Helmed by renowned Chinese stage director Zhao Miao, a drama based on Japanese author Higashino Keigo’s thriller “The Murder in Kairotei” (1991) will tour to Shenzhen for the first time and perform three straight nights at Shenzhen Poly Theater. The most controversial of Keigo’s mystery novels published years before “Journey Under the Midnight Sun,” “Kairotei” represents the author’s early attempt at mystery novels, in the form of typical Japanese-style classical mysteries. It tells a story about the family members of a tycoon vying for his estate after his immediate death. When these hypocrites gather at Kairotei, a Japanese-style hotel previously run by the tycoon, to hear his will read to them, also present is an old lady serving as a witness to the occasion, which gradually turns into a bloody revenge for her murdered lover many years ago. Accompanied by hair-raising original scores, suffocating horror is presented side by side with intoxicating warm memories of a lost love in this stage work faithful to the original novel, with masks being used as an important prop to allude to the characters’ hypocrisy and the change of their roles. Known for dramas like “Luocha Land,” Zhao is a graduate from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing and the first Chinese award winner at the world’s biggest annual arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe. Combining French theatrical theories with Chinese aesthetics and imageries, Zhao’s works have been well received by audience members for their sad humor, eye-opening imagination as well as poetic body movements and dances by the actors. As all the major cast members are graduates of the Central Academy of Drama, the production is the first Chinese adaptation of the novel and premiered in Beijing early this year. Time: 8 p.m., Nov. 14-16 Tickets: 180-880 yuan Venue: Shenzhen Poly Theater, Nanshan District (南山区深圳保利剧院) Metro: Line 2 or 11 to Houhai Station (后海站), Exit E (Li Dan) |