Chapter 27 Part 2

......

Afterward, the actors came out for a curtain call as was customary.

A curtain call is to take a bow at the end of a performance.

It was a trend from abroad. When the audience loved an actor's performance, they would ask them to come out after the show ended. Because the stage curtain is like a 'lian' (curtain), and opening the 'lian' reveals the actors, it was translated as 'jiao lian' (calling the curtain). Later, it also evolved into the actors coming out to thank the audience.

The actors stood in a row at the front of the stage. In that short time, the audience was already calling them by their characters' names, shouting loudly. Some, clearly veterans of old-style opera, skillfully began tossing money...

The students of the Spring Thunder Drama Club had never seen such a scene. After their previous Western plays, audience members with no background might not even have been able to pronounce their names, let alone give them a curtain call!

Especially not one with such enthusiasm.

The lead actress, Lin Xunfang, was on a formal stage for the first time, and her eyes filled with hot tears.

Yu Jianqing also played a role. As a teacher, he was a little calmer. He walked stiffly to the front of the stage, and just as he was about to interact with the audience, an auntie leaped up, slapped him on the calf, and cursed, "Your mother really shouldn't have given birth to you!"

—The character Yu Jianqing played was the one who disrespected the female lead and stereotyped the entire female population.

Yu Jianqing: "..."

After feeling wronged, a wave of joy washed over him. Wasn't this exactly what he wanted to see when he revised the script—to imperceptibly instill the intended message in the audience?

So, Yu Jianqing said proudly, "Mhm!"

The auntie: "??"

Seeing the audience's immense interest in the props, Yu Jianqing, getting carried away by the excitement, hauled a prop out for the audience to see, not caring at all that it might ruin the novelty for those who wanted to watch the play again.

The audience screamed, wanting to touch the props. Qi Haoran couldn't maintain his decorum and rushed directly to the front row. Only by touching them up close could he believe that these were really just man-made props.

Lin Xunfang even had to repeatedly explain on stage that she hadn't thrown a real fur coat, but one that imitated the texture of a coat.

Qi Haoran clicked his tongue in amazement. As someone with some understanding of spatial perspective, he also knew that having incredibly realistic scenery alone wasn't enough; you had to understand design to present such a realistic three-dimensional space as he had just seen.

Ji Shuangyu's supporters were practically trembling to suppress their urge to scream.

"He wasn't ruined by Xu Xinyue!! He really does understand realism!"

"Wuwuwu, Director Shuangyu is so amazing, this play is just... too realistic!"

Even his peers who had come to watch in secret looked at each other and admitted defeat in their hearts.

They wanted to struggle a bit more, but against this kind of dimensional takedown, they had no choice but to concede!

The fact that Ji Shuangyu could hold back such superb realist techniques and first make his name with the Xieyi Style—just for that indescribable patience, they had no choice but to concede!

After seeing the painted backdrops that first came from the West, many people thought they had seen what 'realism' was. Those painted flats that used perspective techniques made one feel as if they were looking at real objects.

However, today's performance of 'Peerless Beauty' completely shattered their understanding of realism and new plays.

The audience was too enthusiastic. In the end, it was Xu Xinyue who came out to interrupt and stop them from examining the props further: "If you all want to see them, please come early tomorrow!"

The audience members shot Xu Xinyue a resentful look, cursed "As expected of you, Boss Rooster" and then left.

Xu Xinyue: "..."

What, can everyone in Jingcheng insult him like this now?!

......

Qi Haoran didn't care that it was the weekend. He rushed to the editorial department, furiously wrote down his thoughts on the play, and when he finished, he found he had written over ten thousand characters...

When he submitted the draft to the editor-in-chief, he absolutely refused to cut it down. A two-thousand-character limit? Who's passion was he looking down on?

"Don't force me, I must express myself freely!"

Editor-in-chief: "..."

What happened to this kid? He was so reluctant to go.

The editor-in-chief asked curiously, "So, how were the painted flats by Ji Shuangyu?"

Qi Haoran immediately looked as if his idol had been insulted. "What are you talking about, painted flats? Can Director Shuangyu's sets be compared to crude painted flats?"

Editor-in-chief: "??"

Seeing Qi Haoran so utterly captivated, the editor-in-chief began to ponder. It seemed 'Peerless Beauty' had exceeded expectations.

His journalistic nose was telling him that another huge drama was about to unfold!

The editor-in-chief thought for a moment and said, "This ten-thousand-character piece, try to keep it... around eight thousand." The length of a review was also a criterion for judging a play's popularity.

Qi Haoran was ecstatic. "Thank you, editor-in-chief!"

He had been completely conquered. He decided to spend the entire next day at the Changle Theater to watch all the other plays designed by Director Shuangyu.

He was even itching to start a fan club for Ji Shuangyu.

Although this was unprecedented in theater history—forming a fan club for a non-actor—based on what he saw at the theater today, Qi Haoran felt he wouldn't be short of companions. As long as someone took the lead and made the call, people would surely respond from all directions.

We can gather together, appreciate Director Shuangyu's works, and write poetry for him~~~

......

Driven by zealous fans like Qi Haoran, the bombardment of long reviews and such word-of-mouth was simply the best advertisement.

Only about four hundred people watched the first performance, but by the next day, the box office had already sold tickets for the next two weekends—because it was a student drama club and the evening slots belonged to the Hanxi Troupe, they could only perform on weekends.

Because of this, once word-of-mouth spread, tickets became incredibly hard to get.

Spontaneous play reviews filled all the major newspapers. Unlike when the Xieyi Style first debuted and there was still some dissent, now there was nothing but praise.

Not only did people praise it, but they also refuted all the slander and pessimism that had preceded the premiere of 'Peerless Beauty'—some even actively slapped their own faces.

[I'm a pig! I'm a pig! I'm a pig! Three days ago, I made a bet with someone that if watching 'Peerless Beauty' changed my mind, I would have to curse myself as a pig. Today, not only will I curse myself, but I will do so in the newspaper, so that everyone can be warned not to become the person I was three days ago. Why, oh why, did I think Ji Shuangyu didn't understand realism??]

[Before seeing this play, I thought I had already witnessed what 'realism' was. Only now do I know what true realism looks like. Using light to represent time, sound to represent location... all things I've seen for the first time. Wonderful!]

[This writer was captivated the moment the curtain rose. Every brick and tile, every material detail was vividly rendered—you could even see the cracks in the walls! The performance style in 'Peerless Beauty' is also unprecedented, truly worthy of the word 'realism'.]

['Peerless Beauty' displays far more than just a brilliant family story. Its metaphors, its ideas, its rhythm... and most importantly, it is a story that reflects life in Huaxia. People from Jingcheng will surely find every scene familiar, as if they've seen it before.]

[Where should I even begin? The lines, the props, everything was incredibly realistic! Every object on the stage was a proportionally scaled replica, but they were so real that I began to doubt my own eyes. The painted flats I've seen before can't even be called 'real' in front of a set like this!]

[This play's realism in material objects far surpasses all other new plays—I dare say that in this aspect, not even plays staged abroad can compare.]

[Ji Henian creates wonders with his left hand and his right. I propose that all the Shuang-Fans in Jingcheng unite to write poems for Director Shuangyu's portrait~~]

[Everyone, just think about it: since Ji Henian can create sets more realistic than those in any theater around the globe, yet he once endured public criticism to create Xieyi-style stages. How can we harbor prejudice any longer? New plays and old plays can learn from each other; realism and the Xieyi Style can shine together!]