发布时间：2019-06-08发布者：
On June 8th, Chengdu witnessed the world premiere of the immersive play Stolen Heart co-produced by Usunhome and the renowned Chinese avant-garde director Mr. Meng Jinghui. Usunhome Avant-garde Theater was built in Donghu Park specially for this play. The over 8000 square meters are divided into 168 performing spaces of different dimensions, in which the audience walk about freely and see actors in close-up.
Fusion of Various Art Forms
Chengdu Elements Produce a “Dream in real life”
Nurtured by Chengdu’s rich avant-garde soil, Stolen Heart constructs a surreal theatrical world that depicts a fantastical version of Chengdu. In the nearly three hours, scenes from different plots are played simultaneously in different performing spaces, so the acting and scenes one sees depend on the route one takes. In other words, they vary from route to route.
Moreover, paintings and installations created specially for the theater by renowned artists such as He Gong also are also part of the creative vocabulary of Stolen Heart. That is to say, the play is a multifaceted aesthetic integration of multiple art forms such as acting, spatial arts, visual arts, multimedia, music and modern dancing.
In order for the audience to immerse entirely in the plots, the play uses a staggering number of props. According to Liu Chang, the co-director, there are over ten thousand props used in Stolen Heart. By seeing, touching and even using them, the audience gets to “live a dream in real life”.
Traditions Broken
by Stolen Heart’s Immersive Innovation
Traditional immersive plays tend to distinguish the audience strictly from the cast by letting the former wear a mask or a special sign. Having eliminated this practice, Stolen Heart immerses the audience completely in the plots. In Director Meng Jinghui’s opinion, although traditional immersive plays have destroyed “the Fourth Wall”, they have also built a new one between the cast and the audience by the use of new props. “Stolen Heart, by contrast, aims for complete immersion!” said he.
Apart from a few dialogues, the plots are mostly interpreted through body language, looks, music and dances. Such edgy experimental theatrical techniques create a surreal
atmosphere. To deliver perfect performances, the cast had been trained hard for long in training camps in both Beijing and Chengdu and had put on previews, hence its amazing performance that impressed the audience. Lucky members of the audience even have the opportunity to interact one on one with the actors and unlock hidden parts of the plots.
Integration of Culture, Tourism and Business
Reinvents Chengdu’s Theater Life
To complement Stolen Heart, East Lake Contemporary Urban Art Community is taking shape around Usunhome Avant-garde Theater as a major component in Chengdu’s “Three Cities and Three Capitals” Initiative. In addition to the café, restaurant, bar and merchandise shop inside the theater, there is a multipurpose gallery, a business startup center, a theatrical conservatoire and spaces for music and art events
inside the community. In this way, the art of theater is fusing with Chengudu’s urban lifestyle, which helps to create new business forms and new settings for more consumption.
The producer of Stolen Heart Mr. Qiu Wei is Chairman of Usunhome Group and of Usunhome Cultural Tourism. He said, “We hope Stolen Heart brings Chengdu not only a theater, but also an organic complex ideal for experiencing contemporary art and culture. It is intended to be a landmark on Chengdu’s map of contemporary art and a must-go spot for tourists.”
