Shows

NCPA Drama Commission - King Lear

Date: Dec 23-28 - 7:30 pm

Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

Price: 160-880 yuan

King Lear, one of Shakespeare's "four great tragedies," is based on an ancient British legend. Shakespeare, according to his depiction of the internal chaos of the royal family and Lear's shifting fortunes, portrays the tale with incisive and profound language, the divisiveness and contention of humanity given power and desire. Yet as the tragedy takes its powerful form, it remains replete with a yearning for love and cries for mercy, thus lending a fierce idealistic fervor to the work. Lear's knowledge and stature are almost godlike, but in the course of successive misfortunes, the reverence for the god turns to scorn and abandonment, until the god and humanity are both shattered. Cordelia, the youngest daughter, having been heartlessly disowned, nevertheless becomes her father's savior. King Lear is not only tragic in that Lear as king is devastated, but more importantly in that after all is said and done, even though his soul has been redeemed, his death remains inevitable, and that he has no possibility of resurrection. Penned by Shakespeare's hand, this type of despair imbues the tragedy with a noble significance.

King Lear is NCPA's third production of a Shakespearean play, after A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet, this time in cooperation with Mr. LI Liuyi's Drama Estudio in Beijing. As a tribute to the master playwright, the NCPA has extended a special invitation to the script supervisor of the Royal Shakespeare Company to coach the actors, and selected Mr. YANG Shipeng's rendering as the rehearsal script. German-born set designer, Michael Simon and Academy Award winner for Best Costume Design, Emi Wada combine talents to recreate The Bard's cast of characters and ruined palace. Additionally, the renowned theater actor, Pu Cunxi, gives a stark portrayal of Lear's departure from the height of glory and lapse into vagrancy.

Contact: 400-610-3721

The Producers in Beijing

Date: Dec 23-26 - 7:30 pm

Venue: Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center

Price: 280-1,080 yuan

Based on Mel Brooks' much loved Academy Award-winning movie, The Producers is a hilarious musical comedy that has taken Broadway and the West End by storm, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards and three Olivier Awards. Impoverished by a string of flops, New York producer Max Bialystock recruits timid accountant Leo Bloom to help him pull off Broadway's greatest scam. They aim to produce the worst show ever and run away with millions, but they soon learn that show business can kick you in the teeth.

Contact: 400-610-3721

Legally Blonde: The Broadway Musical in Shanghai

Date: Dec 23-27 - 7:30 pm

Venue: Shanghai Culture Center

Price: 200-1,000 yuan

Based on the adored Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hit movie, Legally Blonde: The Broadway Musical is a fabulously fun international award-winning Broadway Musical that follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery, and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. This action-packed musical explodes on the stage with memorable songs and dynamic dances. This is a feel-good musical with a valuable message: Be true to yourself. Equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, this musical is so much fun, that it should be illegal.

Contact: 400-610-3721

Vienna Strauss Orchestra New Year's Concert in Shenzhen

Date: Dec 29 - 8 pm

Venue: Nanshan Culture & Sports Center Grand Theater

Price: 280-880 yuan

The tradition of world famous Strauss Dynasty was started by Johann Strauss' father when he founded his first Strauss Orchestra in 1825. Masterpieces like The Blue Danube, The Vienna Blood, Tritsch-Tratsch, The Radetzky March and many more were created by the magnificent Strauss Dynasty Foundation. Current Vienna Strauss Orchestra was formed by Edvin Marton in 2009. The Orchestra ranges in size from 17 to 40 musicians, depending on the venue, and plays pieces by Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. With the best musicians, the Vienna Strauss Orchestra already played in beautiful halls of North and Latin Americas, Europe and Asia. Edvin Marton is one of the best violinists of our time.

Contact: 021-5456-2471

St Petersburg Russian Classical Ballet: The Nutcracker in Shanghai

Date: Dec 25 - 7:30 pm

Venue: Daning Theater

Price: 180-380 yuan

The St. Petersburg Russian Classical Ballet was founded in 1992. The director of the theater Anatoly Nikiforov and artistic director Irina Safonova are former performers of the Mariinsky Theater. Over the years the theater has grown into a creative team with great artistic abilities. Theater performances are original full-length classical ballets which are different from the productions of other professional companies. They are held on prestigious St Petersburg stages including the Mariinsky, Alexandrinsky, Hermitage Theater, and Musical Theater at the Conservatory named after Rimsky-Korsakov.

Contact: 400-610-3721

Russian State Ballet: Swan Lake in Beijing

Date: Dec 23-25 - 2:30 pm/7:30 pm Venue: Grand Theater of Cultural Palace of Nationalities

Price: 180-1,280 yuan Swan Lake is a tale of two young women, Odette and Odile, who resemble each other so much that one can easily be mistaken for the other.

It is the compelling legend of a tragic romance in which a princess, Odette, is turned into a swan by an evil curse. Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans while out hunting. When one of the swans turns into a beautiful young woman he is instantly captivated - will his love prove strong enough to break the evil spell that she is under?

Contact: 400-610-3721

Familie Floz: Teatro Delusio

Date: Dec 23-24 - 7:30 pm

Venue: Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center

Price: 99-380 yuan

Familie Floz has created a small family, whose home is the theater itself: the efficient Bob is young, strong and unpredictable, the chronically tired and sickly Bernd is constantly bossed around, and the idle, always hungry Ivan is permanently anxious not to loose control over the shows.

Separated from the radiant stars on stage by nothing more than a sparse scenery the three untiring helpers are fighting for their own happiness in a different universe. Yet in a magical way the glamorous world of pretense connects and is blended with the down to earth life backstage.

Contact: 400-610-3721

Jersey Boys in Guangzhou

Date: Dec 23-24 - 8 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Opera House

Price: 199-1,299 yuan

They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound that nobody had ever heard and the radio just couldn't get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, offstage it was a very different story - a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. Go behind the music and inside the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons in the Tony Award-winning true-life musical phenomenon, Jersey Boys. From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is the musical that's just too good to be true.

Contact: 021-5456-2471

Riverdance in Guangzhou

Date: Feb 3-4 - 7:30 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Opera House

Price: 144-784 yuan

Drawing on Irish traditions, the combined talents of the performers propel Irish dancing and music into the present day, capturing the imagination of audiences across all ages and cultures in an innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song. Of all the performances to emerge from Ireland - in rock, music, theater and film - nothing has carried the energy, the sensuality and the spectacle of Riverdance.

Contact: 400-610-3721

The Reminders Tour in Beijing

Date: Dec 25 - 7:30 pm

Venue: Beijing Tianqiao Performance Art Center

Price: 99-380 yuan

The Reminders are a rare and remarkable musical duo seamlessly blending soulful sounds and roots music with insightful messages and thoughtful lyrics. The group consists of Brusselsborn emcee Big Samir and Queensborn emcee/vocalist Aja Black, a collective creative force that's hard to beat. Big Samir weaves intricate rhythmic patterns with a bilingual French/English flow, displaying his streetsmart credibility in both his lyrics and cool demeanor. This is beautifully complimented by Aja Black's confident delivery, diverse cadences, and unique vocal stylings. The two have an undeniable magical chemistry as they share more than lyrical abilities and stages; the couple shares a partnership in both music and life as Samir and Aja have been married for almost a decade.

Contact: 400-610-3721

The Summit New Year Concert

Date: Jan 1 - 7:30pm

Venue: China World Summit Wing

Price: 380-1,088 yuan

China World Summit Wing, Beijing will transform the pillar-less ballroom into a sophisticated concert environment fit for a live concert featuring world-class musicians performing on stage. The orchestra will consist of renowned conductor Hu Yongyan, pianist Shen Tong, violinist Yang Xiaoyu, soprano Ke Lvwa, baritone Feng Guodong and other EOS musicians. The EOS Orchestra was founded 10 years ago by Maestro Hu Yongyan, a rising star in the Beijing Modern Music Festival with a unique and strong style on musicians and creation. Together, they will showcase various classical-music masterpieces from such celebrated composers as Franz von Suppe, Edvard Grieg, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Gioacchino Rossini and more.

Contact: 010-8571-6998

Activities & nightlife

Poly Plaza Hotel 25th anniversary in Beijing

Date: Till Jan 1

Venue: China Poly Group Corporation Price: Free

Poly Plaza Hotel, a famous hospitality company owned by China Poly Group Corporation celebrated its 25th anniversary recently. The Hotel has won the China's Green Hotel Award this year as it has been committed to incorporating eco-friendly practices in its management, such as advising guests to not replacing bed sheets and towels every day and offering them free bike rental service. The company celebrates its 25th anniversary with a Christmas Tree Light Ceremony powered by cycling. All visitors to Poly Plaza are welcomed ride the bicycles to light the 7-meter tall Christmas before New Year.

Contact: 010-6500-1188

Lumen Matrix - International Digital Art Exhibition in Beijing

Date: Dec 23-Jan 7 - 10 am

Venue: Today Art Museum

Price: 80 yuan

The Lumen Prize, a global award and tour for digital art opened its first show in Beijing on Nov 25 at Today Art Museum. The exhibition showcases more than 20 artworks including still image, installations, and VR works. Alongside award-winning artworks from the 2017 Lumen Prize - including this year's Gold Award winner "Plastic Reflectic". This exhibition is part of the sixth annual Lumen Prize global tour, following shows in the UK and preceding an exhibition in St Petersburg, Russia. Entitled Lumen Matrix, this year's Asian leg of the tour opens in Beijing. Matrix, a mathematical term, stands for a rectangular array of numbers arranged in rows and columns. The mathematical concept is widely adopted in handling data and categorizing a set of relevant numbers.

Contact: 021-5456-2471

Shanghai Insiders Tours

Date: Dec 23-April 30 - 9 am/2 pm

Venue: Hyatt Andaz Hotel

Price: 680 yuan-2,000 yuan

You will experience the pulse of this ever-changing metropolis and see the fusion of the old and new, the traditional and the innovative and all other contrast of this captivating city. All our guides are experienced Insiders: They are expats who have been living in China for at least three years, enjoy spending their spare-time exploring Shanghai and love sharing their passion with other expats or people visiting from overseas.

Contact: 021-5456-2471

Landmark Photo Ops

Date: Till Jan 1

Venue: The Orange, Taikoo Li Sanlitun Chinese tourism website mafengwo.cn and Taikoo Li Sanlitun recently held an indoor exhibition, where hipsters can take photos in front of 12 landmark walls from all over the world without traveling there. They can pose for the background where Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone dance in La La Land, the historic Berlin Wall and the Wall of Love in Paris that features "I love you" in different languages. They can scan QR codes to know about each wall's history and travel tips.

Contact: mafengwo.cn

(China Daily 12/23/2017 page20)