French troupe stages new drama for charity

The Theater of Lanterns staged L'Atelier last year and raised 130,000 yuan for charity. Photo provided by The Theater of Lanterns

By Zhang Dongya

The Theater of Lanterns staged Forever Yours, Marie Lou at Star Theater yesterday to raise money for abandoned children and orphans in the rural south.

Five of the French amateur troupe’s 13 members acted in the drama, written in 1971 by Michel Tremblay, about the upheaval in his native Quebec in the 1960s. To stay as faithful as possible to reality, the play was performed in Quebec French.

“The most difficult thing was the actors’ lines. Since the drama was mainly propelled by dialogue, there were many lines for the actors to memorize,” Isy Chautemps, the director, said, adding that the actors began rehearsing more than six months ago.

The play’s reduced-price tickets for students were sold out soon after they went on sale. The show’s Chinese subtitles were also created by student volunteers from Beijing Foreign Studies University.

The troupe credits this to a university lecture tour by Chautemps, a Frenchwoman who has appeared in local TV dramas since coming to China in 2004. She joined the Theater of Lanterns in 2008 as its only professional member.

The troupe has presented four dramas since 2006 and has participated in the French community’s Croisements Festival and the French Theater Festival since 2008. Last year, the group staged L’Atelier (The Workshop) over four days and raised 130,000 yuan for The Children of Madaifu, a charity that supports orphans and abandoned children in rural parts of Hubei, Shaanxi and Gansu. This brought its total collection for charity at 460,000 yuan.

Chautemps said the troupe plans to “make every effort to continue” their charity work.

Forever Yours, Marie Lou

Where: Star Theater, 64 Shouchao Hutong, Xuanwumen Nei Dajie, Xicheng District

When: April 15-17, 7:30 pm, April 18, 2:30 pm

Ticket: 40, 150 and 200 yuan

Tel. 13683069549

Web: theatredeslanternes.com