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INTERNATIONAL THEATRE
EXCHANGE PROGRAM

As an international arts organisation, VertebrART also focuses on international theatre exchange and promotion, providing a broader international platform for outstanding contemporary theatre productions and promoting multicultural exchange. This enriches the local theatre scene. We embrace the spirit of diversity and professionalism to provide a quality two-way platform for theatre productions and audiences from around the world.

EL MUEBLE (o todas esas cosas que nunca nos diremos)

By HISTRIÓN THEATRO (Spain)

If not for assembling a simple piece of furniture, which exposed the complexities of Carlos and Tati’s cohabitation after 25 years together, they could have been the perfect couple. Every screw, dowel, and hinge installation triggered hidden grievances and obvious dissatisfaction. In fact, as soon as the furniture entered the door, love flew straight out the window. "Blame these damn pieces of furniture!"


The Spanish contemporary comedy EL MUEBLE (Or Those Things We Never Say to Each Other) has toured various countries and regions, proving to be a play without cultural barriers—everyone can see a reflection of themselves in it. The play starts with a seemingly minor household chore familiar to every family and, through a dynamic and engaging performance rhythm, gradually unfolds the laughter and bitterness of life, the complexity and beauty of human nature, and the struggle to balance intimacy and self-identity.

Date: 13th-15th Dec 2024 

Venue: Great Theatre of China

Participated in 2024 Great Theatre of China Theatre Festival

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Lento e Violento

A Contemporary Theatre Production (France)

The piece Lento e Violento is difficult to categorize or define—Is it theatre or dance? A psychological drama or a new circus? A suspense piece or a solo journey into the mind?
Paris-based artist Zhang Liyun first saw an early version of this work at the 2021 Périgueux Mime Festival in southern France. Though still in its infancy at the time, it was already an intriguing blend of classical music, physical movement, and objects. By the time it took the stage at the 2023 Avignon Festival, it had evolved into a piece of remarkable texture, earning widespread praise and attention. Less than a year later, Polyphony has been invited to Shanghai’s Jing’an Modern Drama Valley.
The creative mind behind the work, Valentina Cortese, has a diverse educational background. She trained in circus arts in France and Italy, holds a master's degree in audiovisual communication, and worked at the French Film Archive. Later, she studied dance at the Boulogne Conservatory. Though the circus is woven throughout Lento e Violento, its presence is subtle yet cleverly employed, becoming a defining feature of the piece. As Cortese explains, “The raw form of circus apparatus deeply moves me. I didn’t become the circus performer I once dreamed of, but this has become my strength, giving rise to a language that mobilizes all my resources.”
Polyphony uses a Russian doll-like structure to lead us into a mysterious, labyrinthine world. At first, the audience is invited to experience cognitive behavioural therapy through music. Slowly, the harmony unravels… The artist creates an unsettling, even absurd atmosphere, reminiscent of a noir film. The ebb and flow of familiar yet elusive sensations challenge our perception of reality. Like a puzzle, Polyphony merges elements of circus, dance, and theatre, pulling us into a wavering reality—one from which we cannot emerge unscathed.
Valentina states clearly, “I want people to come here to be surprised.” The writing is meticulously crafted with rhythm and intention. “At first, we laugh together—it’s amusing. But in the end, there is a deep sadness.”

Date: 9th -12th May 2024

Venue: Lyceum Theatre Shanghai

Participated in the 2024 Shanghai · Jingan Morden Drama Valley Theatre Festival

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Femme Capital

A Contemporary Musical Theatre (France)

The contemporary French musical theatre production Femme Capital brings the life of the iconic libertarian thinker and American writer Ayn Rand to the stage. Through her first-person perspective, the production delves into her philosophy, contradictions, and lasting influence. Her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged remain widely popular in the United States, and more than forty years after her death, she has become one of the most influential figures in American thought.


In the play, Ayn Rand appears as a 1930s Hollywood starlet, reflecting on her life while engaging in a dialogue with the Montreuil Performing Orchestra. The orchestra embodies the power of collectivism, challenging Rand’s staunch individualist philosophy. This production seeks to offer audiences a deep exploration of Rand’s ideas and to provoke thought on the relationship between individualism and collectivism.


Many productions have attempted to portray a person’s life and philosophy on stage, but Ayn Rand stands out as one of the most unique. It not only employs a first-person monologue but also features a full orchestra in conversation with the protagonist.  Artists Sylvain Cartigny, Mathieu Bauer, and the Montreuil performance orchestra have crafted a musical fable that presents collectivism as an antidote to Rand’s philosophy of self-interest. Actress Emma Liégeois embodies Ayn Rand, while the orchestra musicians accompany and interact with her, musically reflecting the many contradictions in Rand’s persona—she is a philosopher mesmerized by Hollywood, a popular star who scorns the masses, and a rationalist who refuses to acknowledge her own mortality.

French critic Fabienne Pascaud writes, “To portray such a dangerously egotistical figure, Mathieu Bauer has designed an orchestra that challenges her… The audience can perceive the real interplay of voices and musical structures, leading from the individual ‘I’ to the collective ‘we.’ One must take note of Emma Liévre’s outstanding performance. In a play that at times resembles a trial, she maintains her presence throughout… a rich, compelling, and thought-provoking work centered on a remarkable woman.”

Date: 29th-30th April 2019 

Venue: Lyceum Theatre Shanghai

Participated in 2024 Shanghai · Jingan Morden Drama Valley Theatre Festival

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New Three Sisters

By Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project (Japan)

HKBPʼs New Three Sisters describes modern women who live today. Applying all genres of bodily expressions such as dance, acting, and singing, Hiroshi Koike simply but boldly illustrates the ways the three sisters live in society. HKBP presents Chekhovʼs masterpiece as an exhilarating tragicomedy from a new and innovative perspective.

 

The three sisters depict women’s lives in Japan in the new millennium. The women are at a turning point in the present age, caught in rapid development in technology, economic and political shifts, and global environmental change. How can a woman live as a “new human”? The three sisters question their lives and needs. Their inner dialogue is shown through intense physicality and explosive energy.

The performance has many humorous moments. The three female performers’ nonstop vigorous expressions will blow the audience’s mind and question the word Chekhovian. Hiroshi Koike added a fresh dimension to the original play by Anton Chekhov and revived it as a modern tragicomedy. This work was also showcased in Russia and ended in enthusiastic acceptance as “The Three Sisters, which nobody has ever seen.”

Date: 11-12th May 2019 

Venue: Duanjun Theatre, Shanghai Theatre Academy

Participated in 2019 Shanghai Modern Drama Valley Festival

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The Seagull

By Latvian National Theatre (Latvia)

The Seagull is one of Chekhov's most famous plays, well known across the world and with a rich theatre history in Latvia as well. It has been produced many times by great theatre directors with each of them leaving a mark on the play and expressing not only the ideas and feelings of their time but their own personal relationship with art and theatre. Elmārs Seņkovs as director is known for working with great, classical materials and finding in them a modern and unique point of view. He himself writes about this performance:
"This story is more tragic than tragic. It's not by accident that Checkov wrote this play as a comedy. It is because of how the play's characters in chasing their dreams and happiness reveal to us their very human weaknesses that make us smile. We can see so much of ourselves in the characters of this play.


It's a story of a young man's ambitions and his relationship with his mother. His mother has sent him to the province where he spends his youth yearning for new forms in art and his love for Nina. Treplev prepares a play to show his talent and to put himself above his mother's boyfriend the acclaimed writer Trigorin. Treplev desires his mother's attention and praise. But his mother takes offence at his play and brings her son's creativity to a halt. All the play characters are tied together by this event and each of them has to deal with their relationship with past and present. I'm most touched by Treplev's story who at the end it has lost everything - his mother, his love with Nina and his faith in himself."

Date: 11-12th May 2019 

Venue: Shanghai Theatre Academy

Participated in 2019 Shanghai Modern Drama Valley Festival

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Antigone

By Latvian National Theatre (Latvia)

Jean Anouilh's play Antigone is based on Greek mythology and the ancient play of the same name written by Sophocles. It is an exploration of human character and clash of beliefs that has withstood the test of time, tapping into all of our hearts and minds - speaking to the audience with time gone wisdom and truth that moves us to this day. Displaying the power of conviction and principle that can change the course of history. The director of the performance Elmārs Seņkovs writes:


"It's a story about Antigone's faith in her traditions. Antigone's brother became a traitor to her people. Her only desire - for her brother to be given a proper burial. King Creon cannot allow this, because he serves the law. And it is because of the law that he has power and there is prosperity in his country. Antigone decides to stand against this law and to deny the King, knowing that this act is a rebellion against the whole system. And we as spectators suddenly can't tell who is the hero and the villain of this story. the boundary separating the two becomes so frail in this story that it disappears altogether. It is the battle between one's heart and the man-made law's that propel this story to become a tragedy. This performance to me is a monument for our inner human faith and beliefs."

Date: 7th-8th May 2019 

Venue: Shanghai Theatre Academy

Participated in 2019 Shanghai Modern Drama Valley Festival

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Get Happy

By Told by an Idiot (UK)

Enter a world of artfully controlled chaos. There’s a mysterious bag that drops from a height. Shoes have magical powers. And the strangest egg sandwich is made in front of your eyes. 

The play may not have a complete story, nor is it like the way children's theatre commonly tells stories. It is more like a random combination of small fragments, like a child's unbridled imagination. And each fragment has a theme that inspires the audience to open up a world of imagination together.

Physical comedy, live music, acrobatics, silly dancing and audience interaction all feature in this 'madcap little gem' (Time Out) - a show for kids and adults of all ages. Told by an Idiot has looked to the work of Charlie Chaplin, Dr Seuss and Pina Bausch to fashion an unexpected variety performance, bursting with quirky playfulness and off-the-wall humour. 

The original production of Get Happy was commissioned by the Barbican London. 

Date: 26-29th Oct 2017 

Venue: Comedy Theatre Beijing

Participated in 2017 Beijing Comedy Festival

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