Bosom Friends is a philosophical contemplation about friendship and try-out of human spirit based by dramatist Guo CIHONG’s will on the historical story lines of ancient Chinese literature.
The action is taking place in the early period of the Qin Dynasty.
Poet Gu Zhen Guang, in order to save his friend poet Zhao Cyang who became a guiltless victim of a bribery case, takes a job at the palace of Ming Zhu. In a commotion of spirits, Gu Zhen Guang writes a Song of Golden Thread. Thanks to friends’ efforts, Zhao Cyang gets a chance to come back from the exile, but he came back already a totally different person…
“It seems, Bosom Friends have lots of different interpretations. However, if there already was a hundred or a thousand of those, there inevitably would appear the one hundred first or one thousand first; this is what is called tolerance. If you take a look at this work from the height of a painter, than historical facts used in the play may seem absolutely insignificant. However, as if born from above, some images of this play absolutely cannot be ‘cloned.’ The universe of people completely exceeds piles of most ancient books. With the help of the reality, we can trace down the history, and with the help of the history we can dispute about the reality, but is this correct?” Guo Cihong
“There are quite a few ancient and contemporary poems glorifying close friends:
‘If in the sea of people I have a close friend, than no distances can separate us;’ ‘When close friends meet, even a thousand wineglasses is not enough;’
‘Do not you worry that in the forthcoming way no close friends who understand the men’s nobility in the Celestial Empire will be with you;’
‘A man should be ready to give away his life for a close friend;’
‘To find at least one close friend for the entire life is already quite enough.’
This sort of expressions of the best feelings in regards of a “close friend” tells about the unparalleled value of this composition. People needed friends at all times and more than anything they wanted to have them. A quest for a dedicated life-long friend had never stopped at any centuries. This play is contemplation about a close friend, re-thinking of the human nature; it shows the entire depth and complexity of the human character". Ren Ming
The scenery was designed by the Art Design Center of the Beijing People’s Art Theater Stage.
First Night: May 26, 2011
Media about the performance
While this story could hardly be called an easygoing one, its dances are marked with unbelievable elegance. Delineated with light and shadow silhouettes of the scenery, accomplished and laconic style of the interior decorations of the Ming epoch, and exact light design bring onto the stage the subtle smell of freshly diluted China ink.
Beijing Youth Newspaper
, 27.04.2009
