Reviews

With a minimalist stage and pure performance, Li Shutong, interprets the story of Li Shutong, a master musician, artist and calligrapher of a generation. "Small theatre, big structure." Here we see the different sparks from the theatrical version of Li Shutong. Nanjing has no shortage of potential audience members, and Nanjing has no shortage of culture, but the important question is how to use creative power to assemble people and culture in one place. In the stage setting, the show has removed the gorgeous and the complicated, such as stage decorations and props, leaving space for the full imagination. In the theatre space, this theatrical version of Li Shutong creates a relationship between the audience and the performance. There was texture to both the appearance and essence of the production, in pursuit of this relatively simple—but not simple—effect. This stage format provides a novel viewing experience.

Chen Jie, Dean of the School of Film and Television,

Nanjing University of the Arts

This was a fresh theatrical experience. As soon as they entered the theatre, the audience was invited to take a seat on the stage. The original auditorium was visible in the distance, and the performance platform just a few steps away. On the platform were three chairs, three small tables and three green desk lamps. The lights dimmed; the actors wore the simplest black clothes and came on stage with the script in their hands. The lighting changed only when it turned on at the beginning and when it turned off at the end. The whole play was performed through script-reading and micro-performances, amplifying the weight of the text itself and the concentration of the actors' emotions. For two hours, the audience was witness not only to Li Shutong's life, but also to the torrent of history. Not reaching for any material beauty onstage, the theatrical version of Li Shutong chose instead to return to the essential drama and the text, making the script the primary focus of the performance.

 Guo Bei and Wang Huan, New Jiangsu·China Jiangsu Net

About Li Shutong

"My monk name is Yanyin, and my dharma name is Hongyi. In lay times, my surname was Li. When I was a child, my name was Wentao, my scientific name was Guanghou, my childhood name was Chengxi, and my nickname was Shutong. When I was young, I changed my name many times, Li An, Li Ai, Li Xishuang, Li Ying, Li Fan, Li Guangping…"

When one hears the name Li Shutong, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is the song Farewell. Few people know about Li Shutong himself.

Li Shutong used more than 200 names in his lifetime, which show his 200 cycles of despair and hope. To interpret "Li Shutong" overall in the context of the era, we must first not forget that he is, first and foremost, a person. Times and history will change, but what remains the same will always be people's hearts. What kind of person is Li Shutong? The audience will have an answer by the conclusion of this production.

Credits

Playwright: Du Xianghong

Director: Duan Fei

Cast:

Wang Jun as Li Shutong

Yang Renxi as Yang Cuixi/Xue Zi

Zhang Bo as Duan Zhirui

Zhou Yu as The Soul of Hong Yi

Guo Yanghanlin as Li Wenxi

Fu Jiahao as Wang Ba

Li Jiaxin as Xu Huanyuan

Qu Lingxi as Cheng Xi

Live Bass Drum-Fan Lin

Live Snare Drum-Yang Chuang

Live Hang/Wooden Fish/ Wind chimes-Ma Cuitan

Presenter: Chen Jie

Supervisor: Dong Bei

Planner: Su Shan

Coordinators: Li Yifeng, Zhang Fengsheng

Set Director: Sheng Xiaoying

Executive Producer: Zhang Guanghui

Lighting Design: Zhang Xinwen

Sound Design: Liu Ruifeng

Multi-media Design: Hu Zhibo

Director Assistant: Xie Linxi

Sound Operator: Li Jiayi

Costume/Make-up: Chen Xiaoshuang, Cao Baowen

English Subtitles: Wang Zhenhui

Stage Art Technical Team: Stage Art Center of Jiangsu Performing Arts Group

Guiding Unit: Publicity Department of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee

The first incubation project of Jiangsu Incubation Center

About Duan Fei

Duan Fei is a professor of the Nanjing University of the Arts and the founder of Breathing Theatre Club. In 2005, he won the Gold Award of the International Drama Festival for The Enemy of the People. In 2006, Death Without a Burial Place won the Gold Award of the China Caoyu Drama Festival. In 2007, he won the Five One Project Award. He has won the Gold Award of the National College Student Drama Festival many times. The large-scale opera Qiu Zi rehearsed in 2015 was the first special performance for the National Memorial Day. In 2016, he won the Gold Award in the Drama Unit of the Shanghai International Arts Festival. In 2017, he won the overall championship of the Tencent Drama Annual Awards. In 2019, Red Sky was invited to perform at the Wuzhen Theatre Festival. In 2021, he assisted Stan Lai in directing AGO, closing performance of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.

About Nanjing Arts Institute

The School of Film and Television at the Nanjing University of the Arts was formerly known as the Drama Department of Nanjing University of the Arts, founded in 1969. In December 1998, the school resumed and the Department of Film and Television Arts was established. In January 2006, it developed into the Academy of Film and Television. The college currently has a master's program in film studies, a doctoral program in film studies, and supports post-doctoral work in film studies. Across all Jiangsu Province colleges and universities, the Performance major and Drama, Film and Television Literature major have been celebrated as exemplary majors. "Drama and Film Studies" was selected as a key discipline for Jiangsu Province's "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" from 2016 to 2018. In the fourth round of the national discipline evaluation announced by the Ministry of Education in 2017, this discipline was rated as "B+" and ranked Sixth, from 2018 to 2019, and was selected as an advantageous discipline in Jiangsu Provinces "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan.”

About Breathing Theatre

Breathing Theatre Club, referred to as Breathing Theatre, was founded in 2006 by Duan Fei and the graduates of Nanjing University of the Arts, performing between breaths. Acting is a human study, one which requires a high degree of integration between the performer (the first self) and the character (the second self), thinking about what the character thinks and what the character touches, so as to appreciate the character's thoughts from a level as  delicate as breathing. Performance is the art of action. Among human actions, breathing is the ultimate one. It contains the rhythm of human internal and external behavior, and it also nurtures the power of life. The meaning of Breathing Theatre Club is that the performance in the breath allows us to feel the charm of the theatre, the texture of life, and the true meaning of life.