Curtain rises on theater festival

The Beijing Fringe Festival opened at the National Theater of China in Beijing on Wednesday.

Running until Oct 7, the 17th edition of the festival features 15 theatrical productions by young theater talents, along with 17 script reading events, two forums and three screenings.

Founded in 2008 by the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the National Theater of China, the festival offers a platform for young Chinese theater talent to perform new plays to promote the development of a flourishing theater scene and foster international exchange. During the past decade, it has brought nearly 3,000 young theater talents into the limelight.

The festival has successfully propelled young directors, scriptwriters, actors and actresses to stardom, giving them a fan base among theater lovers, among them director-actor Chen Minghao and director Li Jianjun.

It's Time to Get Old, a theatrical production by Wang Guanghao, a graduate from Nanjing University, opened this year's festival. Combining an interview with a soccer team and elements of video games, the production won the top award during the Showcase section of the 2024 Aranya Theater Festival this June.

This year, the festival will keep on presenting its 48 Hours section, which, first launched in 2014, invites young theater talents to create an original production within 48 hours under assigned themes.