Hold Your Breath- It's the Drama Night!

Why do I hear people shouting 搈ousetrap!"on Friday night? Where is the thunderous applause coming from? Why do I hear gunshots, laughter and cries? Want to check it out? Let me take you to the breathtaking 14^thdrama night!

The curtain went up at seven where four stunning hosts and hostesses appeared on the stage. They introduced us to the first play, "An Ideal Husband", a comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde, which is about blackmail, honor, love and marriage -topics as old as human beings. An Ideal Husband opens during a dinner party at the home of Sir Robert Chiltern in a fashionable and luxurious setting. Sir Robert and his wife, Lady Chiltern, are hosting a gathering that includes his friend Lord Goring, a close friend to the Chilterns. During the party, Mrs. Cheveley, an enemy of Lady Chiltern's, attempts to blackmail Sir Robert into supporting a fraudulent scheme to build a canal in Argentina. Apparently, Mrs. Cheveley knows that Sir Robert made his fortune with illegitimate money, and Mrs. Cheveley has the letter to prove his crime. Fearing the ruin of both career and marriage, Sir Robert submits to her demands. There are four scenes in the play which unravel the plot for us. The actors fully used the setting and the stage to build up the tension and then released it with a happy but thought-provoking ending.

An Ideal Husband

The second play was "The Mousetrap", a murder mystery by Agatha Christie. First, a murder broadcast in London on the radio attracts everyone抯 attention. After hearing the news, three tenants: Mrs. Boyle, Miss Casewell and Mr. Paravicini; and owners of the guest house: a young couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston are given time to reveal their personality. Shortly afterwards, a police call on the phone creates great alarm amongst the guests. Detective Sergeant Trotter arrives to inform the group that he believes a murderer is at large and on his way to the hotel. When Mrs. Boyle is killed, they realize that the murderer is already there. The story goes on with even more twists and turns. The setting, music and acting all contributed to the effect of the play and many an audience was frightened at the sudden and horrible death of Mrs. Boyle. The plot was too inviting to resist. In a twist ending, the audience was all shocked that the murderer is Sergeant Trotter, who is not a policeman but an insane killer seeking to avenge his brother's death, and that Major Metcalf is, in fact, an undercover police detective, looking for the murderer. The other characters are all related to a previous murder. The play reaches its climax when the detective抯 and the murderer抯 real identity is revealed. When they confronted each other with guns in their hands, the performance was so professional that the emotion and distorted mind showed clearly on the face of the murderer, which was twitching and exuded with sweat. "The Mousetrap" has been performed on stage 25,000 times in the past sixty years. It can be said that they chose a popular but challenging play, but they successfully brought the play to us.

The Mousetrap

The Mousetrap

After an intermezzo of singing and Latin dancing, the third play was on, "Phaedra", a dramatic tragedy based on Greek mythology. In the absence of her royal husband Th閟閑, Phaedra ends by declaring her love to Hippolyte, Th閟閑's son from a previous marriage. This play features the inner struggle of Phaedra who is presented to us using two actresses: one in white, representing Phaedra as the queen and the other one in red, living out the desire and self of Phaedra. They effectively used different colors for symbolism. Their play was elegant and they successfully kept the original poetic quality of the play after adaptation, giving the audience a glimpse into the far-back and mysterious life and love of ancient Greece.

Phaedra

The fourth play Twelfth Night was eye-catching from the very first second. The curtain draws up and a clown appears in the limelight. He is full of color as well as vigor; he speaks with a lyrical tune and moves like an electric toy, but his words are witty. At first, every character appears on the stage motionless! The clown moves here and there to introduce their relationship to help us clarify a story which is about courting and mismatched identity and he toys with each character as if they were a sculpture. Typical of a Shakespearean comedy, the play is jolly with light teasing. The clown added to the comedic effect and helped the audience to emotionally connect with the play. The performers fully used the stage to engage the audience in their acting. To the surprise of audience, a captain cuts a hole on the screen with a sword and jumps right through it with agile moves to fight with a Duke. The captain even went down stage to face the audience as if they were passengers on the road. The whole play was a jolly treat for the eye and it filled the performing hall with surprise and laughter.

Twelfth Night

The clown

After an exciting magic show, the drama night drew to an end with the incisive close by Professor Mao Sihui. Finally, "The Mousetrap" pocketed the most prizes, including best play, best leading actor, best directing, best script best dubber and best supporting actor. The best leading actresses went to Phaedra. The following are some of the comments by judges.

Professor Mao Sihui

Comments:

The course of true love never runs smoothly. Love other people and seek love. Love sought is good, but to give love unsought is even better.

棗by Professor Huang Jiaxiu

Love is a recurrent theme of all time, and it抯 beautifully done tonight. Today, our students staged love and revenge, trust and betrayal. In life, it is even more so. What in plays we often see, in life we encounter.

棗by Professor Liu Yan

It amazed me how well the actors and actresses cooperate with each other, and it抯 astonishing to realize that the actors don抰 speak!

棗by foreign teacher Amy

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