With the theme of "Creative Asia", the Asia Contemporary Theatre Festival kicked off on Nov.8 at Shanghai Drama Arts Center and will run until Nov.30, and it is the third time that this festival has been held in Shanghai. 

The Asia Contemporary Theatre Festival runs for 3 weeks and artists from around the world will be staging more than 50 performances, ranging from experimental musicals and traditional operas to puppetry and theater of physical exercise. Ticket prices are relatively affordable and 'Contemporary' is the key word; most of the plays are original productions although some of them evolve from classical works.

Highlights

Australia's Chunky Move dance theater will be presenting "Glow", an intimate, interactive solo performance in which the motion of the human body triggers and controls the music, lighting and animation. At the same time, through the latest interactive video technologies, a digital landscape is generated in response to the dancer's movements. The Melbourne troupe has been touring extensively, and their works are presented at many arts festivals around the world.

The Babylonian epic "Gilgamesh" by another Australian theatrical company, "Uncle Semolina", is a radical reinterpretation of one of the world's oldest stories. The troupe uses an eclectic range of inspiration, including matchbox cars, hip-hop, rock 'n' roll and professional wrestling, to build up and destroy a kaleidoscope of complex worlds.

Hungary's renowned Kretakor Theater will stage a three-hour adapted version of Chekhov's "The Seagull," considered one of the Russian writer's most important masterpieces. Chekhov himself described it as "containing five tons of love." It portrays human nature that rejects love when it is freely given and seeks it out when it is withheld. Many of its characters are caught in destructive, triangular relationships of pathos and humor.

Japanese theatrical works are known for their detailed observation of real life. However, this time, the KnitCap Theater from Osaka will tell a story of two men who are confined together in a broken elevator. In a surrealistic way, it leads the audience to explore the life puzzles of modern youth.

Acclaimed as the best mass opera from South Korea, "Twelve O'Clock" presented by the JB Opera Company is a work that's hard to define. Whether an opera, a drama, a theatrical dance or a musical, it is widely popular for its humorous plot and the eternal Cinderella myth.

At the festival, Shanghai Peking Opera House and Taiwan's Lee Qingzhao Company will premiere their Peking Opera version of "The Death of the Servant," another Chekhov work, and writer Eileen Chang's signature piece "Cao Qiciao."

Finally, Hong Kong's very special "Chosen Power"and "LaLa Team will stage one of the most thought-provoking "Hamlets" ever.