Culture

Digital technology reproduces the beauty of drama - high-definition video version of the play 'Green Snake'

2025-08-26   

The 2025 China National Theatre's "CNT Live" high-definition screening season is currently underway in over 30 theaters across the country. The play 'Green Snake', which premiered in the Year of the Snake in 2013, has maintained an extremely high popularity after being presented to the audience in a new form in another Year of the Snake. This indicates that the play, like 'Life and Death Field', 'Orphan Zhao', 'The Great Mansion Gate', 'Beijing Fayuan Temple', and others that appeared in this exhibition season, has become a classic drama that has been tested by the audience and time. CNT Live breaks through the limitations of traditional theater physical space, viewing relationships, and geography through digitization, real-time shooting and switching from multiple camera positions, and achieves an immersive experience for online audiences on stage. Through the high-definition images with diverse angles and rich scenery, many viewers who watched the performance of "Green Snake" exclaimed that the actors' facial expressions, body movements, and clothing patterns were breathtakingly beautiful. The close-up and close ups in front of them perfectly connected with the stage scenes in their memories. The play "Green Snake" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Li Bihua. Screenwriter and director Tian Qinxin interprets the well-known folk legend "The Legend of the White Snake" with the idea that the characters in the play belong to the three realms, endowing this legendary story that originated in the Song Dynasty with a unique classical charm, fresh Eastern Zen flavor, and an otherworldly modern atmosphere. In the drama, Xu Xian is an ordinary person and a realist; White Snake wants to become a compassionate and righteous person, trying to forget that she was once a demon; Even if the green snake becomes a human, it still remembers clearly that it has been a demon; Fahai wants to become a Buddha, but he must fight against his inner demons. They are unable to achieve their wishes and must find a way out through practice, so that the audience can empathize and see hope. The main stage design of the drama is inspired by the "brick and mortar walls" of Jiangnan residential buildings. With the combination of lighting, multimedia, music, water, and fog, it creates a misty Jiangnan atmosphere and a beautiful and ethereal Eastern image. When Fahai sang the Southern Song Zen poem with a childlike voice, "Spring has flowers, autumn has moon, summer has cool breeze, winter has snow, if there is nothing else to worry about, it is a good season in the world," he appeared with his hands clasped together in the smoke, introducing himself in modern language; When the green and white snakes appeared with their waist twisted in the mist, expressing their desire to become adults; When scenes such as the solemn Jinshan Temple, the mysterious magical world, and the graceful human Lin'an City switch freely... The character images and themes are both unconventional and establish emotional connections with the audience. The white snake and green snake in the play are no longer the relationship between the protagonist and supporting role, master and servant girl in most white snake literature and art works. They represent two kinds of female images and tell the two emotional states of women. White Snake is beautiful and dignified, taking it as her duty to take care of her husband and educate her children. Green Snake is straightforward and honest, ultimately shedding tears and tasting the taste of being a human. Fahai also subverts the audience's perception. He has a clean and harmonious temperament, stirring up waves with compassion and letting go of obsession with understanding. The impressive portrayal of several main characters by the audience cannot be separated from the brilliant portrayal of the actors. Qin Hailu and Yuan Quan both have 7 years of experience in traditional Chinese opera. They respectively use their graceful cloud steps and beautiful figures to portray the rebellious yet humorous "contradictory complex" of the Green Snake, which is sometimes charming and sometimes cute. They also portray the mature and lively White Snake, which exudes a warm and gentle exterior that cannot conceal its inner passion. Xin Baiqing uses a layered performance to portray the process of a character's growth and transformation, from steadfast cultivation to inner turmoil, and ultimately to enlightenment, allowing the audience to see the character's growth and transformation. The performances of Qin Hailu, Yuan Quan, and Xin Baiqing remind people of the performances of Han Tongsheng and Ni Dahong in "The Field of Life and Death", Xi Meijuan, Zhou Jie, Jia Yiping in "Beijing Fayuan Temple", Liu Wei, Zhu Yuanyuan and other actors in "The Great Mansion Gate", demonstrating that excellent actors have a high level of self-cultivation. Actors need to possess strong professional skills and a serious creative attitude in order to give their characters life and soul. Since its premiere at the 2013 Hong Kong Arts Festival, the play "Green Snake" has toured in multiple cities in China and has been invited to appear at the Kennedy Festival in the United States and the Edinburgh International Arts Festival in the United Kingdom. With the beauty of blending classical and modern elements, it contributes the power of theatrical art to the international dissemination of Chinese stories. We look forward to the future expansion of CNT Live both domestically and internationally, allowing more audiences to appreciate the charm of Chinese drama and art through high-definition images of works such as' Green Snake '.

Edit:GUAN LUCIANA Responsible editor:Zhang Lin

Source:people.cn

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