Huichang Theatre Season 004 is here! Standing once again atop the ancient city walls of Huichang, as far as the eye can see, the village remains embraced by verdant mountains and crystal-clear rivers, with drifting clouds and echoing breeze. The Theatre Village inside the ancient city gates of Huichang has now undergone seven years of construction, three years of operation, and the hosting of four theatre seasons. With the continuous support of the local government, Stan Lai and his team—driven by their love for Lai’s ancestral home and a fervent devotion—have delivered an outstanding result that includes the most unique, creative forms, brilliant international visions, and dedicated services. Together, they have provided a harmonious and joyful stage for cultural exchanges between China and the world, while laying the foundation for a highly promising cultural ecosystem for the people of Jiangxi and Huichang.
In January 2024, the Huichang Theatre Village and the Huichang Theatre Season officially opened. Over the past three years, the village has brought 11 million tourists and spectators to the region, creating a cultural core where "there are plays to watch every week and events to attend every holiday." Local residents as well as tourists from within and outside the province have widely acclaimed the cultural influence created by Huichang. The village has become an engine for the ancient city’s innovative future, merging the cultural history of the old town with an open stage for international theatrical performances. This breathtaking result is a product of Stan Lai’s meticulous and professional synthesis of his humanitarian observations of his ancestral home with its practical needs, which enables a town that was once tucked away in a quiet corner to shine brightly on this historical stage. As press reviews commented: "Huichang Theatre Village is not only a 'show' gifted by Stan Lai to his ancestral home, but also a city experiment 'starting from the shows' conducted by the Huichang County. Instead of following the old paths of traditional ancient towns, it uses an international theatrical language to redefine the soul of a mountain city in Southern Jiangxi."
Huichang Theatre Season 004 marks yet another new dedication from Stan Lai. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the creation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, Lai brings both the Heritage Edition and the Theatre Converge Version of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, alongside its continuation River/Cloud, to Huichang. Meanwhile, Dreamwalk, a site-specific roaming drama set in an ancient mansion, created in collaboration with the Gan opera Theatre of Jiangxi Province, will be staged at the Xiuchun Theatre.
Within 10 days, nearly 30 domestic and foreign shows and 400 performances will be staged at Huichang. The grand opening play, Henrik Ibsen's classic Hedda Gabler, directed by the internationally renowned theatre and opera director Travis Preston, will meet audiences for the first time on May 29th. Commissioned by Huichang Theatre Village and co-produced by Three Friends/One Spirit, this is an in-residence creation. Mr. Preston is particularly celebrated for his groundbreaking interpretations of Henrik Ibsen's plays. He stated that this collaboration with the Chinese team "liberated Ibsen's masterpiece in unexpected ways—revealing the deep mythological resonances that most Western readers, critics, and practitioners have overlooked." He further noted that the environment, resources, and the grace and warmth shown by the people of Huichang Theatre Village have provided solid support for the imagination, incubation, and development of this work.
Heaven and earth coexist, and life is like a tree. On the Lai Family Mansion Plaza, a raw, organic life dance theatre, Cosmic Tree—artistically directed, choreographed, and performed by dancer Da Zhu (Zhu Fengwei) under the artistic guidance of Yang Liping—will give a breathtaking performance. In Huichang Theatre Village, trees have always symbolized wisdom and vitality. This time, Cosmic Tree will perform in a brand-new version in the Lai Family Mansion Plaza, presenting a ritual that spans thousands of years where the dialogue between heaven, earth, trees, and humans take place, allowing the audience to glimpse the realm of "the unity of heaven and humanity."
Cutting-edge creations will also take turns to perform on the stage of the Experimental Theatre. Hao Lei’s directorial debut, SLAY, restrained yet sharp, tells the story of a soul pushed to the brink by the "Five Poisons"—greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt—who cuts off all obsessions at the moment of collapse, ultimately revealing its true nature. Using a minimalist stage and powerful physical expressions, this play directly confronts the spiritual dilemmas deep withinthe human nature.
Teatro Biondo di Palermo from Italy brings La scortecata, regarded as one of director Emma Dante’s most representative works in the European touring circuit. Employing the style of Commedia dell'arte through a minimalist stage and highly physical acting, it transforms Baroque folk narratives into a contemporary expression of desire, aging, and illusion.
Taiwanese young actress Li Shao-chieh brings her original written, directed, and performed work Of Seals and Scripts Untold. Drawing from life experiences, it focuses on the pain shared by contemporary youth, opening up a dialogue with pain itself.
In addition, Huichang Theatre Season 004 witnesses the vigorous blossoming of the Intangible Cultural Heritages (ICH). Famous musician and ICH inheritor A Duo will present her newly directed work She Knows. Multiple ICH musical artists will gather on stage, blending the depth of intangible cultural heritages with the artistic power of modern stage aesthetics to narrate the spiritual inheritance shared by generations of women.
Outdoors, "Theatre Around" drives audiences wild every year, and this year welcomes over 200 performances from more than ten domestic and foreign troupes! The Les Rustines de l'Ange company previously visited Huichang during the Spring Festival. This time, they return with their healing encore performance of accordion, Ça Va Valser, and a new work CoraSon, blending music and poetry. Utilizing accordions, percussion, and vocals, they create a unique soundscape that envelops the audience, inviting them to become part of the "heartbeat." The KinoPan Troupe's PANORAMA arrives in China for the first time, using a wondrous "cinema" built on flat ground to guide the audience in a journey between the world inside and the world outside the show. Furthermore, the Youth String Lion Troupe from Xingxian Village, Huotong Town, Ningde, Fujian, will bring their ICH skill—string lion, inherited for over 1,300 years—to Huichang, allowing this ancient technique, hailed as "a unique wonder of China," to step onto the international stage...
The 2nd "Flying Horse Project," themed "Long Time No See, You Look ____," arrives as scheduled to welcome three young troupes: Sunlight Children’s Drama’s The Magical Shop, director Xue Lei’s Pingju opera Homecoming Road, and SpArkling Theatre's Embrace, to showcase the vigorous power of young Chinese theatre makers.
"Dialogues between Masters", the "Village Guest Room", highly creative workshops, and the "Feast of Hakka People" will constitute part of the over 300 activities that bring together tourists and audiences from all over the world during the 10-day theatre season. We welcome everyone with all our hearts to measure their subjective happiness through this theatrical feast, in this beautiful place of mountains and rivers. In the art of theatre, we shall find an important way leading to happiness.
Let us spend these delightful days together in Huichang, and let the time pass joyfully...