Feature: Gaojia Opera Troupe's "The Government Inspector" enthralls Bangladesh audiences

by Naim-Ul-Karim

DHAKA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- An audience of hundreds raised their phones and began snapping selfies and photos while they cheered and clapped following Chu Yu Jiang's enigmatic performance.

Chu Yu Jiang is a promising young actor form the Gaojia Opera Troupe, who performed a satirical play in the monologue genre titled "The Government Inspector", which is a comedy of errors, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and the extensive political corruption.

In a performance lasting an hour, he narrated the feelings and thoughts of nine characters, male and female, from "The Government Inspector" which is a satirical play written by the Russian and Ukrainian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. It was adapted into Chinese by Chua Soo Pong who is currently a visiting professor at the Hanoi Academy of Film and Theater, Vietnam and Guizhou Minzu University China.

The exquisite one person performance took place on Saturday night at the National Theater of the academy in Dhaka. Chu's traditional clothes as well as facial expressions and bodily gestures impressed the audience greatly, with traditional Chinese opera music augmenting the operatic story, actors and visual effects. What also appealed to the audience were the different styles of facial make-up.

"In Gaojia Opera 'The Government Inspector,' adapted by Pong and directed by Huang Guang Rong, I have to play all nine roles in the monodrama. It is quite a challenge for me and the Gaojia version is different from Nikolai Gogol as it is localized and puts the story in a historical context." Chu said.

"I'm very happy and honored to have many people in Dhaka come out to see me perform."

He added that it's a valuable experience for him to be able to learn from the other participating artists in the 2nd International Monodrama Festival.

Gaojia Opera Troupe, which is very popular in the Fujian province, visited Dhaka to participate in an international event organized by the Bangladesh Center of the International Theater Institute and Bangladesh's National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. He Jie, director of the Quanzhou Gaojia Opera Troupe, said they are pleased to once again come to Dhaka.

"We brought a satirical comedy: The Three Grade Promotions' last year," He Jie said. "This year we are presenting another satirical play in the monologue genre. "We are very pleased that the performance connected well with the audience."

He Jie said theater festivals provide them with the opportunity to experience the many ways to tell stories and to celebrate the power of the human creative spirit. "I'm sure that the partnerships ignited and sustained in this festival will open doors to many more opportunities for collaboration in the future."

"Abdur Rahman, an audience member who enjoyed the play with his family, said they were impressed by the t performance."

"We were very glad to enjoy such an excellent performance," Rahman said, adding "What really impressed me the most is that the Chinese artists perform flawlessly. They show their best. This time there was no exception."

"Chu and his team members deserve a big round of applause for such perfection." Another female audience member Rahima Hasan said.

She said "The Government Inspector" was one of her favorite plays which she had also previously seen in other languages both in Bangladesh and overseas.\

"I know performing in front of an audience is not easy. But the Chinese performers really did really well in their own unique ways," Abdur Rahman said.

"The admirable performance showed resoundingly what makes Chinese artists and their teams so great," she said, adding that visits of more Chinese troupes will help to further strengthen Bangladesh and China's cultural ties.