Chinanews.com, Shanghai, November 11 (Reporter Wang Ji) As a participating repertoire of the 4nd China Shanghai International Arts Festival, the "Treasure of the Town" of the Masterkaya Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the 8-hour Russian drama "The Quiet Don River" opened at the Shanghai Cultural Square on the evening of the 3rd.
Stills from the drama "The Quiet Don River". Courtesy of Shanghai Culture Square
It is an epic story of suffering, and the plot revolves around the vicissitudes of the personal fortunes of ordinary Cossack folks against the backdrop of revolution, world, civil war, and social upheaval. But what runs through the play is the unbridled youth, the wild life, and the unyielding will of the Cossacks in the face of painful and desperate situations with singing, laughter, and shouting.
In 1965, Sholokhov won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his novel The Silent Don. In May 2013, the adapted drama "The Quiet Don" premiered in Russia and won many international awards such as the St. Petersburg "Golden Sofitel" Theater Award.
Stills from the drama "The Quiet Don River". Courtesy of Shanghai Culture Square
According to director Grigory Kozlov, the eight-hour version of the play condenses the best parts of the 8.140 million-word novel, and the experience of watching the play in its entirety is not boring, but will be shocked by its historical weight and stage performance. Relying on the solid text of the original novel, the super long drama is closely related to the cultural background of the times, which is also the long-term thinking and precipitation of the stage that the audience in the 21st century needs.
On the evening of November 11, the theme set of "Quiet Don River" in Shanghai Cultural Square. Courtesy of Shanghai Culture Square
It is worth mentioning that in order to bring the audience a more comfortable and free viewing experience, the drama "Quiet Don" came to Shanghai and made some special arrangements in terms of performance time: the upper and lower parts of the play will be staged on November 11 and 3 respectively, and the complete 4-hour drama experience will be held on November 11. The audience is free to choose between "stepping into the Don River twice" or challenging "a theater marathon". (ENDS)