MICHAEL Ma booked two tickets for the musical of Dickens classic "Oliver Twist" - with Chinese actors in Mandarin - two weeks ago, although the play will be staged on July 5-22.

"I'm worried the tickets will sell out quickly," says the 27-year-old marketing specialist. "Western theater is always popular here."

He's right. Every time a Western play is presented, whether original or adapted, it's quickly sold out.

"Compared with their foreign counterparts, original Chinese dramatic works are often weak in plot and logic," says Ma, adding, "I'm just not very interested in them."

From June through October, Shanghai Drama Arts Center (SDAC) presents five classic Western plays for the Award-winning Western Contemporary Drama Season. They are "The Man from Earth," "Oliver Twist," "A Lesson before Dying," "Deathtrap" and "12 Angry Men." It is the second year of the drama season.

While this drama season brings Western classics to a Chinese audience, local Chinese theaters, including the Shanghai Drama Arts Center, have been sparing no effort in developing original drama works. Some critics say too many Western works are staged, leaving "insufficient room" for Chinese works.

Chinese dramatic, comic and musical theater are widely criticized for lacking originality, but they are just in early stages. Traditional Chinese opera, of course, has a long tradition.

Cultural thirst

"I think there is a great cultural thirst in China at the moment. This is a reaction to globalization, materialism and above all the negative effect of so much digital media," says Paul Stebbings, artistic director and founder of TNT Theatre who is directing "Oliver Twist."

Among all the dramas the Shanghai Drama Arts Center presents every year, original Chinese works represent around 60 percent, and the balance are Western plays, according to Yu Rongjun, famous local playwright.

The original works include "The Piano in a Factory," "Massage," "The Apocalypse," "Brothers" (based on the black comedic novel of the same name about the early days of reform) and "Das Kapital, the Musical."

"The Piano in a Factory" is adapted from the movie of the same name, which tells the story of love between father and daughter. "Massage" is about the tragic life of a blind massage master.

"Although we have created some very popular original theater, original plays generally are riskier financially, since Western classical plays are more mature and attractive to theater audiences," Yu says.

The drama "Oliver Twist" will be staged to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth. It's a cooperation with TNT Theatre.

TNT staged the drama "Copperfield" in April in Shanghai and has made several tours in China over the past seven years. The current production of "Oliver Twist" is the TNT version with Chinese actors speaking Mandarin. English subtitles will be provided.

The play stars SDAC actors He Ju, Yuan Ye, Zhang Ying, Ma Qingli and Ha Buri.

Stebbings directed Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" at SDAC in 2010, his first cooperation with the group. The production was successful and was revived in 2011. Many of the artists and staff working on "Oliver Twist" also worked on "Taming of the Shrew."

"The SDAC has some of the best actors in China," Stebbings says. "Also, the city has developed a sophisticated but always open-minded audience in a short time. Local audience is not frightened to express themselves."

In terms of turning out original plays, Shanghai is one of the top cities in China, creating dozens of works every year.

"However, most of them are about emotions, love and funny stories. We lack really powerful original creations that can become classics," says playwright Yu.

The biggest problem confronting dramatic theater in Shanghai and around China is the lack of good playwrights and excellent works with strong plots, according to playwrights, directors and producers.

Playwrights have faced problems such as lack of protection of their rights and interests, unfair competition and lack of opportunities.

"I don't think these are real pressures today," Yu says. "The market for Chinese theater is making big progress and is becoming more mature. Chinese playwrights are not under more pressure than their colleagues in the international industry. What they need is greater creative space."

West vs East dramas

People tend to focus a lot on cultural differences between the East and the West as a major reason for the weakness in original Chinese theater, but there are probably more differences within China than between China and the West in terms of theater, Stebbings says.

He disagrees with those who say dramatic theater is originally from the West. "Theater simply developed differently in the West. Since the West industrialized first, it created a drama suitable for industrial society first - that's all. Now that China has industrialized, it needs and has created a style of theater (and film) to reflect that," he says.

Chinese stage artists - playwrights, directors and actors - who are doing original theater need to concentrate on "what is pure theater and not put film or TV stories on stage," Stebbings says.

"Beware of too much realism - theater is about imagination and fantasy - create theatrical magic. Let the audience exist - play to them, do not just ignore them as film and TV have to do," he adds.

Stebbings tries to watch a lot of Chinese theater and observes that Shakespeare has a lot in common with Chinese opera.

"Let the audience use their imagination, and Chinese opera does this. So it's not my idea or a Western idea. Take that and make it modern and relevant to people's lives," he adds. "Theater art should be both entertaining and stimulating, it should ask questions and not just provide answers."

A good production also needs timing, the right environment and the right opportunity.

"What a drama group should do now is encouraging original creation, but at the same time distributing budgets and human resources reasonably," Yu says.

"Oliver Twist" is the only SDAC production this season staged in cooperation with an international director.

"We must make good theater that is entertaining and challenging," Stebbings says. "What is great is that this is not an exercise in good international relations but a real process that makes something - a play."

Western Drama 2012

? "The Man from Earth"
Date: Through July 1, 7:30pm
Venue: Drama Salon
Tickets: 120 yuan (US$15.63)

? "Oliver Twist"
Date: July 5-22, 7:30pm
Venue: Drama Salon
Tickets: 120-280 yuan

? "A Lesson before Dying"
Date: July 11-29, 7:30pm
Venue: Studio D6
Tickets: 120-280 yuan

? "Deathtrap"
Date: July 13-October 7, 7:30pm
Venue: Arts Theater
Tickets: 120-280 yuan

? "12 Angry Men"
Date: August 21-September 9, 7:30pm
Venue: Drama Salon


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