Chinanews client, Beijing, March 27th (Reporter Yuan Xiuyue) On March 27, 1961, the International Theatre Association officially established World Theatre Day, which was intended to arouse the attention of the people of the world to the art of drama.

Every year today, theaters around the world will hold events to commemorate the event, and the International Theatre Association will also invite a person from the theatre industry to write a speech.

　　"Drama has a noble effect. It can inspire and mobilize mankind to get rid of the fall into the abyss. It can prop up the stage and performance venue and turn the theater into a temple!" In his speech in 2020, a famous Pakistani playwright , Shahid Nadim, the director of Ahoka Theater, emphasized the spiritual experience that dramatists can provide to the audience.

　　He believes that in today's world, paranoia, hatred, and violence are constantly escalating, and the entire planet is sinking deeper and deeper into climate disasters, and this is when we need to replenish our spiritual strength.

Image source: Chinese Dramatists Association

　　The speech on World Theatre Day 2021 was written by the internationally renowned actress Helen Mirren. She is a famous British stage play, film and television actor. She was awarded the Lawrence Oliver Award for playing the role of Queen Elizabeth II in the stage play "The Queen Summoned" Two Best Actress Awards and Tony Awards.

In addition, she won the best actress at the 79th Academy Awards for her excellent performance in the movie "Queen", and won several international film festival awards such as the Cannes International Film Festival and the Golden Globe Awards.

　　In her speech, she mentioned the challenges faced by the drama industry due to the epidemic and the exploration of dramatists.

She wrote: "Currently is an extremely difficult period for theater art. Many performance teams and production team practitioners are struggling to support in an industry that is already full of anxiety and variables. But perhaps it is this always dormant anxiety and change. It can inspire their wisdom and courage to face the epidemic and overcome difficulties. Under this new normal, their imagination has been transformed into a creative, pleasing and touching way of communication. Of course, this is to a large extent. Also thanks to the Internet.

　　Throughout the ages, humans have been telling each other's stories all the time.

As long as humans exist, the beautiful drama art will not die.

The desire of writers, designers, dancers, singers, actors, performers and directors to create can never be stifled.

In the near future, this creative desire will burst forth with new vitality like a dead tree in spring, to reinterpret this world that is in common with mankind.

I think this day is just around the corner!

"

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　　Since last year, China's performance industry has also experienced a process from suspension to recovery.

In March 2020 alone, nearly 8,000 performances in more than 20 provinces and cities across the country were cancelled or postponed, and the direct box office loss in March exceeded 1 billion yuan.

Many theater troupes and performance companies have moved their performances online. Online script reading, online performances, and online concerts have been welcomed by audiences, bringing new changes to the theater industry.

　　On May 12, the Market Management Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the "Guidelines for the Prevention and Control Measures for the Reopening of Theaters and Other Performance Places", officially kicking off the restart of the performance industry.

In mid-June, the Shaanxi Renyi version of the drama "Bai Lu Yuan" kicked off its first performance in 2020 in Nanjing.

Before the opening, all the audience "handled the lights" together to light up the light of the theater.

Theaters in many places have reopened to welcome guests. "The Stage", "The Sleepless Night", and the dance drama "The Electric Wave That Never Elapses" have reopened. Art festivals such as the Nanjing Theatre Festival and the Guangzhou Art Festival have also restarted.

Data map: The actors of the Fujian Fanghua Yue Theatre perform classic Yue Opera excerpts through the "Cloud Theatre" in the Concert Hall of the Fujian Grand Theatre.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Lu Ming

　　In August, the theater attendance rate was raised to 50%, and in September it continued to rise to 75%.

By the time of the National Day, China's performance industry regained its vitality.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as of the National Day holiday in 2020, a total of 1,162 theaters have been opened across the country, accounting for 53.87% of the total.

According to reports, during the National Day in 2020, there will be more than 4,000 offline professional performances, and the supply of various performances has been steadily increasing. Among them, the music festival has the fastest growth rate, with a year-on-year increase of 130%.

Data map: Poly Theater is open to audiences

　　In January this year, the domestic epidemic broke out at multiple points, and the recovering performance industry ushered in a new round of challenges. Professional theaters across the country cancelled or postponed nearly a thousand performances in January.

　　However, the China Performance Industry Association issued a document stating that the industry is mentally prepared to respond to the epidemic, and that domestic vaccine research and development and vaccination are currently active and effective. In the face of this round of the epidemic, the performance industry is actively making timely adjustments.

The industry judges that the serious impact on the performance industry like the beginning of 2020 will not appear again.

"Everything is recovering, it's just a matter of time." An insider said.

　　On March 15, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a notice stating that in low-risk areas of the epidemic, there will no longer be a unified limit on the number of consumers in theaters and other performance venues, Internet service venues, and entertainment venues. The party committees and governments of all provinces (regions, cities) Master it according to the local epidemic prevention and control situation.

To hold large-scale commercial performances, it is necessary to strengthen communication and coordination with public security and other departments, and appropriately control the number of people in accordance with local epidemic prevention and control requirements.

This means that the 75% attendance limit for performance venues will be lifted, and large-scale performances are expected to return.

Data map

　　"De Ling and Empress Dowager" performed at the Shanghai Grand Theater became the first 100% show to be open for sale.

The producer of the show said that opening up attendance is a huge encouragement to the industry.

It is a good thing to resume attendance now and spring comes at the same time.

　　A reporter from Chinanews.com noticed that many theaters and performance agencies have begun to take active actions.

At present, many popular dramas have resumed performances or set performance schedules, including "Broken Gold", "Dream of Dreams", "Earl of Monte Cristo", "Fragrant Mountain Night", "White Deer Plain", "Niu Tianci", "Sunrise", and "No Life" Also" etc.

　　Drama practitioners have begun to get busy again. "Two plays are launched at the same time. This should be the happiest thing in the performance industry under the epidemic," someone in the industry said.

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