无锡电台专访报道

Ms-L协助英国哈特伯瑞克戏剧表演团为中国观众特意打造了这版戏剧 《罗密欧与朱丽叶》, 用一种崭新的现代手法再现这个凄美的爱情故事。以欧洲文艺复兴时期的罗马建筑和服装为背景,有爱情,有搏斗,有幽默,有诗句,有哲理,还有歌和舞,并配有中文独白以帮助观众跟着情节走。此戏剧不仅适宜于广大的英语爱好者,而且不会英语的人也能够跟着情节走,欣赏表演,此戏剧也适用于大中小学生,了解莎士比亚的经典作品,感受地道的英语口语。

英国哈特伯瑞克话剧演出团成立于1991年,以制作和演出英国经典著作名剧为主,如莎翁的作品,简.奥斯丁的作品,狄更斯的作品等待,先后制作了50多部戏。很多经典著作的故事情节都有时间和历史的局限性,为了适应时代的要求,他们通常把经典作品现代化,结合现实题材,体裁过时内容,添加诙谐幽默,增加与观众互动的气氛。

英国是一个文学灿烂,演出经验丰富的国家。自莎士比亚时代开始,他们的大型舞台作品就很成熟,舞台话剧《罗密欧与朱丽叶》五百多年前就有了, 几百年来沉淀了多少精湛的表演技艺,再加上他们的文学作品丰富深奥,演员素质都很高,使英国舞台创作排在世界第一。英国这个国家创作了无数舞台经典,给欧美的舞台发展奠定了基石。例如: 《音乐之声》,《飘》,《欢乐人间》,《窈窕淑女》等等数不尽经典的作品在60年代就在世界舞台上打响了. 此节目不仅英语爱好者能够听到地道的英语,中国的文艺舞台爱好者也会受益不浅。

 The video on the left is the report on on Wuxi City TV

As featured on the Wuxi report :As one of the branch venues for the Shanghai International Arts Festival 2018, the Wuxi State Theatre was proud to introduce the Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, produced by the British theatre company Heartbreak Productions. 

 It was staged in Wuxi China in 2018.  Heartbreak Theatre was established in 1991, and it is famous for adopting and adapting British classic works into contemporary style via humorous dialogue, exquisite plotting  and clever scene setting.

In this performance of Romeo and Juliet,   the stilted old English was replaced by modern English, apart from a few of the more famous lines and poems which are retained. Also a Chinese narrator is in place to highlight each scene and to help Chinese audience follow the story.  

 When the TV reporter asked the troupe leaders Liu Li  and Maddy why  they choose Romeo and Juliet?  They replied that the first reason is that it is about Love, which is still a strong theme in current Chinese culture; the 2nd reason is that the story is very famous even in Chinese culture, so it is relatively easier for a Chinese audience to understand the play than it would be in some of Shakespeare’s other works.

Different from traditional British dramas and tragedies, this version of Romeo and Juliet is fresh and lively, and there is a lot of interaction with the audience. The acting area was broadened into the auditorium,  in many ways bringing the audience into the performance and catching their attention with every minute of the actor’s movements.”

One audience talked to the reporter: ’It is really worth watching these classic plays by the west. They do not have luxurious stage settings and props, but these actors are very dedicated to the show and their performances touch the heart of the audience.”

The end result was a tour de force in China that brought real cultural value to those who saw the shows and created an unforgettable series of valuable memories and experiences to the performers and crew that went on this unforgettable trip.