In the new stage adaptation of the iconic 1934 novel The Border Town, Israeli director Ruth Kanner transforms actors into narrators and the audience into participants.

SHANGHAI — From the moment theatergoers step into the lobby of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center in Shanghai, the stage adaptation of The Border Town plunges them into the rustic ambiance of rural Hunan in central China.

Helmed by Israeli experimental theater director Ruth Kanner, the musical drama, which opened on May 9, seats the audience around the stage, erasing the conventional divide between performers and spectators.

The audience is even asked to contribute personal reflections on the significance of rivers before being seated, which they attach to a rope and are later woven into the performance. At one point, the rope also divides them into two distinct groups, each half experiencing a separate scene, catching snippets of one while glimpsing the other.

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This post was written by Fan Yiying .

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