CHINESE ELEMENT IN ENGLISH PLAY
"A Christmas Carol" can be different every time, and
most directors adapt it in personal ways, said Verrill, who was keen to give his
production a local flavor for Beijing audiences.
"I just can't wait to see people's reaction."
The reaction was a sudden intake of breath by the
audience. At the beginning of Act 2, just after the intermission, the "Ghost of
Christmas Present" suddenly appears, dressed flamboyantly in a Peking opera
costume, bright and jolly with a booming voice.
"Initially, we thought of having a traditional Father
Christmas or Santa Claus style. But then we decided to make it more spectacular,
a bit like a Chinese Father Christmas," said experienced actor Rodney Archer who
was "Ghost of Christmas Present" in the play. "It's a blend of East and West
because the 'Ghost of Christmas Present' is international and universal."
Archer has a masters degree of Fine Arts in Acting,
and has been a Hollywood character actor since the 1960s.
He said that when he emerged from stage blackout
shouting "Here I am, Ghost of Christmas Present", he intended to give the
audience a surprise.
"As far as I know, this is the very first time that
'A Christmas Carol' has been performed in China. We wanted to do the play
traditionally but at the same time inject some local color, to reflect the
energy of integrating two cultures, so we have added a touch of Peking opera,"
said Verrill.
The director's next performances will be a a comedy
in spring, a musical "The Sound of Music" scheduled for the autumn, and a "A
Christmas Carol" again next Christmas but in a different style.
"Come and see what kind of Chinese elements will be
added to next year's plays," he grinned.
AUDIENCE
A large part of the audience was foreigners living in
Beijing who were happy to mingle with the English-speaking community created by
the Beijing Playhouse. They also brought their Chinese friends, whether or not
they could speak English, to see the show.
For Chinese people, there were subtitles on a screen
above the stage, so everybody could take part in the show and understand what
was happening.
Verrill said different audiences reacted in a
different way. One night, a Chinese company audience were silent throughout the
show but after the curtain came down they said it was "wonderful".
Most Chinese audiences came from companies who had
purchased private performances for a party. Beijing-based Lehman Brown
International Accountants purchased every seat of a "Carol" performance last
December and invited employees, business partners and their families to the show
and held a party before it.
Russell Brown, managing partner of Lehman Brown, told
Xinhua that it's important to support the arts, which are flourishing again in
China, and that amateur theater and local community plays should be especially
promoted.
"For us, it's amusing that this is a play about an
accounts director, Mr. Scrooge, who we can say had excellent cost control
systems but nevertheless managed to become a nice person, and we are an
accounting firm too," said Brown.
Yang Dong, a graduate student of the Communication
University of China, has watched many plays, but it was his first time watching
an local English play by an amateur theatre group. He said Beijing, a city
aiming international, should introduce more art styles to its residents.
"Chinese people are coming because they enjoy a
different culture with subtitles and foreigners are coming because the play
reminds them of a traditional Christmas back home. It's a wonderful
combination," he said, adding Dickens' message of human kindness is universal
and timeless whether it's London in 1843 or Beijing in 2006.
"Thousands of people have been to see this show. It
doesn't have to be staged in a Great Hall of the People. If you have a good
time, then a small, intimate community environment is wonderful. Theatre adds to
the taste and richness of life. As Lin Yutang once wrote, Life is a feast. The
only question we have to answer is the question of our appetites."
