Spring has sprung, so get out and enjoy it
The hot events in Shanghai in April include several tours by famous singers, some musicals and dramas based on masterpieces and lots of amusing exhibitions.
April is toy time, big time
★ Highlight: an excellent mix of premier art toy brands
Fresh off the success of last year’s debut Beijing Toy show, show organizer Popmart is branching out with the brand-new shanghai Toy show.
Many of the big exhibitors from BTS will be back for STS. Based on the Beijing show’s strong exhibitor lineup and the rave reviews praising the show’s impressive organization, people are expecting STS to be quite the show.
As part of his Zu and Pi project, Steven Choi will release his new Pi and Miss Weather figures with a rainy-weather theme from how2work, while Unbox will be making their way to China with a wave of purple vinyl. Other artists or brands including T9G, The Little hut and Coarse will also bring their new designs to the exhibition.
Date: April 5-7
Venue: Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center
‘Nomadic artist’ Keren Ann coming to town
★ Highlight: a singer and songwriter with artistic freedom
As part of her 2018 China tour, Keren Ann, a singer, songwriter and composer based largely in Paris, will appear in shanghai on April 20.
Although she has been hastily dubbed a “cosmopolitan singer” and a “nomadic artist,” she prefers to steer clear of any kind of labeling, be it geographical or musical.
Born Keren Ann Zeidel in Israel to a Russian-Israeli father and a Dutch mother, she grew up in Paris. Dividing her time between Paris and new York, she has undertaken many projects in Iceland, explored several continents and performed in the United states as well as Asia.
She plays guitar, piano, and clarinet.
She is fiercely attached to her artistic freedom, and to the people she has met along the way, travelling more as a conscious explorer than a roving adventurer. Following in the footsteps of artists who inspired her — Dylan, Cohen, pringsteen — she has devoted her life to songwriting and storytelling.
Date: April 20
Venue: Shanghai Centre Theater
Feel the love with James Blunt on tour in Shanghai
★ Highlight: the singer who received five Grammy Award nominations
English singer-songwriter James Blunt will hold his tour “The Afterlove Tour 2018” in shanghai on April 4.
Blunt achieved international fame with his hit singles “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover,” from his 2004 debut album debut album “Back to Bedlam.” The album has sold over 11 million copies worldwide, topping the UK Albums Chart and peaking at number two in the Us. “You’re Beautiful” was number one in the UK, the Us and a dozen other countries. “Back to Bedlam” was the best-selling album in the UK in the first decade of the 2000s.
Blunt has sold over 20 million records worldwide and won several awards, including two MTV Video Music Awards, two Brit Awards and two Ivor novello Awards and five Grammy Award nominations.
Date: April 4
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Arena Shanghai
The “Unknown” hospital
★ Highlight: a series of interesting settings and lectures
An “Unknown” hospital has been open in Joy City in shanghai, including a series of exhibitions and lectures.
The “hospital” has five departments: stomatology, surgery, internal medicine, radiology and psychology, which refer to food, fashion, study, photography and mentality. In different departments, you can see a shanghai food map, a color matching room, an e-book display wall, a photography space, and other interesting settings.
Besides, there will also be some experts holding lectures from time to time. The themes include finance, nutrition, fashion, emotion and so on.
Date: Through April 15
Venue: Joy City
Arch Enemy bringing their ‘melodic death metal’ soon
★ Highlight: a Swedish melodic death metal band
Arch enemy, a Swedish melodic death metal band, will be in shanghai on April 7 as part of their “Will to Power China Tour 2018.”
The band has released 10 studio albums, three live albums and three pieces of video.
Arch enemy was originally fronted by Johan Liiva, who was replaced by German Angela Gossow as lead vocalist in 2000.
Arch enemy’s musical style has been classified as melodic death metal. The band’s sound is described as a “blend of progressive and death metal influences.” earlier albums, such as Burning Bridges, while still classified as melodic death metal, are more centered on classic death metal.
Date: April 7
Venue: ModernSky Lab
Revel in the world of the Bard
★ Highlight: a monologue based on Shakespearean plays
“Revel's World of Shakespeare” is a monologue drawing on the works of the great British playwright that has received global acclaim.
The monologue was written by Joseph Graves, a long-time China resident and co-founder of Peking University’s Institute of World Theater, who will also act and direct.
Graves draws heavily on his considerable personal experience with Shakespearean plays and study of the Bard’s works.
Graves magically weaves a wildly comedic and deeply moving tale of childhood confusion and exploration, relating it all to the greatest of English writers, William Shakespeare.
Date: April 20-22
Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater
The timeless story of star-crossed love
★ Highlight: Shakespeare’s eternal love story
The famous French musical version of “Romeo and Juliet” will come to shanghai during April 5 to 21.
The original version of the story about two love struck teenagers from two feuding families in the Italian city of Verona was written by William Shakespeare early in his career.
The deaths of the young lovers ultimately reconciled their families.
“Romeo and Juliet” was one of the most popular of Shakespeareans plays and remains an enduring classic — inspiring countless plays, movies and musicals based on their tale.
Their names have become a byword for young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belong to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back centuries. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse in the 16th century.
Date: April 5-21
Venue: Shanghai Culture Square
Jane Eyre’s long path to true love
★ Highlight: a classical interpretation of the famous novel
The famous drama “Jane Eyre” by Chapterhouse Theater Britain will be performed in shanghai from April 3 to 8.
“Jane Eyre” is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. The novel is a first-person narrative from the perspective of the title character. The novel’s setting is somewhere in the north of England, late in the reign of King George III (1760–1820).
It goes through five distinct stages: Jane’s childhood at Gateshead hall; her education at Lowood school; her time as governess at Thornfield hall, where she falls in love with her Byronic employer, Edward Rochester; her time with the rivers family, during which her earnest but cold clergyman cousin, st. John rivers, proposes to her; and ultimately her reunion with, and marriage to, her beloved Rochester.
Date: April 3-8
Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater