Dark fairy tale is sure to intrigue audience
The Tony Award-winning play “The Pillowman” will be staged at the Majestic Theater from Wednesday to Sunday, inviting audiences to experience the charm of “dark fairy tales.”
Presented by Beijing Drum Tower West Culture Co, the play is based on the work of Irish playwright Martin McDonagh.
The original work features Katurian, a fiction writer who lives and works in a police state. As his stories are similar to several murders, he’s interrogated by the police.
“The playwright is good at writing about ‘evil people,’ always managing to display the small but sparkling aspects of their personality,” said producer Shi Hang. “I love the way ‘The Pillowman’ tells stories — one followed by another darker and fancier. I don’t like a stage filled with skills, when it should be filled with stories instead.”
Drum Tower West’s version was produced five years ago for small-scale theaters. The company revised it this year to suit bigger stages though the story plot remained the same.
“It’s a very tiring play for the crew,” said director Zhou Ke. “They always say they don’t want to touch the play again after each performing season, but keep going back on their word. This is the irresistible charm of the play.”
Zhou said the challenge of revising the play into a version for larger theaters lies in how to “spread the energy to a larger audience.”
“We made visual and audio changes, as well as upgrades in set design, music and multimedia application,” she said. “What remains unchanged is our intention to tell audiences good stories.”
Performance info
Date: September 18-21, 7:30pm; September 22, 2:30pm
Tickets: 180-880 yuan
Venue: Majestic Theater
Address: 66 Jiangning Rd