China and the West

Aufführung von Nala = Nora von Henrik Ibsen durch das Beijing nü zi gao den shi fan xue xiao (Peking Normal College for Women).
Ren Tuo schreibt : "I believe that what China needs most is 'art for life's sake'. With regard to drama, 'problem plays' are especially needed. I wish, for instance, that Ibsen's A doll's house could be performed every day. On the fifth of this month, A doll's house was finally presented by the Beijing Normal College for Women. I was eager to see it. My conclusion is that it was a successful performance. The actors were faithful to the play. I brought along Pan Jiaxun's translation to check the performance. I found that on the whole it was highly faithful. This is why I was satisfied. My words seem rather strange. However, I always have the feeling that our art standards are sill immature. Even in our own works, we still have to take Ibsen as a model. When we perform his play, we of course have to be faithful to the original. It is inadvisable to make changes, otherwise we will only 'turn gold into iron'. Among the actresses, the one who played Nora was the best in recapturing the atmosphere of the play. Her expressions and movements were able to show the resolute character of Nora. For example, in the second half of the third act, which is the most important scene of the play, her acting was marvellous."