Even a greatest artist would remain modest when he faces the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, for the nature of this arts festival is equality and freedom. In such an arts festival, it is a problem that whether a production can be seen by the audience or not, which is obviously different from an ordinary theater that has a condescending feeling, thus, in most cases, only the word “destiny” could explain the result that who can see whose works. There are four works presented in this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Although they are small in number, they can represent different states of contemporary Chinese theater to some extent. There are a student work, a work from an independent theater studio in Hong Kong, and two works recommended by Beijing Fringe Festival, among which Two Dogs’ Opinion on Life is the most mature one and it has been staged for nearly a thousand times, while remaining works are relatively experimental.
即使是最偉大的藝術家,面對愛丁堡邊緣戲劇節也會保持謙虛,藝術節的性質是平等與自由 的,因此是否能與觀眾見面都是問題,顯然和 通常劇場的那種居高臨下不同,更多的情況下, 只能用緣分二字形容誰能看到誰的作品。今年的愛丁堡邊緣戲劇節上有四部來自中國的 作品。雖然數量不多,但基本上可以分別代表中 國當代戲劇的不同狀態。一部學生作品,一部香 港獨立工作室作品,兩部北京青年戲劇節選送 作品,其中最成熟的《兩隻狗的生活意見》已經 上演近千場,其餘幾部作品相對具有實驗性質。
When Two Dogs’ Opinion on Life was performed in Edinburgh, the name was shortened to Two Dogs, and the poster for it took a world map as its background. In a few years after the play came into being in 2007, it has been staged for nearly a thousand times in large and medium-sized cities in China and its commercial success makes plenty of people optimistic about the market potential in China. The performance in Edinburgh is not the first time that Two Dogs is presented for foreign audiences, for it once participated in Festival d’Avignon and was staged in the Kennedy Center, thus, it is performed in a more relaxed way than many other Chinese works. The use of English in this performance comes as a surprise, and the comic effect of Chinglish is also re- creation of the original work. Flexibly making changes according to local conditions is highly commendable.
《兩隻狗的生活意見》在愛丁堡的演出更換了 劇名,簡略為《兩隻狗》,海報更是以世界地圖 為背景。從2007年面世至今短短幾年時間已經 在中國的各大中城市上演了近千場,它的商業 成功讓無數人看好中國市場的潛力。這不是 《兩隻狗》第一次面對外國觀眾,曾經參與過 阿維農戲劇節(Festival d’Avignon)並在甘迺 迪中心演出過的《兩隻狗》比很多中國本土作 品都顯得要放得開一些。此次演出使用英文非 常出人意料,中式英文(Chinglish)的喜劇效 果也是作品的再次創作,因地制宜地進行改變 的靈活性非常值得稱道。
I Am a Moon is a student work from yesoo Company, Nanjing University, China. This time, Professor Lv xiaoping who has been stressed that theater is for the people brings the work of students to the British audience. In the close-packed arrangement of venues in Edinburgh, adapting quickly to a venue and changes in venues is a challenge for every theatre. The performers also quickly join street publicity activities. Although the play is performed in Chinese, the audiences in Edinburgh have no longer been afraid of the language barrier, and are willing to sit down and take a look at such an original work from China.
《我是月亮》是南京大學藝碩劇團的學生作 品。一直強調戲劇是人民的呂效平教授這一次 把學生們的作品帶給了英國人民。在愛丁堡密 集的日程中,演員們不僅要迅速適應劇場和有 限時間的遷換場地,而且還要迅速地融入了街 頭宣傳的隊伍。雖然是中文演出,但是愛丁堡 的觀眾早不懼怕語言的障礙,願意坐下來看看 這樣一部來自中國的原創作品。
Detention is a physical theatre produced by Tang Shu-wing Theater Studio, Hong Kong. Works of Director Tang Shu-wing have always been greatly experimental. This work combines various elements such as dancing, martial arts, acrobatics, off-the-wall clowning and throbbing percussion. Two of the performers respectively have a background in martial arts and bodybuilding and in rock climbing, which is taken advantage of in the presentation to enrich the performance. The trailer of the production is shown on the stage of street publicity in the theatre festival, in which the female protagonist’s superb physical skills attract a lot of audiences for this production.
《打轉教室》是香港鄧樹榮工作室的一部肢 體戲劇作品。導演鄧樹榮的作品一直很具實驗 性。這部作品融入了舞蹈,武打,雜技,小丑表 演,打擊樂等元素。演員中有兩位分別有武術、 健美、攀岩背景,導演處理也充分地考慮了這些 元素,用以豐富演出。該劇在戲劇節街頭宣傳 的舞臺上曾經演出過片花,女主演的高超身體 技藝為本劇迎來不少觀眾。
