Honoring Dongshan's 'man of the trees'
“Worship Gu first, then our ancestors,” say the people from Dongshan County in Fujian Province.
The person they refer to is Gu Wenchang (1915-1981), Party secretary of Dongshan County and leading the local people to fight against desertification by planting trees.
A performance about his story will be staged at the Majestic Theater on May 18-19.
The realistic drama has been nominated for the Wenhua Award in the 12th China Art Festival in Shanghai. The Wenhua Award is the highest award for professional theatrical artwork by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Produced by the National Theater of China, the play portrays the faithful, responsible, hardworking and amiable Gu, who transformed an “uninhabited island” to a “treasure island.”
Instead of heroizing, the theater presents the real Gu as a devoted member of Communist Party of China.
Multimedia helps the audience get the true feeling of the harsh natural environment with drifting sands before Gu’s governance. Assembling some old videos, the immersive theater combines the virtual with reality.
A revolving stage speeds up scene-changes, unfolding his busy work and dedication to the development of Dongshan.
To better understand Gu, the cast went to the county eight times to research his story, rewriting the script more than 20 times.
“Gu Wenchang” has already been staged 72 times around the country and attracted more than 50,000 theater-goers, all touched and encouraged by Gu’s spirit.
Info
Date: May 18-19, 7:30pm
Tickets: 60-380 yuan
Tel: 6217 4409
Venue: Majestic Theater
Address: 66 Jiangning Rd
