Shanghai: Highly strung hobbits add flair to fantasy

With a colorful array of giant puppets, Theater Sans Fil will mark its debut performance on the Chinese mainland next weekend with its unique adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

In an explosion of special effects, the 140-minute show is a remake of the popular fantasy tale of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who embarks upon an unexpected journey after discovering a mysterious ring. Facing evil along the way, he finally confronts Smaug, a fierce dragon whom Bilbo must defeat in order to restore order to the land and return the stolen treasure to its rightful owners, the dwarves.

The show will be presented in English with Chinese subtitles by the French-Canadian theater company. Director Andre Viens described the production as the stuff that dreams are made of.

"It gives all of us the opportunity to dream," he said. "Tolkien was a remarkable author and his philosophy is based on human beings. He knows all about the (various) aspects of people, the good and the bad.

"Bilbo is the perfect image of a normal person who has different aspects hidden inside," he added. "At the same time, he is a coward, a conformist and someone who sticks to old habits. Yet he is also full of goodness, not knowing that he can be brave, adventurous and capable of confronting bad elements and evil."

The use of puppets allows the theater to further enhance the mystical and creative elements of Tolkien's novel, while giving audiences the chance to let their minds wander to another world, he said.