Brazil's Armazém theater group to perform 'Neva' in Shanghai
Brazil's Armazém Theatre Company is bringing the play "Neva" to Shanghai on June 28 and 29.
Guillermo Calderón, a Chilean playwright and theater director, wrote the play in 2005. The title refers to the Neva River in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The play is based on events that rocked the then-Russian Empire's capital on January 9, 1905, when demonstrators marched to deliver a petition to the Tsar, requesting improved working conditions in factories.
Olga, the widow of Russian writer Anton Chekhov, and two actors are rehearsing for the play "The Cherry Garden" in a theater when they are forced to take cover from firing that occurs in the streets, a massacre that came to be dubbed "Bloody Sunday" and eventually became a catalyst for the revolution that led to the establishment of the Soviet state.
Calderón uses the theater as a border to create two parallel spaces: the street outside the theater that is unseen to the audience, seemingly fictional, yet has left an indelible stamp on Russian history. At the same time, the audience can view the rehearsal inside the theater, which appears to be real but is continually being simulated and reconstructed around "Chekhov's Death."
The play uses the theater as the boundary to construct two parallel spaces.
The play's minimalist stage design but intense discourse are supplemented by live electric guitar music that gives a punk-like atmosphere to history.
"Neva" courageously picked Chekhov, a man who dedicated his life to combining art and reality, to play the role of separating art from truth. It examines the social functionality of drama and theater. The play explores the debate: "Does drama need to be separated from reality?"
The play is in Portuguese but will have English and Chinese subtitles.
The play explores "drama" and "theater's" social role.
Performance info
Dates: June 28-29, 2pm/7:30pm
Tickets: 180-580 yuan
Venue: Theater YOUNG
Address: 1155 Kongjiang Rd, Yangpu District 杨浦区控江路1155号
