SICHUAN PEOPLE’S ART THEATRE
Being one of the art theatres specialized mainly in plays, Sichuan People’s Art Theatre, originally named The Southwest People’s Art Theatre was officially established in 1953.
The recent 50 years have witnessed the theatre performing 360 dramas, with approximately 10,000 shows and an audience of over 10million person times, touring all over China, receiving favorable comments from audience and experts.
The excellent contemporary plays from home and abroad presented by the theatre cover The Bell Ringing at the Kremlin, Family, The Press-gang, Thunderstorm, Hypocrite, the Centre Forward Died before the Dawn, and Miss Julie.
The dramas produced or adapted by the theatre include the following: A Carpenter, Red Phoenix’s Loyalty to the Sun, Hongyan, Zhao Qian Sun Li, Yueqin and A Little Cub, the Negotiation in Chongqing, and Admirable Mother and Daughter. Recent ten years see an unusually active creative atmosphere at the theatre. One after another, it produced the Tide in 1911, Old Royal City, Love of Bashan, Sailing through the Three Gorges, The Back-bone, fairy tale play Jiaojiao the Queen, musical for the youth Farewell Seventeen, The Bright Future, Born into the World, the Sino-British co-produced You Once Passed Me By, Dutiful Daughter, and Police, and A Thatched Memory, etc. To Mark the centennial anniversary of western play in China, the theatre ceremoniously presents a grand epic play Peasants. The above plays won time after time national prizes such as the Wenhua Award, and Five Number One Project by the Cultural Ministry, and were invited to participate in international Drama Art Festival.
Among all the Chinese theatres, Sichuan People’s Art theatre is the first theatre engaged in TV programme production. In 1985, the TV Department, now TV Production Centre, was founded. Since then, over several hundred TV plays have been produced and dubbed. The ones won commendation or award include Hongyan, the Reserved Affection, Lawyeress, Shining National Emblem, and Long Journey, etc. The Japanese film Bear, dubbed by the theatre, won the national Feitian Awards. Recently made grand TV series The Imperial Envoy Minister, Last Bullet, and The Chinese Company of Heroes that is soon to be presented are influential. The Centre has now become a key department to fully utilize the resources of the theatre.
The exploration of the theatre in stage art, together with its achievements in TV production enriches Bashu culture, and contributes greatly to a prosperous cultural cause and construction of spiritual civilization, and at the same time trains large quantities of well-known dramatists, directors, performers, choreographers, etc. They collectively turn the theatre into a flourish art palace.