By love-89.com In an interview on October 26, Hao Rong, the dean of the Central Academy of Drama, spoke about the significance of this year’s Guilin Arts Festival. “The opening performance is ‘The Spring and Autumn of Drama,’ which was originally showcased during the closing of the Southwest Drama Exhibition eighty years ago. It resonates deeply with the festival’s theme of ‘Looking Back and Moving Forward’ and inspires contemporary artists to carry on the spirit of the Southwest Drama Exhibition,” he explained.
The 2024 Guilin Arts Festival officially kicked off at the Guangxi Provincial Art Museum on October 26, featuring ‘The Spring and Autumn of Drama’ as the opening play.
The original Southwest Drama Exhibition took place in 1944, when nearly a thousand artists from 32 different theatrical groups across China gathered in Guilin for performances and exhibitions, marking a significant cultural event in the country’s history. Among the performances was ‘The Spring and Autumn of Drama,’ written by a team that included Xia Yan, Song Zhidi, and Yu Ling. This play was groundbreaking as it portrayed the struggles and lives of theater practitioners, showcasing the evolution of drama in China. It concluded the Southwest Drama Exhibition, an event hailed as a monumental moment in Chinese theater.
Eighty years later, theater artists return to the birthplace of the Southwest Drama Exhibition to revive this classic work, honoring its legacy while pushing forward.
“The time period depicted in this play feels distant to us, yet the themes resonate deeply with contemporary theater workers,” remarked Feng Li, the director of the China Children’s Art Theatre and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. “The stories it tells are still happening on and off the stage. I believe that though it was written eighty years ago, this play continues to have tremendous life force.”
Director Li Shan added, “Eighty years ago, ‘The Spring and Autumn of Drama’ served as the grand finale of the Southwest Drama Exhibition. Today, as we revisit this historic site and bring back the classics created by our theatrical predecessors, we hope to infuse Guilin—a city rich in history and artistic spirit—with renewed energy and vitality. We want the audience to feel the brilliance of this land, and let the light that once shone on our stages continue to sparkle across time.”