Our beloved Red Army,anoriginal play of Shenzhen University (SZU),wereon stage in National Library Arts Center andCommunication University of China from March 25 to 26. With unique form and touching content, the play presented an impressive feast for the audience.
The 80-minute playOur beloved Red Armyis divided into five scenes including “Star Fire”, “No News of the Soldiers Joining the Long March”, “Our Warriors Who Have Made It Break into Broad Smiles”, “Union of the Three Red Armies” and “Beloved China”. The play is marked by its innovative form that manifests the “red” revolutionary culture, integrating the “red” cultural resources of SZU. 160 SZU undergraduates gave 27 performances within four years.
The narrative threads of the play consist of the Long March as background, the Red Army as characters and some historic events. The acting techniques include the combination of multimedia technology and traditional onstage performance and the alternation of historical and modern scenes. Speech, dance, songs, situational presentation and more forms of performance welcomed by the public are also applied. With the characteristics mentioned above,Our beloved Red Armybrings to life the great epic where the Red Army plodded through grasslands, toiled up snow-topped mountains and fought bloody battles until the triumph was ultimately achieved, calling on the youth to appreciate the Long March spirit in the new era, carry on the revolutionary heritage and make joint efforts to build China into a great modern socialist country.
“We live in Chaoyang District, more than 40km from here. We want to encourage our children to learn about the Long March in person. We were all moved to tears when we witnessed the recreation of the scenes such as capturing Luding Bridge and plodding through grasslands. It’s a valuable learning opportunity for the kids.” Mrs. Gao and Mr. Yang, two of the audience, said in a interview.
Huang Junqi, who studies in the Art Department of SZU, is one of the 4thgeneration actors playing a Red Army solider named Zong Ying. “I truly understand why the Long March spirit is marvelous after the rehearsals and performances, and the spirit will inspire me to keep moving forward in the future.” Huang said.
