A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shanghai Farce Troupe

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Presented in Putonghua/Shanghai dialect
Shanghai Lyceum Theater, Shanghai, China
May 21-27, 2016

“Shakespeare's "rude mechanicals" of A Midsummer Night's Dream  are speaking in the Shanghai dialect! It's one of the comic devices employed by the Shanghai Farce Troupe as they present a Chinese-language version of the original. The play also features other local elements, including traditional Chinese musical instruments.

The comedy follows the story of four lovers and a group of amateur actors and their adventures with woodland fairies and a duke and duchess. The cast is entirely Chinese, and they will also play traditional instruments like the erhu and flute to add a Chinese flavor to this more than 400-year-old English play.” –information from the CCTV article listed below

Shanghai Farce Troupe
Directed by Paul Stebbings

The fifteen-member cast features professional farce performers, general theater actors, and traditional Chinese instrumentalists.

Selected Reviews and Media Coverage:
http://english.cctv.com/2016/04/29/VIDEF2MJUPrcMDpmCkHne4Lk160429.shtml

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/984891.shtml

http://touch.shio.gov.cn/en/shanghai-today/culture/2041.shtml