Chapter 919

The whole Almeida theater is in darkness. It seems to be waiting for the eruption of a certain moment, just like a volcano.

"Pa" a crisp sound, the stage is behind a row of lights lit up, weak and hazy, projecting a beige curtain, across the center of the stage, in front of the audience side, empty, nothing, no objects, no actors, and even no lights, only through the fuzzy halo, to capture the outline of the stage.

The restless sound seemed to surge even more, but only for a moment, then it calmed down. Before the audience realized it, they could not help holding their breath, because there was movement on the stage.

A figure appeared at the end of the last side of the stage. It went straight from the left diagonal, slowly, heavily, and resolutely. The weak light projected the figure on the off white curtain, and could not see the face. It could only outline a figure, but with the pace, it became taller and taller, higher and more majestic, as if it could support the weight of the whole world.

Without lines and faces, this figure's majestic and decisive steps outline the majestic momentum and grand battle in a few strokes. Only one figure, only a few steps, hammers heavily on each audience's heart, which belongs to the massiness of the original story of "miserable world", and lays the keynote of the whole play.

Figure, is moving forward; In my ear, I heard humming, "hum... Hum... Hum... Hum..." the ethereal and light humming, which has no lyrics but only melody, is calling for the excitement and excitement in the blood. The echo effect inside the theater creates the effect of the Holy Spirit singing the hymn, which surges on the eardrum.

Arthur hall can't help but slightly adjust his sitting posture. At this time, they are sitting in their own private box with a very clear view and a panoramic view of the whole stage; Even if it is located on the second floor, he can still feel the majestic projection, and the momentum spreads in the pace.

"This song..." Arthur listened to the tune.

The song is so familiar that it's the finale of the Queen's Theatre version of les miserables: "do you hear people sing?".

From the call song of the people's uprising in Paris, the martyrs who died sang loudly and called on every suffering and suffering people to stand up, fight against power and fight for their own dawn with their own hands. At the end of the story, with such an impassioned melody, it inspires people and really reaches the climax.

Now, this melody is used in the beginning of "les miserables" in Langley's version. It's just a fragmented tune humming, but under the shadow of the curtain, it outlines the image of a bard, wandering in the streets, witnessing the suffering and torture of society, feeling and feeling, so it's composed.

There are still no superfluous objects and actors on the stage, but with a figure and a tune, Victor Hugo's Paris and even France are presented as the tip of the iceberg. Every audience - precisely speaking, every audience who has read the original work or understood the play can draw a vivid picture in their mind.

This is the disadvantage of drama, lack of image association; But at this moment, it has become the advantage of drama, and let the audience's imagination fly. At the same time, it is under the guidance of actors to draw pictures.

Arthur straightened up and went forward. He knew that the voice was blue; As soon as he appeared on the stage, lanli showed his acting skills incisively and vividly. At this time, they didn't even see lanli's face or hear any lines.

"Humming, humming..." the Bard's humming floated melodiously, and then infused with the lyrics, evolved into a folk tune that came to his lips at random, "do you hear people singing, the valley of the night, singing echoes..."

It's not singing loudly, but whistling and singing softly with grass roots in its mouth. The ambiguous lyrics can only capture fragmented fragments, but affect the audience's attention, and gradually enter the plot and the world hidden behind the curtain.

"This song belongs to those who strive to reach the light, the suffering people on the earth, the flame of hope will never go out, even the darkest night will go away, and the sun will rise!"

Gradually, the singing calmed down and the steps stopped. Standing at the back of the curtain, the tall figure reached the acme at this moment, stepping on the earth, the sky above his head, and the resolute shoulders shouldering the darkness and chaos of the whole world. At last, the sound completely disappeared, the action completely calmed down, and the whole theater fell into tranquility.

Quiet, again slowly spread.

On the projection, you can see that the figure is panting, and the undulating chest and shoulder line reveal the heaviness; When the silence reached the acme, even the sound of breathing and heartbeat disappeared completely. Without warning, the projection suddenly opened its arms, and the Milky light was bright for a moment, as if fragments of heaven's light were falling down.

But at the moment of breathing, the sky light disappeared again and returned to the previous faint halo. Then, the figure began to somersault, jump up and roll around the stage, one by one, set off waves of air, rushed into the dark, "bang" a loud bang, guns and thunder instantly like a rainstorm, the plot immediately became smooth and compact.

When the figure reappeared, she was holding a long bread stick in her hand. On the other end of the stage, there was an old woman and seven small and weak children. Their figures were bustling under the curtain; Behind him is the baker, who is chasing and beating hard. The figure throws the bread at the other end of the stage, but it is not successful.

Then, he was overtaken by the shopkeeper, a stick beat, the man completely curled up on the ground, firmly hugged his head, under the impact of the storm.

Everything, like shadow play, is projected on the curtain, but it has no effect on the plot.

Then, behind the curtain, law enforcement officers came on stage with batons in hand, joined in the fight, and finally dragged the dying, unconscious man away from the stage. When everyone thought that the opening would end like this, as soon as the lights were dim and bright, there would be 20 or 30 actors in front of the curtain, and the stage would be filled immediately.

Some are sitting on the side of the road begging in rags, some are lying on the side of the road with wine bottles, some are selling their handicrafts, some are carrying baskets to look for garbage... The chattering voices are pouring out, French mixed with English, vulgar and vulgar words are surging in my ears.

The law enforcement officers dragged the man, like a March, to the left side of the stage, showing their "booty" and marching towards the right side of the stage. The people around them are insensitive and unresponsive. After a short stay of sight, they continue to be busy with their own affairs. It seems that they are not surprised at all.

All eyes fell on the man.

He is the figure behind the curtain just now; But at this time, his face could not be seen clearly, his disordered hair was falling down, and his old clothes were falling apart under the pull of the sheriff; The light and shadow of the intersection of light and shade fall on the face, sketching a fuzzy glance, but still unable to depict the complete facial features.

In the chaos and noise, the Bard like humming came again, "humming, humming..." this time, it was not the man, but from an unknown place, maybe the anonymous hiding in a corner, maybe the cry from people's heart, but in the moving and melodious humming, The men were dragged into the darkness by law enforcement officers and disappeared completely.

"Miserable world", officially opened!

In the Queen's Theatre version of the story, Jean Valjean's plot is simplified and condensed in the form of aria; In the film version, it is simply omitted, and Jean Valjean is in prison as soon as he appears on the stage.

Today's version of the Almeida theatre has also been simplified and refined, but the narrative focuses on the social background of Paris at that time. Jean Valjean's theft of bread, the tragedy after his arrest, and the indifference of the onlookers are used to sketching the floating world of Paris in a few strokes.

In the original novel, a full chapter is used to present the current situation of the whole society from the perspective of bishop Myriel; Now, the Almeida theatre presents itself in a unique way. In less than five minutes, the performance is magnificent and majestic. In the limited stage space, it creates an unimaginable visual and auditory shock.

Alistair Smith slightly raised his eyebrows, and his eyes were full of interest.

This way of expression, with some innovation, is presented in the form of shadow play; But more still return to the tradition of the stage, the actor's performance to tell the story. But just so, it is not enough to make Alistair interested. The point is that John cod's ingenious ideas, through the wonderful performance of the actors, really push the dramatic tension of the story to the highest point.

Langley hall, a young and vigorous actor, captured the heart of London's west end with just one appearance.

Such an opening can be called a small surprise. There are not too many accidents, but it brings a little surprise in a reasonable range. What's more, the small pattern at the beginning of the play reveals the ambition of the whole play, which makes people feel happy.

Everyone is curious about how the Almeida theater should be presented when Zhu Yu is in front. Whether it is the version of the Queen's theatre or the original novel, "les miserables" has a limited space to play when we are familiar with it; But after witnessing it, this version still finds a new way in a unique and profound way, firmly catching the curiosity of the audience.

Even an old fox like Alistair, his attention is really focused: surprise, is there anything else?