Shanghai ACT welcomes theater productions from around the world

A scene from the Angel of History. The Asian premiere of the play from Italy on Sep 6 will mark the opening of 2024 Shanghai Contemporary Theater Festival. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Nine theater productions from Italy, Thailand, Greece, Portugal, Croatia and China will be performed in Shanghai during the upcoming ACT festival, from Sep 6 to Oct 13.

This is the 15th installment of the Shanghai Contemporary Theater Festival, which started as Asian Contemporary Theater Festival in 2005.

Hosted by Shanghai Media Group and organized by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center (SDAC) and the Shanghai Dramatists' Association, ACT is dedicated to presenting in Shanghai the latest achievements of the international theater art scene, as an important platform for communications between theaters, dramatists and theater festivals from all over the world.

The opening production of the festival, Angel of History will be making its Asian debut at the SDAC on Sep 6. It will be presented by Sotterraneo, an Italian theater collective, who won the heart of Shanghai audiences with Overload in ACT Shanghai 2019. Created in 2022 the Angel of History was inspired by philosopher Walter Benjamin's work elaborating on the angel of history who flies with his gaze turned to the past and back to the future.

A scene from This Song Father used to Sing, a play from Thailand, which will be presented at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center on Sep 19. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An award-winning play by Thai writer and director Wichaya Artamat will make its premiere in Chinese at SDAC on Sep 19. This Song Father Used to Sing (Three Days in May) features two siblings in a small kitchen in Bangkok, where they spend three days there every year to commemorate their deceased father in a traditional Chinese ceremony.

Of the two Chinese productions, A Rose for Emily by Yu Erge Dance Theater will premiere on Oct 12 at the Experimental Theatre of Shanghai International Dance Theater, inspired by the short story of the same title by William Faulkner.