9 October 2018

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the 120th anniversary of Mr Tian Han's birth and the 50th anniversary of his death, the drama "Hurricane", produced jointly by the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) and the National Theatre of China (NTCC), was staged at the Setagaya Theatre on 6 and 7 October. Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Chief Minister of Chinese Embassy in Japan Guo Yan and other representatives of the Chinese and Japanese political and cultural circles watched the performance.

(Answering curtain calls after performance)

Tian Qinxin, director of NTCC, created this play in 2001, which is a biographical drama taking Tian Han's emotional experience as the clue and telling the stories of his dream for drama and his feelings for home and motherland. On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the Chinese drama in 2017, a re-production of the play was conducted by the Shanghai Theatre Academy starring Jin Shijia and with the teachers and students of STA as the main performance and production teams. Taking Tian Han's personal works and emotional experiences as the framework, “Hurricane” connects a number of Tian Han's plays with the "drama in drama" technique. The performance this time used real-time images to achieve the perfect integration of the actors’ delicate performance and modern technologies, and to create a cinematic stage visual presentation, thereby passionately reproducing Mr Tian Han's "youth" and "dream".

The Japanese side attached great importance to the performance. Before the performance, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, together with Vice President of STA Liu Qing, Deputy Party Secretary of NTCC Bai Xuefeng and Director Tian Qinxin met with visited the performers and staff.

(Vice President of STA Liu Qing presenting souvenir to former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama)

During the two performances, all seats at the Segataya Theatre were taken, and the long and lasting applause represented the audience's recognition of the STA alumni and students actors on the stage, as well as their recognition of "Hurricane". During the post-performance talk, director Tian Qinxin and starting actor Jin Shijia had a great interaction with the audience.

(Performers and staff taking group photo with leaders and guests of honour)

After the post-performance talk, a short but grand thank-you reception was held. Chinese and Japanese cultural personages attended the reception together with the actors and staff of the play. In his speech, Vice President of STA Liu Qing thanked Japanese side for the invitation. He believed that the performance was not only of great significance in cultural exchange, but also an active exploration in teaching practice. STA students’ cooperation with director Tian Qinxin, NTCC and Japanese theatre operators has improved the students' level of artistic presentation and fostered their professional qualities and professional dedication. It is hoped that the related cooperation and exchanges can be further promoted.

Tian Han's dream for drama started in Japan. Today, STA students also came to Tokyo with this dream of Mr Tian Han, staging a wonderful show at the Setagaya Theatre.