Urban life features prominently in another stage play: 8008 centers on the pivotal Chinese generation that grew up during the ’80s. They received a communist education similar to their parents, but sometime between the playground and their pre-teens, massive social change transformed the landscape, bringing them both opportunity and previously unimaginable pressures. 8008 is being staged on August 12-16 by Fan Troupe.
It seems ballet troupes in town are making breakthroughs in their work as well. The much talked-about Bavarian State Ballet’s presentation of Raymonda in June presented a twist by adding both a bit of ethnic folk dancing and a bit of a realistic edge to the standard fairy-tale love story, leaving the audience in an uproar almost every night. Raymonda will be a hard act to follow, but if any ballet can top it, it’s sure to be Onegin (Aug 19-22), which will be performed by The National Ballet of China. Acclaimed Spanish dancer Carmen Werner will also be gracing us with her presence – be ready to have your concept of modern dance contorted and heated up by her bold and sexy performance in The Sky in My Pocket (Aug 31; see photo, right).
On the classical music front, the National Centre For the Performing Arts opens its August Chorus Festival with several ensembles worth checking out; don’t miss the a cappella octet from the UK, Voces8 (Aug 15). Lastly, the Forbidden City Concert Hall continues its popular summer series, “Gateway to Music,” with various concerts running through the whole month.