Venues lay down welcome mat for audiences

On March 30, Mailive launched a new brand, Theatre Rocks, aimed at young audiences. The brand has introduced 21 theatrical productions, including plays, musicals and immersive theater performances.

These productions include Chinese musical The Devil. Based on Goethe's classic drama Faust, and featuring singers Liu Lingfei and Ye Qisheng, it will be staged in Shanghai on May 24 before starting a 10-city tour from July.

Li Jing, head of Theatre Rocks and also a producer, said, "Original scripts are key for growing the market, so we will work with professional institutions to train new talent."

Such collaboration includes Fly Plan, a musical talent training project launched with Shanghai Grand Theater. Meanwhile, the Drum Tower West Theatre in Beijing is involved with a talent development project aimed at discovering and supporting young Chinese directors.

Su Xi, deputy general manger of the latter venue, said: "The theater has become popular with young people since it was founded in 2014.Although we struggled financially during the pandemic, we never stopped preparing new productions while the theater was temporarily closed last year."

On Jan 16, the reality show Theater For Living premiered on the online streaming platform iQiyi. The inspiration of director-actor Huang Lei, a co-founder of the Wuzhen Theater Festival in Zhejiang province, the show was well received by critics and audiences.

It featured eight actors and directors, who spent two months living together and creating new works in the ancient water town of Wuzhen, which is home to the annual festival.

The show launched with Huang posing the question: "Can you make a living from working in theater?"

The festival has built a reputation among theatergoers since it was first held in 2013.Plays are staged at indoor venues and outdoor areas. Forums, workshops and street performances also give the town a carnival atmosphere during the festival.

Due to the pandemic, the eighth Wuzhen Theater Festival was postponed. When Theater For Living ended on March 27－World Theater Day－the festival organizers announced that the event would be staged in October.

To date, 146 theatrical productions from 27 countries have been staged during the festival, which has attracted total audiences of more than 220,000. Over 2 million visitors have joined the traditional opening parade.

The day after Theater For Living premiered, Huang wrote on Sina Weibo, where he has more than 40 million followers, that he simply wanted to let more people know about "these great theater actors and directors who may lose jobs due to the pandemic".

"As a live art form, how do people working in theaters survive the coronavirus crisis? Why do they keep pursuing their dreams in theater although they are struggling financially? The idea of portraying the lives of those people popped into my head and resulted in a reality show," Huang wrote.