Guilin Festival sets stage for French involvement

Cast members of Cold Blood and organizers of Guilin Festival pose after the performance of Cold Bloodduring the Festival d'Avignon on July 10.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Organizers of the Guilin Festival traveled to France and launched a promotion conference on July 11, introducing the theater spectacular to audiences at the Festival d'Avignon, one of the biggest international theater events featuring contemporary live performance.

The Guilin Festival was first launched in 2022 and is held annually in Guilin, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

During the promotion conference, which is part of programs marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, cooperation between Festival d'Avignon and Guilin Festival was discussed.

According to Harold David, president of the Off, one of the sections of Festival d'Avignon, he participated in the Guilin Festival and was overwhelmed by the diversity of programs.

Liu Xinglin, artistic director of the Guilin Festival, introduced the highlights of the event, which is co-organized by the Central Academy of Drama. He also shared the deep connection between theater and the city, Guilin.

Ouyang Yuqian, renowned Chinese playwright and director, who was the first president of the Central Academy of Drama, lived and worked in Guilin. In 1940, he initiated the Guangxi Provincial Art Center, one of the first professional theaters in China for staging plays, and worked as its first president.

Jin Dong, a member of the festival's art committee, introduced the programs of 2024 Guilin Festival, which will take place from Oct 26 to Nov 3 and will feature three major sections: theater, music and art. Theater troupes from home and abroad will join the festival this year.

Meanwhile, the Global Young Chinese Elites Project of Theater Director, one of the programs of the Guilin Festival, which supports young talent interested in theatrical productions, is having two productions staged during the Festival d'Avignon: Cold Blood and Mother Courage and Her Children.