To mark the 400th Anniversary of two renowned literary masters’ deaths – Shakespeare and Chinese legend Tang Xianzu – the award-winning British physical theatre company Gecko has teamed up with Shanghai Dramatic Art Center to present the experimental play, The Dreamer, which combines both artists’ classic works. Director Rich Rusk from Gecko is obviously thrilled about what’s about to happen this month.
Led by Artistic Director Amit Lahav, the much-acclaimed Gecko was established in 2001 and has since brought selected works including Missing to Shanghai.
Gecko’s latest collaboration with Shanghai Dramatic Art Center, The Dreamer, is a special joint effort to celebratate literature masters William Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu, whose works – A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Peony Pavilion – prevailed in the same era yet in different countries.
According to director Rich Rusk from Gecko, the story is an emotional journey that reveals the unfortunate love life of a normal-looking young woman who attempts to improve her romantic life, while dealing with immense pressure from her parents.
“The inspiration was the dream scene in The Peony Pavilion, where the lady falls asleep to meet her loved one,” says Rusk. “The connection between these books is, undoubtedly, the dream scene. This is when we bring in some mythical characters with magical powers, like fairies.”
And this is the part that Gecko works its magic and steers the plot of two familiar stories onto an unexpected path. All of the characters will appear on stage with modern and ancient clothes to signify the time period in which the characters are living.
“One minute, she’d be in the office and then the next scene, she will fall into the sea. It’s like when you have a dream, but nothing that happened remains in her memory when she wakes up. We’ll have many things happening simultaneously to have the audience fully focused and engaged,” Rusk explains.
Fortunately, Gecko is known for its wild imagination and witty performances. With eight years of experience working at the company, Rusk has been involved in almost all of their major productions. While he’s delighted to apply all experiences into this new project and presenting it in a city he loves, he admits he has some worries.
“The creation process was less exhausting, but to find a way for all the characters to co-exist was quite challenging.” On that note, he credits the show's "amazing visual effects team" for bringing his peculiar ideas to life.
As new guests to the Gecko world, actors from Shanghai Dramatic Art Center were expected to meet the Gecko standard, That meant extreme physical training and being pushed out of their comfort zone. However, Rusk takes great care to note that The Dreamer is not a Gecko-leading play, but a work that's “made by locals and for locals.”
For local audiences, Gecko will still appeal to audiences regardless of their English level. As masters in physical theater, they tell their story through movements – a universal language that can be understood by everyone.
“We don't tell our audience what to think," Rusk adds. "What we do is like offering a contract that says, ‘We’ll do everything we can to make you have a good night, and all you have to do is be open.’ If you sign it, you’re in.”
Oct 7-23, 7.30pm, RMB80-380. Shanghai Dramatic Art Center.
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