Promotional material for Beijing Fringe Festival Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Fringe Festival
Promotional material for Beijing Fringe Festival Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Fringe Festival
The opening ceremony of the 16th Beijing Fringe Festival, an international theater festival, was held Tuesday at the National Theater of China in Beijing.
Established in 2008, the festival aims to cultivate young theater talent, present excellent theater works, promote the prosperity and development of Chinese theater, and facilitate cultural exchanges.
It has now become a grand gathering of international young theater artists. Meng Jinghui, the artistic director of the Beijing International Youth Theater Festival, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.
He mentioned that the world we live in is changing rapidly, but the festival has remained consistent for 16 years. "Whether it is the relationship between body and soul, between people, or between our stage and the audience, it seems that we are living outside the space-time tunnel, in the same moment. That is the moment of beauty, and also the moment of youth."
He expressed hope that the Beijing Fringe Festival would continue to have local feelings and international vision. So far, the festival has presented 519 works by young theater artists from all over the world, including 91 outstanding works from 20 countries such as Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia.
At the same time, excellent Chinese theater works have also reached the world stage through this platform.
There are 32 excellent theater works that have participated in various international theater festivals in Asia, Europe, America, Africa and Australia, with more than 600 performances.
Li Jianjun, the program director of the Beijing Fringe Festival, introduced the sections of this year's festival, which will last from September to December.
A total of 24 young creators from China, France, Poland, Georgia and other countries will bring 21 works with different themes and styles.
The upgraded "Theater in Reading" section will welcome 26 reading performances of 13 scripts.
"48 Hours V-Theater" has become the most challenging and exciting section of the festival since its establishment in 2014. The participating creators randomly draw topics and complete the creative tasks in a limited 48 hours in a space designated by the organizing committee.
They present their works on stage and are judged by professionals and public reviewers.
The "Tribute to Kafka" section will see actors adapt and present classic novels such as The Castle by Franz Kafka, a master of Western modernist literature. They will pay tribute to the master and respond to reality with contemporary theater concepts and methods.
Global Times
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