Video and photos by Xu Shuntian except otherwise stated
In the fairytale of Cinderella, all the magical things created by the young woman's fairy godmother disappear at midnight, but one crystal slipper somehow remains, despite the magic having expired. Among all the women in the kingdom, Cinderella is the only one who can fit into the slipper, which obviously doesn't make sense.
Despite the obvious lack of logic in the story, the spell has been cast on generations of young girls. The idea that a girl will be lucky and happy if she is chosen by a wealthy young man or a princess has given credit to the story.
The Lynx Ensemble, unconvinced by the centuries-old fairytale due to its logical fallacy, has brought a new play to the stage, adapted from the fairytale and reimagined in a modern context, to convey their understanding of love, marriage, and parent-child relations.
The play, titled "Cinderella of Cyprus," had its second run on March 22 and 23 during the First Shenzhen Bay Area Youth Theatre Festival over the past 10 days, together with 10 other plays presented during the festival.
A scene of the March 22 show of "Cinderella of Cyprus."
According to Song Bai, executive producer of the play, “Cinderella of Cyprus” began as a graduation project of its director Zhang Yanqiao and premiered in Beijing last year. "Because the entire crew and cast have put a lot of effort into the play, we have been looking for more opportunities to bring it to the stage. It’s an honor for us to be chosen for the Shenzhen Bay Area Youth Theatre Festival this time," Song said.
The Lynx Ensemble, based in Beijing, mainly consists of young theatrical professionals who graduated from The Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Dance Academy. In Song’s opinion, the Cinderella adaptation involves how people in their 20s understand fairytales, love and culture.
A scene of the March 22 show of "Cinderella of Cyprus."
Although the story is set in the legendary Pygmalion's kingdom of Cyprus, it touches upon some of the most frequently discussed topics among Chinese young people, such as toxic parents and young people's attitudes towards love and marriage.
Danny Dean Malone Jr., a U.S. theater director based in Shenzhen, visited the Guangming Culture and Art Festival on March 22 to see the show and exchanged ideas about the theatrical art with the crew of the play.
"It was an interesting take on Cinderella. I enjoyed the fact that they were trying to expand on it and take it in a new direction other than what is traditionally done. I would say this is a much different version of Cinderella than I've ever seen," Malone said after seeing the show.
The theater festival, launched last August to call for submissions across China, received a total of 142 submissions, with 193 directors and actors signing up for the event. On March 22, the theater festival raised its curtain to bring to the stage a total of 11 plays in six theaters in Guangming and other areas in Shenzhen.
Hosted by the People's Government of Guangming District, the theater festival aims to provide support for young theatrical professionals, facilitate international exchanges in theater art, expand the influence of theatrical works created by young people in the Greater Bay Area, and create a theater brand with international influence.