Playing Chekhov in China

The 32-year-old director says that he was first introduced to the play 10 years ago, when he was pursuing undergraduate studies in directing at the Central Academy of Drama. At the time, one of his teachers was putting on the play, and he read the script before attending the performance.

Although he was unable to fully understand the play, he felt its emotional impact, for example, the sisters' urge to return to Moscow.

"I feel that people always crave the unattainable. Perhaps this sense of discontent and pursuit drives us forward and propels the progress of society," Li says.

Li himself once had a longing to go to Moscow. After completing undergraduate studies in 2018, he pursued a master's degree in directing at the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts in Moscow.

"I've always liked Chekhov's work. Another reason was that the teaching methods at the Central Academy of Drama were heavily influenced by the Russian system, so I felt a strong urge to go to the birthplace of the Russian theatrical tradition and gather firsthand experience," Li says.

After completing his studies in 2021, he sought opportunities to work with theater festivals. Last year, he was selected for the second season of a young directors' support program by the National Theatre of China, which led to him joining the company.

Because the production crew is entirely comprised of young theater practitioners, Li removed some of the older characters in his adaptation to concentrate on the younger ones.

The play makes use of a range of music, including classic, jazz and rock, which creates a playful, lighthearted mood for the first half, before morphing into a more sci-fi, futuristic ambience with the use of post-punk and electronic music in the second half.