On January 5th, as the Beijing Huguang Guild Hall reopened, the immersive drama Dreams in Hunan guided people back to the historic guild hall. Amidst a blend of ceremonial, historical, cross-disciplinary, and participatory elements, the old guild hall, recognized as a material cultural heritage, and Peking Opera, representing intangible cultural heritage, collided and sparked, creating a new communication and inheritance way.
To appreciate Dreams in Hunan, audiences were immersed in the theatrical atmosphere while entering the hall. Each audience received a miniature lantern and followed the prompts of the young actress to enter the east courtyard. A brief conflict between Yu Qisheng, the head of the old opera troupe, and his senior brother explained the relationships among the characters, the troupe's struggles, and Yu Qisheng's personal inner world. After it, the audience followed to the north courtyard, witnessing their daily rehearsal scenes.
Subsequently, audiences entered the backstage of the theater to learn the preparations before going on stage. As the captivating stage performance commenced, everyone realized that the so-called "immersion" was a mere show. Unexpectedly, the story extended from the theater indoors to the outdoors. In the night's darkness, Yu Qisheng saw an illusory picture: his deceased wife was performing "Fairy Gives Flowers to the Earth" on the Wenchang Pavilion.
As the audience followed the storyline back into the theater of the hall, three actresses portraying Yu Ji performed simultaneously in three different directions. This not only symbolized the fantasy of the dream but also allowed the audience to appreciate the performance up close.
In just a short one-hour duration, the entire immersive performance brought to life various spaces within the Huguang Guild Hall, including windowsills, corridors, walkways, outdoor courtyards, meridian wells, Wenchang Pavilion, the old theater, backstage, and more. The Tianqiao Zenith Group who launched this play, leveraged the gathering capacity of the state-owned cultural industry development platform in Xicheng District. They have brought back the Beijing Fenglei Peking Opera Troupe. Through the "unity of venue and troupe" model, they further stimulate the artistic innovation of the troupe gains further stimulation, fully explore the regional culture of Xicheng District, revitalize the material cultural heritage – the Huguang Guild Hall, a nationally protected cultural relic, and the intangible cultural heritage – the inheritance of Peking Opera art. By integrating drama into the context between the guild hall and traditional opera, they explore contemporary expressions of traditional opera, burnishing the cultural business card of "Guild Hall with Opera" in the process.
