Exploring cycle of history and human experience through comedy
Written and directed by Stan Lai, "Millennium Teahouse" combines traditional performance art with contemporary theater techniques.
Fusing the past and present, "Millennium Teahouse," a crosstalk show produced by Theater Above, will be staged at Shanghai Oriental Art Center on October 5-6.
Crosstalk, or xiangsheng, is arguably China's most popular type of comic performance. It is an art form in which usually two performers act out a dialogue between themselves.
Written and directed by Stan Lai, "Millennium Teahouse" combines traditional performance art with contemporary theater techniques.
The performance is divided into two parts. The first half is set in Beijing where crosstalk originated. During the performance, a member of the Chinese royal family barges in. With puns and jokes, they discuss several serious subjects such as history, humanity and the imminent doom of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
In the second half, the duo time travels to modern Shanghai where they're interrupted by a businessman, which turns into a ridiculous mess.
The play examines the cycle of history and human experience over the course of time.
"It's easy to make the audience laugh in a comedy but difficult to make them laugh meaningfully," said Lai. "We hope the play gives our audience something to think about and even has an impact on their lives."
"Millennium Teahouse" stars Zong Juntao, Wang Meng and Yang Yuguang, and is one of seven performances in "The Crosstalk" series created by Lai.
Lai returned from overseas in 1983 and found that traditional crosstalk had disappeared from the streets of Taiwan. Intending to protect the traditional performance art form, he created his inaugural piece, "That Evening, We Performed Crosstalk," in 1985.
