Karl Marx set to make a mark on stage

By Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-23 07:33

Karl Marx is making a singing and dancing comeback on the Shanghai stage taking "socialism with Chinese characteristics" to a glitzy new level.

Producers of Das Kapital say the famous German philosopher's work is as relevant in today's turbulent time as it was in the 1860s.

"We will bring his economic theories to life in a trendy, interesting and educational play, which will be fun to watch," said director He Nian.

Yang Shaolin, general manager of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, which is producing the show, said Das Kapital still has answers for today's economic and social woes.

The production will premiere next year and include singing, dancing, a live band, animation, and new media.

The story will revolve around a group of office workers who discover their boss is exploiting them and each group reacts differently.

The director said he planned to borrow the structure from the famous Japanese film Rashomon to show workers' different viewpoints.

He said some are willing to be exploited by the company, and the tighter they are squeezed the more "worth" they feel.

Others rise in mutiny, but ruin the company and their livelihoods.

And the smart ones band together for using their collective wisdom to deal with the boss.

He, who is famous for his martial-arts spoofs My Own Swordsman and Crazy Craziness, said his money-driven city was a relevant backdrop to expand on Marx's theories of capitalism.

"What happens on Wall Street impacts Shanghai at the same time," He said.

"Whenever I have dinner with friends who work in offices, they talk about budget cuts or employees layoffs."

He said playwrights and experts are working on a final script.

Fudan University economics professor Zhang Jun is one of academic advisors on board to ensure Marx's theories are not lost in the theatrical translation.

"It seems good timing to do the play when the global economic crisis has become a keyword in people's lives," said Zhang, who is head of the university's Chinese Economy Studies Center.

"A theatrical production can be an easily-understood approach for ordinary people to know about economic theories and to reflect on the global financial crisis which has influenced their daily life, or else Das Kapital will remain a masterpiece only for economists or socialists."