French director stages drama in Nanjing
(ec.js.edu.cn) Updated：2017-03-10
Julien Gelas, French director, will stage a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at Nanjing University of the Arts on March 17. [Photo/jschina.com.cn]
French director Julien Gelas is directing a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at Nanjing University of the Arts in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.
The 1947 play, originally penned by Tennessee Williams, will star 10 sophomore students and be performed at the university on Mar 17.
“Chinese students are totally different from French students in performing onstage,” said Gelas. “They are good at body stretches conveying emotion effectively, while French students tend to be more rational and imaginative.”
With a PhD in Chinese language, Gelas is fond of traditional Chinese culture, especially Chinese philosophy, admiring Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese philosopher, for his thoughts on dialectical unity.
The French director has realized incongruences between Chinese and other western cultures, seeking to blend them within his life and work.
“There are two characters inside of me, one Chinese and the other ancient Roman. It is complex, but interesting.” said Gelas.
