King Lear adapted for Chinese children audiences

King Lear, a famous tragedy written by William Shakespeare, will be staged at the China National Theatre for Children in late April.

The full cast is now busy rehearsing the play.

Shen Ting has the story.

A tragedy is a type of drama where the characters go through some form of suffering. Most of the time, such a play would be kept away from children in China.

But the China National Theatre for Children wants to reverse the trend. Yin Xiaodong is head of the theatre.

"We want to give child audiences, who differ in a wide age span, more options when they go to the theatre. The trending hot children's dramas in China are usually fairy tales and mythology. We expect the drama King Lear will enable children at or more than six years old to understand William Shakespeare, his era and literature as well as his attitude towards life."

Zhang Yan is the director of the upcoming play. She admits there were challenges when she decided to adapt this classic tragedy for children.

But as the mother of a young girl, she also thinks her daughter needs to understand that life is not always easy.

"We need to let children understand the ugly and cruel levels of life. Sometimes, people may have miserable encounters and do not need to hide it all in front of children. On the other hand, this play is expected to help nurture a sense of filial piety among children, which I think holds great importance. Also, children need to learn to love those who love them."

Actors are rehearsing King Lear at China National Theatre for Childre on April 13, 2017. [Photo provided to China Plus]

King Lear tells a story about an old father who would rather believe in the sweet and flattering words of his two older daughters than the words of his youngest daughter, who insists that words and language are insufficient to express the love she feels for her father.

Lear decides to divvy the kingdom in two between the wicked Goneril and the mean and nasty Regan, and suffers a tragic end for this mistake.

The story took place in ancient, pre-Christian Britain, and music producer Cheng Jin has taken this into consideration:

”We've selected some traditional folk songs from England to represent the era that Shakespeare was alive. Meanwhile classical music was chosen but it has been modified with elements of neoclassical in the expectation that this will convey philosophical pessimism and conflicts between characters.“

The actors in the play are also involved in the music.

"Unprecedented efforts are being made in exploring new avenues in our music. Our actors are all young talents who have to song, act while also playing various musical instruments. These interesting scenes constitute a highlight of the drama."

Another highlight of the upcoming play is the employment of an all-male cast to interpret the story of the relationship between a father and his three daughters.

Director Zhang Yan thinks hiring young boys for the roles of the three daughters of King Lear is nothing unusual. She also made a comparison.

"Like an actor who is able to play a female role in Chinese operas, this is nothing strange. I am quite strict with them, demanding they step into their roles and avoid making themselves look funny due to the cross-gender performance."

The first of nine performances of King Lear will start in the Beijing-based theatre on April 29th.