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Yu Rongjun (left), He Nian (behind) and Xu Zheng bring the modern reading of Karl Marx's Capital to the stage. Provided to China Daily |
Karl Marx's Bible of Communism is being made into a stage comedy, Zhang Kun reports.
Karl Marx's tome Capital will be adapted into a humorous play premiering at the Shanghai Majestic Theater on August 19.
Capital, considered the Bible of Communism, is an extensive treatise on political economy written by German philosopher Marx in the late 1800s. The book contends that the central driving force of capitalism is the exploitation and alienation of labor and the ultimate source of capitalist profits are through this exploitation.
The book has enjoyed a rise in popularity since 2008, when the global financial crisis began.
Yang Shaolin, general manager of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, came up with the idea of a theatrical production of the classic treatise.
"Now we've learned more about capitalism and realized that capitalism can be the driving force of economy and development instead of just something sinister," Yang said.
He brought together acclaimed dramatist Yu Rongjun and popular director He Nian for the project, and also invited movie and theater actor Xu Zheng to play the leading role, a man named Capital.
"Shanghai is China's economic center and this play is totally related to the spirit of Shanghai," director He said.
Yu studied Capital and related books about economic theory before starting his first draft of the play.
"The play went through lots of revisions and much of the creative process happened in the rehearsal, when Xu Zheng, He Nian and other actors had inspiration while working together," He said.
"We will explain economic theories and formulas with simple stories that everybody can understand. And it will be fun."
Shanghai's most acclaimed stand-up comedian, Zhou Libo, was invited as the humor consultant for the play.
A few weeks ago, the play had a trial performance in front of economics experts and investors, who were invited to scrutinize the validity of the plot.
"The play will have high academic, artistic and entertaining appeal," said director He.
In 2008, a German theatrical group performed Capital, but Yu said the Chinese production would have a different point of view from the Western version.
"When everyone is after profit, how do people get along with each other and where is the human race headed? We want to draw people's thoughts on these issues and find the true value behind profit and capital," said He.
"It's a contemporary reading of the classic and closely related to everybody's life. You'll have a clear understanding of many economical phenomena such as the sub-prime mortgage crisis, surplus value of labor and economic bubbles," He said.
7:30 pm, Aug 19-29
Majestic Theater, 66 Jiangning Road
021-6473-0123
100-580 yuan
(China Daily 07/30/2010 page45)
