{"id":266,"date":"2018-11-29T20:50:39","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T20:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/?p=266"},"modified":"2022-02-06T20:42:29","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T20:42:29","slug":"chinese-directors-the-new-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/chinese-directors-the-new-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Directors: The New Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xi Muliang*<\/a> and Annie Feng**<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Abstract:\u00a0<\/strong>In the twenty-first century, a new generation of theatre artists has appeared on the stage of Chinese theatre. Compared with established theatre artists, the new generation is much bolder with its stage explorations. This article focuses on the latest stage creativity which has appeared in the twenty-first century, trying to analyze the reasons for this new phenomenon in the context of social development and theatre changes after the Opening-up and Reform in China.<\/p>\n

Keywords<\/strong>: directors, new generation, traditional forms, new forms<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the world witnessed China\u2019s economic boom. At the same time, the growth of cultural industries, rising levels of education among the younger generations and the prevalence of the Internet has led to the industrialization and diversification of culture, leading to profound changes in Chinese theatre. The theatre market has increasingly matured; private theatre companies have expanded in size and scale; the number of commercial theatre performances continues to grow. As a result, state-owned theatres no longer dominate the market and diverse opportunities and platforms for theatre artists have emerged.<\/p>\n

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Director Wang Chong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Under these circumstances, Chinese theatre has produced a new crop of directors we have dubbed \u201cthe New Generation of Chinese Directors.\u201d The majority of the New Generation were born post-1978, after China implemented economic reforms with the Reform and Opening-Up policy. The younger generation grew up under the influence of an earlier generation, seeing their shows and starting out on platforms they established, such as Beijing Fringe Festival and the College Theatre Festival. Members of this earlier generation include Lin Zhaohua (a standard-bearer of an even earlier generation, to be more precise), Meng Jinghui, Tian Qinxin and Li Liuyi.<\/p>\n

Speaking broadly, the most important challenges facing Lin, Meng, and other figures from the previous generation had been how to break away from the restrictions of the state-funded theatre system, how to do away with what has been characterized as \u201cstale, naturalistic\u201d acting and how to reflect upon social reality and critique social issues in their work. In comparison, the New Generation has gone further with formal experimentation and developed a more global mindset, creating works that have proven more diverse and individualistic in content and form.<\/p>\n

The New Generation\u2019s works tend to be theatrical experiments that bear the stamp of their personality, favoring personal experiences over grand political narratives and themes. Due to their relative youth, most of the New Generation have yet to fully mature as theatre artists. Undeniably, however, they have injected vitality into Chinese theatre and continue to attract more and more attention, owing to more enlightened attitudes toward creative work, and the growing maturity of the theatre market.<\/p>\n

Wang Chong (1982- ) is one of the torchbearers of the New Generation. Wang attended Peking University Law School and wrote theatre criticism as an undergraduate before becoming a theatre director and founding his own theatre company, Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du R\u00eave Exp\u00e9rimental. Wang\u2019s \u201c2.0\u201d shows, including Thunderstorm 2.0<\/em>, The Chairs 2.0<\/em>, Ghosts 2.0<\/em>, Teahouse 2.0<\/em> and others, reveal his determination to challenge tradition through contemporizing and deconstructing the classics.<\/p>\n

Video 1<\/h6>\n