By Lin Bing Bing, Macao theatre critic, arts critic of the 16th Macao City Fringe Festival and the 28th Macao Arts Festival
2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, whose classic Capital has been published for 150 years. Is it already antiquated? The play Das Kapital, created by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, is inspired by Karl Marx’s Capital, presenting this abstract economic theoretical text in the form of a Broadway-styled musical in a humourous and satirical approach. The play transforms these seemingly impenetrable theories into various presentations in everyday life. Set against the current social context, the creator merges reality and fictions, and blurs their boundary in an absurd and humourous way. Even the audiences have a part to play when they become an element of the show and a share of the capital.
In this play, it is the hero’s dream to create a world-class show which requires money and capital investment. He therefore has to turn to venture capital in every possible way. As he successfully attracts more and more investment, the accumulation of capital, which was supposed to be the means of realising his dream, has become the goal he pursues, and thus he eventually turns against his initial dream. Is it the capital or the dream that we so blindly chase after? In this era obsessed with capital, how should the market and art be taken into balance?
Director of Das Kapital He Nian has established himself as the face of the theatre community in Shanghai. Almost all his productions drew large audiences, earning him the nickname of “box office honey”. Playwright Nick Rongjun Yu is not only highly productive, but also famous for his diverse style. A multiple award-winner, Yu has had over 10 works touring at international theatre festivals to date. With new developments continuously added to the play, Das Kapital will live up to your expectation, even if you have never read a page of Capital.
This article is excerpted and translated from Chinese