How Can Chinese Drama Be Enjoyed Internationally?

This year marks the 110th anniver- sary of the introduction of European drama to China. On October 29， 2017， the curtain fell on the 5th Wuzhen Theater Festival， hosted in a timehonored small town in Zhejiang Province. In only five years， it has already become one of the most influential drama festivals in Asia. While the festival often features a carnival-like atmosphere， its purpose is serious.

An increasing number of Chinese plays are finding their way to international stages these days， but mainly through platforms such as drama festivals. Drama residency or commercial performance tours still seem out of reach for Chinese theater artists. During this year’s Wuzhen Theater Festival， directors， playwrights and scholars from both China and beyond engaged in in-depth communication on this problem and shared their thoughts on how to present Chinese drama to international audiences.

Communication Is the Root

“Recently five dramas staged by Chinese directors were performed in Germany，” American writer， scholar and actress Lissa Tyler Renaud said. “They were well received. One director even attracted a full page in a mainstream British newspaper. The West is interested in Chinese drama. So， why doesn’t the interest translate to more Chinese plays on international stages？”

“Whether a specific drama or play will be introduced is usually decided by a theater’s artistic director，” commented German scholar Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp， who serves as a senior advisor for International Development Strategy of Shanghai Theater Academy. “Thus， communication is tremendously significant. What the Wuzhen Theater Festival is doing now is building a platform for communication and exchange， which will facilitate deeper communication among people in the drama circle and enable international artists to find new and interesting plays to bring back to their home countries. It is a subtle and slow process. We may not get enough feedback in the short term， but it is definitely a worthwhile process.”

Globalization vs. Localization

Dr. Rossella Ferrari， a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies， University of London and an expert on Chinese drama， asked， “When we talk about Chinese drama going to the world， what exactly is the ‘world’ we mean？”

“When we say Chinese drama going to the world， we actually mean Chinese drama being understood and accepted by the West，” remarked Meng Jinghui， a Chinese director and co-founder of the Wuzhen Theater Festival. “In the global artistic landscape， Chinese plays should find a unique strength that can influence others. In the international context， how can a director better serve the audience in his or her own country？ That’s a more difficult question to answer.”

Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp responded，“This is also the question I’m always pondering. An excellent play must be created for a specific culture， which inherently means its expressive context may not be suitable for other cultures. Thus， we are actually talking about the conflict between globalization and localization. Theatrical creation never strives for perfect form， but rough style close to everyday life. It is more meaningful to bring these kinds of plays to other cultural contexts.”

Lissa Tyler Renaud added， “I agree with your thoughts on the birth of the phrase ‘drama globalization.’ It reminds me of the metaphor： To make plays specifically for Western culture is like painting your sofa at home. You should first look at the color of your sofa， then carefully decide what you can paint. Personally， I want to see more localized plays rather than plays made to match Western sofas.”

“China now places great emphasis on cultural confidence，” said Yu Rongjun， a Chinese playwright and chief director of the Shanghai International Theater Festival. “Chinese plays should neither be arrogant nor self-deprecating. Only with an open mind and a broad vision can Chinese plays ‘go to the world.’ Over the past two decades， the world has deepened its understanding of China and is eager to know more about China today. Plays can be an ideal platform for this purpose. Thus， Chinese playwrights often struggle with the dilemma： Should we create plays that cater to the West or at least aim to be accepted by the West， or should we produce plays for purely artistic intentions？ This actually is a tug-of-war between art， capital and audience. Those who only cater to capital and audience will get lost.”

The Misunderstood Is the Impetus for Understanding

Lissa Tyler Renaud noted， “Some people think robots will rule the future. But I think the future will be determined by translators. Translation is of great importance if a play hopes to succeed abroad. Many works created by worldclass theaters through tremendous efforts were ruined by terrible translations when they arrived on the international stage. Translations from one culture to another usually lose the original plays’ profound sense of humor. Bad translations destroy the artistic concept and aesthetics of the original dramas， making them even more difficult for foreign audiences to accept and understand.”

“The importance of translation is not only in language itself， but more cultural，” illustrated Yu Rongjun. “For example， translating Chinese drama is very difficult because translators must convey much more than just lines， but Chinese aesthetics， dramatic form and acting style. Behind the language itself is abundant cultural content.”

“Language shouldn’t be the barrier for Chinese drama going abroad，” stressed Meng Jinghui. “When people cannot fully understand each other from texts or languages， they can try to understand each other from details and can always find something different or something others may not notice. Plays are great because you cannot fully understand them. I want to quote a contemporary writer： The misunderstood is the impetus for understanding.”

Dr. Hans-Georg Knopp further explained， “Some subtleties which cannot be translated are beautiful. Theater criticism in the 19th Century was usually based on the comprehensive understanding of the text. But nowadays， people have already abandoned excessive dependence on text in drama. We attach greater importance to body language and postmodern expression.”