Theatre screenings expand audiences in China and Cyprus

Beijing, China. The Beijing People’s Art Theater streamed a performance of Rickshaw Boy to universities in northern China earlier this summer. In Cyprus, screenings of productions from abroad remain part of the theatre programme.

Taking productions beyond the stage

China’s large, increasingly outward-looking theatre sector takes productions overseas and is gradually adapting works from abroad for domestic audiences. In Cyprus, visiting productions, festivals, collaborations and cultural exchanges bring international work to a smaller theatre community and offer local artists access to different approaches.

Such exchanges can introduce audiences to unfamiliar traditions and ways of telling stories. They can also serve as a form of cultural diplomacy, allowing audiences to engage with experiences beyond their own, even through translation.

Live screenings in cinemas and theatres offer another way to reach audiences abroad. The format also became popular on television during the Covid pandemic.

Screenings in China and Cyprus

At the Beijing People’s Art Theater, nine high-definition cameras and 17 audio tracks captured Rickshaw Boy for a live stream watched by nearly 6,000 students and faculty members on campus screens at eight universities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

“From stage to screen, quality artistic resources are now being shared across regions,” said theatre president Feng Yuanzheng. The National Theater of China, the National Center for the Performing Arts and the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater have also released high-definition video versions of classic productions.

High-definition theatre screenings were introduced from Britain nearly two decades ago. Audiences in Cyprus can watch leading plays at local theatres, generally with Greek and English surtitles.

Screenings this year have included Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Rialto in Limassol, directed by Robert Hastie, deputy artistic director of London’s National Theatre, and Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove at the Municipal Theatre of Nicosia. The Rialto and the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (Thoc) are expected to announce further National Theatre Live events for the rest of the season soon.