Theatre Above to open in Shanghai

Source: Shanghai Daily (9/25/15)
Drama front and center at Theatre Above
By Nie Xin

“Sand and a Distant Star”

AMERICAN born Taiwanese theater director Stan Lai founded Performance Workshop in 1984 with his actress wife Ding Nai-chu in the living room of their Taipei home.

Over the next three decades, this venture led to the birth of numerous acclaimed dramatic works — including “That Evening, We Performed Crosstalk” (1985) and “Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land” (1987), which was later adapted into an award-winning film.

Thanks to these and other productions, Lai is regarded as one of Asia’s most talented and prolific theater directors. Meanwhile, Ding is also seen as one of the most influential producers in Asia, with over 60 productions to her credit.

With a lengthy string of accomplishments and accolades behind them, the couple is about to realize another milestone — the opening of their own theater at Xujiahui’s Metro City shopping center in November.

Theatre Above, as the new performing art space is known, will be only the second theater dedicated to stage drama in downtown Shanghai — after the Shanghai Drama Arts Center on Anfu Road.

For Lai and Ding, one important goal of Theatre Above is to make the stage drama experience more accessible.

“When I studied the history of world theater, I found that in civilized societies, beginning from ancient times in the West, theater was always located in the heart of the city center,” says Lai.

Lai also had a hand in designing and decorating the theater, which will be located on the fifth floor of Metro City. It will contain 699 seats and cover 2,530 square-meters of floor-space. According to Lai, the whole process of preparing and decorating the space took roughly six years of work.

In its Chinese name, the theater features the commonly-used character shang. This character, depending on context, can have several meanings, including “go to” or “to get on.” When one considers Lai’s vision for the theater, this character choice seems like no accident.

“Theater should be part of our daily lives today. Going to the theater is no longer something you need to dress up for or get serious about,” explains Lai. “As you’re having dinner with your friends in the mall, or doing some shopping, the idea can come into your head — ‘let’s go to the theater!’ It should be just as easy as going to a movie.”

Ding voiced similar sentiments. “Making theater part of people’s lifestyles is one of the most important missions of Theatre Above,” she says.

Theatre Above is set to open to the public this November with the soft opening of “A Blurry Kind of Love,” a romantic comedy adapted from the 18th-century French work “Le Jeu de l’amour et du Hasard.”

Directed by Ding’s younger sister, Ding Nai-Zheng, the show will star award-winning Taiwan actor Qu Zhong-Heng and pop-star Ella Chen.

The grand opening show “Sand and a Distant Star” will be staged in December, and is slated to star veteran Hong Kong film star Cheng Pei-Pei. Originally created by Lai in 2003, this dark-comedic work focuses on street food vendor who suspects her lost husband is kidnapped by extraterrestrials.

“Performing drama is one of my dreams,” explains Cheng, who was born and raised in Shanghai but relocated to Hong Kong in 1961. Since then, Cheng has appeared in dozens of films, including “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000).

“I’m new to the theater, so ‘Sand and a Distant Star’ will be a big challenge. My performance will be an exam, to see if I’m qualified as an actress,” the star observed.

“This 2003 work was very popular at the time, but has only been performed in Taiwan Province and Singapore. Theatre Above will provide the chance for it be seen by a larger audience,” says Lai.

Theatre Above has already planned its performance calender into August 2016. So far, the program includes several of Lai’s own works, such as “Die Winterreise,” “Crosstalk Travelers” and “Just Play It,” as well as dramas from other troupes.

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