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‘Godot’ finishes run in Beijing

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2016-07-14 10:47Global Times Editor: Xu Shanshan ECNS App Download
A scene from Waiting for Godot Photo: Courtesy of National Centre for the Performing Art

A scene from Waiting for Godot Photo: Courtesy of National Centre for the Performing Art

"Godot!" the audience cheered as the lights in the theater brightened once again to reveal four German actors taking a bow on stage to a storm of applause.

Presented by the Deutsches Theatre Berlin, Waiting for Godot came to end on Saturday in Beijing. This final performance also marked the end of German festival Theatertreffen's first theater exchange with China.

"I'm quite proud," director Ivan Panteleev told the Global Times.

"It's a really good work so I was not really surprised they selected the piece," Panteleev said.

This is the first time Panteleev and his troupe have come to China. According to him, after his play was chosen to tour the world from among the 10 "most remarkable" productions at this year's Theatertreffen, they had visited a number of countries such as Brazil and Bulgaria. Of them, his trip to China has been the best.

"I thought 'It would definitely be great if we can go there [China] and perform.' It's a little dream for me, which is coming true," he said.

Setting the stage

Focusing on two tramps' surreal behavior and absurd dialogue, Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot has long been seen as setting the standard for a play that can entertain audiences, while also - as one review puts it - "putting them to sleep."

However, Panteleev's adaptation didn't seem to bore the audience at all.

Although the show was performed in German and the subtitles had a hard time keeping up with the tense and stormy dialogue, Panteleev used some eye-catching tricks throughout to keep the audience's attention on the play.

The most shinning example is probably the huge pit that sit at the center of a tilting stage. Most of the time, the actors stood on either side of the pit as either side of the stage moved up and down like a giant seesaw.

Panteleev admitted the pit was a difficult challenge because actors always want to stand right in the middle of the stage. However, the pros far outweighed the cons in the end.

The pit aside, Panteleev's stage dressing is purposefully simple. There are no baskets, no chairs, no bottles of wine, no bones, no shoes; all props have been replaced by a huge bright pink cloth.

After the show premiered in Shanghai, numerous people who saw the play began trying to figure out the metaphorical meaning behind this stage design. Some felt it reflected the chaos that was going on in the character of Lucky's head.

"Sure there is one," Panteleev said, explaining that the idea for the stage setting originated with Mark Lammert, the play's stage and costume designer. According to him, the meaning of the stage design should be obvious.

"Everything is very transparent," he said.

As to why he chose the color pink? Panteleev didn't give out an exact answer, but at a guess it probably represents hopes for a beautiful life.

  

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