Young artists look at life's dilemmas
Wuzhen Theatre Festival brings together directors, playwrights and producers to compete with themes of humanity and self-exploration, Xing Wen reports in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.
As the two dinosaurs attempt to hatch this "dinosaur egg", a tragic story about their origins emerges — they were both abandoned by their parents in this cave, never having seen the outside world and too afraid to step into the scorching sunlight.
The play combines humor and tears, discussing themes of life, love and growth. At the end of the play, clips of a documentary from 10 years ago are shown on a screen, revealing a real story. The entire play serves as a metaphor for real world.
On Children's Day on June 1,2014, the Children's Welfare Institute of Jinan, Shandong province, opened the Baby Safety Island as a place to shelter abandoned infants.
The documentary clips shown on the screen capture scenes of the children, filmed by a friend of Xu.
On June 1 this year, Xu got the documentary from the friend, and watched the film intently on a train.
"I couldn't calm down for a long time. It's hard to blame anyone in the documentary," she says.
The 31-year-old theater teacher from Minzu University of China immediately wanted to express something through a play to think about love and responsibility.
"Bringing attention back to this story 10 years later is valuable amid the current intense discussions among young people about their reproductive choices," she says.
She adds that bringing the play to the Wuzhen Theatre Festival is a dream come true.
"All the staff here respect us and have given us a lot of creative space," Xu says. She won the special attention award during the festival.
