In recent years, under the guidance of the Beijing Municipal Publicity Department and the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, the Beijing People's Art Theatre has consistently focused on integrating technology with stagecraft. Following the widespread acclaim for its high-definition theatrical film screenings, the theatre has once again innovated its outreach by launching a "Super Live" model that transcends traditional performance boundaries, initiating a new artistic practice.
On the evening of May 31st, as the curtain rose at the Capital Theatre, Beijing People's Art Theatre's classic play "Rickshaw Boy" commenced. Simultaneously, thousands of students from eight universities across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region experienced this classic work by Lao She through the new "Super Live" format right on their campuses. This cross-temporal drama education session not only leveraged technology to make high art more accessible beyond the theatre's physical limits but also effectively addressed the practical challenges students face in obtaining tickets and attending performances, guiding them to deepen their intellectual engagement and artistic appreciation through immersive viewing.
This initiative brings the classic out of the theatre and directly enriches campus aesthetic education. As a pioneer in national ultra-high-definition audiovisual industry development, the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, guided by the Municipal Publicity Department and in collaboration with the Municipal Economy and Information Technology Bureau, has issued measures to accelerate the cultivation of the "Super Live" industry ecosystem. The campus tour of "Rickshaw Boy" via "Super Live" exemplifies the Bureau's successful practice of leveraging policy guidance and resource integration to foster a deep marriage between technology and art.
The limited capacity of traditional theatres often leaves university students, who are eager to attend, unable to experience high-quality productions in person. The "Super Live" model, utilizing ultra-high-definition live streaming, allows thousands of students to enjoy top-tier theatrical performances that were previously difficult to access, providing high-quality artistic nourishment for campus aesthetic education.
The "Super Live" format relies on ultra-high-definition audiovisual technology and digital production systems for real-time filming, professional production, and low-latency transmission of live performances. This broadcast employed 4K ultra-high-definition multi-camera filming, delivering every detail from the Capital Theatre stage—the sorrow in an actor's expression, the atmosphere of old Beijing's streets, every stumble of the rickshaw puller Xiangzi—vividly to the students. Exclusive pre-show introductions and mid-performance interactive sessions were also arranged, with creators sharing insights remotely. This model of "ultra-high-definition reproduction plus professional interpretation" not only compensates for the students' inability to be physically present but also guides them to understand the classic from multiple dimensions such as plot, performance, and directorial techniques, tangibly enhancing their artistic appreciation and cultural critical thinking skills.
The synchronized broadcast connected eight universities: Beijing Normal University, Beihang University, Beijing University of Technology, Capital Normal University, Nankai University, Tianjin University, Hebei Agricultural University, and Hebei Media College. Directed by Feng Yuanzheng as the artistic advisor for the revival, with Yan Rui and Yu Zhen as co-directors, this production strictly recreates the classic 1957 version directed by Mei Qian, reviving the distinctive Beijing style captured in Lao She's writing. This event is both an innovative step by Beijing People's Art Theatre to deepen its "'Jing'Cai Culture, Youth in Bloom" project and a heartwarming convergence of theatrical public service and campus aesthetic education.
Through "Super Live," classic art is no longer an exclusive experience for a theatre-going few but becomes a widely accessible spiritual resource for young people, subtly elevating students' intellectual horizons, strengthening their foundation in traditional culture, and providing systematic guidance for their artistic cultivation and humanistic qualities.
From the theatre to the cloud, from Beijing to the broader region, the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau continues its mission of serving the public through culture with the "Super Live" digital cultural format. In the future, more classic productions will take flight on the wings of technology, reaching grassroots communities, entering campuses, and sailing overseas, allowing the seeds of dramatic art to take root in the fertile soil of youth and effectively helping young people draw intellectual strength from classics and achieve comprehensive growth through art.
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