Listings

The Miser by Habima Theater

Date: March 8-10－7:30 pm

Venue: The Capital Theater

Price: 40-680 yuan

The Miser is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Moliere. It was first performed on September 9, 1668, in the theatre of the Palais-Royal in Paris. The Habima Theater, founded by Nahum Zemach in Bialystok in Poland in 1912, is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. Menahem Gnessin was one of its cofounders and early actors. Because its performances were in Hebrew and it dealt with issues of the Jewish people, it met with persecution by the Czarist government. Beginning in 1918, it operated under the auspices of the Moscow Art Theater, which some consider its true beginning. It encountered difficulties under the Soviet government as well after the Russian Revolution. Stanislavski arranged for the mainly Jewish Polish actors to be trained by Yevgeny Vakhtangov. The People's Commissar of Nationalities Affairs, Joseph Stalin, also authorized the theatre's creation.

Contact: 400-610-3721

Hamletas by OKT/Vilnius City Theater

Date: March 10-13－9:30 pm/2 pm

Venue: Shanghai Drama Art Center

Price: 180-380 yuan

Established in 1998, Oskaras Korsunovas Theater (currently bearing the name of OKT/Vilnius City Theatre) from the outset was determined to remain independent. Such a risk certainly did not come without sacrifices: the newly established theater did not have a stable source of income, offices, or rehearsal spaces necessary for efficient and creative work; neither did it have a permanent performance venue to present its productions on a regular basis. This daring step was taken for a single reason: OKT firmly decided to cut all relations with the theatrical reality of that time and create a new reality based on a contemporary theater language. The theater took further risks: it began to stage new dramaturgy, which at that time was hardly presented on the Lithuanian stage, thus proclaiming that the times had changed and the contemporary theater had to reflect the reality of the day. OKT set out to look for new ways to communicate with the audience, and alongside introduced new-style management. Despite a sharp reaction and controversial opinions, the audience received this brave venture with respect and acknowledgement. One could assert that in the long run the young director's artistic project won the theater the name of the most acclaimed and 'audience-friendly' act.

Contact: 400-610-3721