New production features an unusual cast member and a unique interpretation of Luotuo Xiangzi, Zhang Kun reports. 

A scene from the play featuring Xiangzi and a robot "camel". (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

In the new theater production Luotuo Xiangzi by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, cast members will be joined onstage by a somewhat unusual addition — a robotic "camel".

Xiangzi, with the nickname of "camel", is one of the most famous protagonists in 20th century Chinese literature.

Xiangzi is a strong and simpleminded young man from the countryside, aspiring to get rich through hard work in Luotuo Xiangzi, the celebrated 1936 novel written by Lao She (1899-1966).

An unauthorized translation for the book in English titled Rickshaw Boy became a best-seller in the United States in the 1940s. Excerpts of the novel can be found in textbooks for middle school students in China, and the novel has been adapted for cinema and opera as well as theater.

He Nian, director of the SDAC production, says he wanted to "interpret classical Chinese literature in modern vocabulary, and create a play for young audiences today".

In the novel, Xiangzi keeps failing in his efforts to buy a rickshaw, until he loses all hope.

In Shanghai, a cage 11.5 meters high takes center stage with much of the performance centered on it.

"It's a symbol of the social structure, and in his efforts of climbing to a higher class in society, Xiangzi finds himself trapped and disillusioned," He explains.

Wang Yicheng plays the protagonist Xiangzi in the new theater production Luotuo Xiangzi by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The director also decided to introduce the "camel", which he said represents a powerful allegory of the fate of the hero. The "camel" is in fact a quadrupedal robot dog developed by Unitree, a Chinese technology firm.

Acting with the robot, which is 1.1 meters high and weighs 50 kilograms, was a unique experience for the actors.

"Reciting my lines to the robot camel feels like an encounter with an ice-cold, stone-hard character on the stage. It gives me more softness and vulnerability," says Wang Yicheng, who plays Xiangzi.

In the play, Xiangzi arrives in Peking full of his dreams and passion. But he takes heavy blows from the harsh reality of life — he loses the first rickshaw he buys, and sells the second so that he can bury his wife.

Xiangzi is initially reluctant to sell the second rickshaw to save his wife, who is dying after suffering complications during childbirth. He only does so after she dies so that she can have a proper burial.

"You may find Xiangzi ignorant and his choices dumb, but when you think about it, you will find people like him around you all the time. He is just an ordinary person," says Wang. "He may think slowly, but what's on his mind is the same as everyone else. We may mock him, but how can we be so sure that we are not like him?"

Director He Nian and the robotic "camel" in the new theater production by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

But more tragedy ensues. Xiangzi goes on to lose the love of his life, Xiaofuzi, a woman forced into prostitution and who hangs herself in desperation. With this final blow, the man loses all hope for life and becomes an alienated creature like the robot camel, says He.

The play starts with the ending of the book, when Xiangzi is a lazy and unscrupulous man with no honor. The story then unfolds to present how, as a young man, he fails in his pursuit of a better life.

"It's always hard playing the character whose name is in the title of the play," says Wang. "I want to portray a multidimensional Xiangzi, not just a stupid man who knows nothing but hard work."

Director He started the series of "modern interpretations of classics of Chinese literature" in 2017, when he directed The Savage Land, a play created by Cao Yu in 1937.

"It was well-received. We were invited to a number of theater festivals and put up more than 100 shows during our tour of China," says He.

The director revealed that he is planning to produce a trilogy of classics.

"We would like to hear audiences' suggestions for the third project," He says.

A cage, 11.5 meters high, takes center stage as a symbol of the social structure, in which the lead character finds himself trapped, in the new theater production Luotuo Xiangzi. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

After the premiere in Shanghai, Luotuo Xiangzi will be part of a showcase of a series of theater productions by the SDAC in Beijing, which will take place from July to December at venues including the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Beijing Poly Theater and the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

Luotuo Xiangzi

7:30 pm, July 8-23 (no shows on Monday, and matinee at 2 pm on Sunday)

Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre and Art Theatre

1F, 288 Anfu Road, Xuhui district, Shanghai