Classic submarine novel stirs wave of anticipation

A scene from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, a stage drama adapted and directed by Christian Hecq and Valerie Lesort in 2015. As 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, the Central Academy of Drama and the Hong Kong Arts Festival invited artists from both China and France to coproduce a stage rendition of the novel. At the production's launch ceremony hosted at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing on Dec 17, it was announced that the new production is a commissioned program for the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2025 and a project within the 2025 Festival Croisements, an annual series of cultural exchange events between China and France. According to Hao Rong, president of the Central Academy of Drama, the academy has established a strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Arts Festival, aiming to together promote performing arts development and innovation via in-depth collaboration and exchange in theater education, creation and research. "Based on the strategic collaboration, this production serves as an important initiative and in-depth practice in building the theoretical framework of Chinese theater, and in exploring the integration of production, education and research," Hao says.