Chinanews client, Beijing, August 1st (Yuan Xiuyue) Shanghai's oldest theater is expected to be restored to its previous appearance. Recently, the renovation project of the Lyceum Theater has officially started. According to reports, the design team will try to reproduce the classics based on historical data and restore the original appearance of the 1930s.

　　As soon as the news came out, many viewers expressed their support. Some people are also curious about what the Lanxin Theater was like before. In fact, it is not only a theater, but also bears the hundred years of changes in drama.

Lanxin Theater renderings

　　Many people know the Lanxin Theater, probably because of Gong Li’s new movie "Lanxin Theater", but in fact, its history is much longer than the movie describes. Let's start with the name, "Lanxin" is actually a translated name, which is a free translation from "Lyceum". "Lyceum" originally meant the name of the school where the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle gave lectures. It also means a cultural hall and a literary group. In London, England, there is a theater named after "Lyceum". The modern thinker Wang Tao translated it as "Orchid Heart", as a metaphor for art as elegant and pure as an orchid.

　　The Lanxin Theater has undergone three generations of changes. Its predecessor was the two amateur theater troupes "The Prodigal Son" and "The Hero" established by British expatriates in Shanghai. At that time, Shanghai had just opened a port, and the British expatriates had no entertainment activities in Shanghai, so they used rehearsals to entertain themselves.

　　In 1866, the two theater troupes merged into the "Amateur Dramatic Club Of Shanghai (ADC Opera Troupe). In order to have a fixed venue for performances, the troupe members raised funds on Shanghai Nuomen Road (now Hong Kong Road) and Yuanmingyuan Road. I bought a piece of land at the intersection of, and built a wooden European-style building. This was the first-generation Lanxin Grand Theater.

　　On March 1, 1867, the Lyceum Theatre opened its first performance, with repertoires such as "Whitebait in Greenwich" and "Faust and Margarita" burlesque. After that, Shanghai ADC Theatre performed 20 or 30 plays here. As the first western-style theater in Shanghai, the influence of the Lyceum Theatre has gradually expanded. However, since there were no electric lights at that time, the theater used steam lights, and fires were easy to occur. Four years later, an unexpected fire turned the Lanxin Theater into ruins.

Data map: Peppa Pig's Chinese version of the stage play premiered at the Lyceum Theater. Photo by Zhang Hengwei

　　However, due to the popularity of the ADC Theatre Company by the British, the Lyceum Theatre was quickly rebuilt and opened for public performances. Different from the first generation, the new Lyceum Theatre is a luxurious masonry theater with an architectural style close to that of the European Opera House. The internal facilities are also readily available, with advanced stages, scenery, lighting, auditoriums, and boxes. Its functions are gradually increasing, which can satisfy performances such as dramas, concerts, dances, and operas.

　　Later, the theater also had a bar and became a modern operating theater. In 1902, Bernard Shaw's play "The Devil's Disciple" was performed for the first time in China, and the location was Lan Xin. The second-generation Lanxin has a long history, lasting more than 50 years, until it was sold in 1929.

　　The third-generation Lyceum Theatre was completed in 1931, and its appearance and decoration imitated the modern American architectural style. In 1933, the Lyceum Grand Theater also installed sound film projection equipment, making it one of the first two cinemas in Shanghai to be equipped with this device. Since then, Lanxin has entered the ranks of modern Shanghai's first-class theater and the most luxurious cinema.

　　Later, Lan Xin became an active stage for Chinese artists. Tan Shuzhen, Huang Yijun and other important figures in the history of Chinese symphony have performed here. In 1938, "Women's Apartment" written by Yu Ling was staged in Lanxin. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, dramas such as "Hong Xuanjiao" and "Wen Tianxiang" have also appeared on Lan Xin's stage. At that time, the Lyceum Theatre was often "no dissatisfaction" and it was hard to get a ticket.

"Thorn Tiger" poster

　　After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Mei Lanfang, who had been absent from the stage for many years, returned. The first performance was in the Lanxin Grand Theater. In 1959, the well-known violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers" was also played for the first time in the Lanxin Theater.

　　The third generation of the Lyceum Theatre has continued to this day. Although the Lyceum Theatre was founded by the British, it was mainly based on foreign plays at the beginning, but objectively, it still played a role in cultural exchanges. Especially at the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese drama was in the process of growing from budding. Some people commented that it experienced the professionalization of Chinese drama with a professional drama theater.

　　In 2002, Lanxin experienced a one-year renovation, and this renovation will also last for one year. The design team will re-clean and repair the damaged Taishan bricks on the facade of the theater. Lanxin’s iconic sign "LYCEUM" will be re-established, and the floor of the theater’s entrance hall will be restored as a cast-in-place terrazzo, echoing the original terrazzo staircase. The walls and ceiling of the auditorium, as well as bathrooms and dressing rooms will all be restored to the style of the 1930s. The number of seats in the theater has been increased from the original 681 to 709. The stage proscenium will be appropriately widened and suspenders will be added as much as possible to accommodate more types of performances. In terms of performance content, the Lyceum Theatre may be the main feature of musicals that urban white-collar workers love.

Data map: Shanghai Majestic Theater resumes its film screening function. For picture

　　In addition to the Lyceum Theatre, Shanghai has many historical performance venues, such as Majestic Theatre, Great World, Shanghai Concert Hall (formerly Nanjing Theatre), Dongshan Theater (formerly Broadway Theatre), etc.

　　Among them, the Majestic Grand Theater and the Nanjing Grand Theater were built by the same company. Both were designed by the well-known modern architect Fan Wenzhao. They were built in 1941 and 1930, respectively. The styles of the two theaters are quite different. The former is modern and the latter is retro. At first, the two theaters were mainly used to screen movies. The premiere of the Nanjing Grand Theater was the American musical "Broadway", and the Majestic Theater was the American film "Mai Yue Qi Hua". In 1959, Nanjing Grand Theater was renamed Shanghai Concert Hall, becoming the first concert hall in the country. The Majestic Theater has become a large-scale comprehensive theater in Shanghai that performs large-scale operas, ballets, music and dance, and is well-known at home and abroad.

　　And across the country, there are also many famous theaters, such as the National Grand Theater, Capital Theater, Guangzhou Grand Theater, Wuhan Qintai Grand Theater, Qingdao Grand Theater, etc. As people gradually enrich their material and spiritual lives, there are not only more theaters, but also closer and closer to the audience. (Finish)