Staging an anniversary

Kanner, who has been involved in experimental theater productions since the early 1980s, is a professor at the Department of Theater Arts of Tel Aviv University, Israel, who also leads the Ruth Kanner Theatre Group in Tel Aviv. Over the past two decades, she has worked in many countries, including China and India.

She read the English translation of the novel and tried to break the boundaries between the audiences and performers. She also invited Chinese musicians to play live music onstage with 19 instruments featured in the show. Actors and actresses sing along with the songs written by Chinese singer-songwriter Xiao He.

"The audiences form a 'river flow' with their seats scattered around the stage, which is a key element in the play," the director says.

"I am always intrigued by the relationship between theater and its audiences. The Border Town allows me to explore new possibilities in theater."

According to Li Yangduo, founder of Drum Tower West Theatre, the idea of launching the theater's first immersive theatrical production was born in 2023, after she noticed the changing tastes of the audience members born after 2000.

"These young people, unlike audiences of my generation, embrace change. Immersive theater places them within the show, instead of leaving them as observers. It transforms them from passive recipients to active participants," says Li.

In September 2023, The Border Town premiered at Drum Tower West Theatre.