Chapter 529

As the theater troupes from various countries arrived one by one, the time quickly reached the day of the International Drama Season opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony was held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

The exterior of the National Centre for the Performing Arts is elliptical, resembling a giant water droplet.

Viewed from the outside, the shell is composed of over ten thousand giant glass panels, like a brilliant pearl.

Moving inside, the massive rosewood ceiling and the decoration dominated by gold and orange colors manifest elegance and solemnity everywhere.

Thousands of audience members were already waiting expectantly in the auditorium, and the performers from renowned international troupes and the National Theatre of China also took their seats in turn.

As Dean Tian's final words of the opening address, "I declare this International Drama Season officially open," fell, the curtain rose on this International Drama Season.

Just before the first opening play was about to begin, the heads of the international troupes sitting in the front rows of the auditorium were already whispering and discussing.

"I heard this is an original Chinese play?! It's called Thunderstorm?! Sounds quite novel..."

"What good things could they possibly create originally?!"

"If it weren't for my good personal conduct, I would have prepared to sleep through the whole thing..."

The international troupes had long noticed that this opening play was a brand-new original Chinese play, and quite a few people already showed curiosity.

In contrast, more people's minds were still influenced by their previous inherent impressions, their words tinged with indifference.

At this moment, even the Chinese audience sitting in the back rows couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for this opening play.

While looking forward to this opening play shining brightly, they were also full of doubts about this unprecedented new play.

"I heard it's a brand-new script, and I don't know if it's good or not... It's said that we have to wait until the end to reveal who wrote it?!"

"Aren't Dean Tian and the others being too risky?! What if they mess it up and lose face in front of the foreigners?!"

"It hasn't even started yet, and I'm already nervous, what do I do?!"

At this moment, the chattering discussion also reached the ears of the people from the National Theatre of China.

Dean Tian, sitting in the very front row, slowly curled the corners of his mouth into an arc.

Whether it's a mule or a horse, you'll know once you take it out for a walk.

As the stage lights dimmed, the entire theater also quieted down accordingly.

The lights came down, the actors took the stage, and the story of the prologue gradually unfolded.

Fanyi, the wife of Zhou Puyuan, the master of the Zhou Mansion, and Zhou Ping, the son of his former wife, were having a secret meeting in the middle of the night, which was discovered by the Zhou family servant, Lu Gui.

Just as the prologue began, Jim, the head of the Royal Troupe of the John Bull country, who had been dismissive, sat up slightly.

"Eh?"

The sound that escaped uncontrollably exposed his surprise.

An incestuous love affair?!

This play didn't seem as boring as he had thought!

Not just him, more and more people's attention began to be drawn by the performance on stage.

Soon, the first act unfolded one after another, and the time jumped abruptly to three years later.

Zhou Ping, the son of Zhou Puyuan, fell in love with the maid Sifeng.

On the other side, Zhou Puyuan remembered the maid Shiping whom he had driven away years ago, and just then, Shiping happened to come to the Zhou Mansion to look for her daughter, Sifeng.

Seeing Zhou Puyuan identify Shiping's identity in one breath, the hearts of the audience below the stage tightened suddenly.

That is to say...

Zhou Ping and Sifeng are biological siblings?!

Not lovers finally becoming spouses, but lovers finally becoming siblings?!

The atmosphere of the entire theater began to grow tense with the development of the story.

Purely for the sake of support, the audience who had originally prepared to play with their phones to pass the time put them down one by one.

Some audience members held their breath while watching, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

There were also audience members who had long since put down their crossed legs, wishing they could sit in the front row.

Not just the audience in the back, even the performers from the international troupes in the front row were no longer as casual as before.

Suzuki, the head of the Island Country troupe who had initially mocked the Chinese play's plot as nonsense, was now unwilling to even blink his eyes.

Laymen watch the excitement, experts watch the technique.

From his professional perspective, the story structure of the play on stage was simply stunning!

With the emotional threads, bloodlines, and kinship of eight characters as the axis, it wove the various contradictions and conflicts that had arisen over thirty years into an intricate and complex web.

The conflict between Zhou Puyuan and his wife Fanyi served as the overt plot, while the relationship between Zhou Puyuan and Shiping served as the covert plot.

The two threads intertwined and influenced each other, forming a complete and rigorous whole!

Just under the gaze of everyone, the music on stage turned from slow to fast.

The atmosphere on stage changed abruptly, and many people felt their hearts tighten even more.

Sure enough, the story began to develop toward the situation everyone least wanted to see.

The deeper the feelings between Zhou Ping and Sifeng grew, the more it aroused Fanyi's jealousy.

On a night of thunder and rain, Zhou Ping wanted to take the pregnant Sifeng and run away.

With Fanyi's hysterical shouting, she completely exposed her relationship with Zhou Ping.

Zhou Puyuan also had to speak the truth of the past, demanding that Zhou Ping acknowledge his mother in person.

Under the washing of a thunderstorm, the long-sealed secret was suddenly revealed with the force of thunder.

The conflict between father and son, the contradiction between mother and son, and the conflict between brothers were all laid out before all the audience.

Tragedies occurred one after another.

Sifeng died, Zhou Chong was electrocuted, Zhou Ping committed suicide, Fanyi went mad, Lu Dahai went missing...

By the time the curtain fell on this opening play, the audience below the stage was still immersed in the performance, unable to extricate themselves.

It wasn't until the audience who had reacted first started applauding that this round of applause, as if contagious, immediately resounded throughout the entire theater.

More and more audience members clapped until their hands were red and sore, yet they were slow to put their palms down.

The discussion that had been suppressed for a long time in the auditorium erupted completely.

"My god! I have never seen such a wonderful play!"

"Since when did our Chinese plays become so awesome?!"

"My friend even said he would die before watching a Chinese play and only bought a ticket for the next show. It would be a wonder if he doesn't regret it to the point of his intestines turning green!"

"This ticket was so worth buying!"

Just as countless audience members were discussing, the international troupes sitting in the front row also reacted one after another.

Mr. Jim, sitting next to Dean Tian, slapped his own thigh several times throughout the performance.

If it weren't for the requirement that the audience remain silent during the play, he probably would have been unable to control his excitement and cried out just now.

"Full-bodied character images, wonderful and simple language, successful artistic structure—since when has China been able to write such an excellent script?!"

"Too wonderful, too shocking, too amazing!"

Three exaggerated adjectives in a row were uttered, making it easy to see his excitement at this moment.

This opening play simply shattered the stereotype that Chinese plays were boring!

It could be called the beginning of a new era for Chinese plays!

However, the expression of Suzuki, the head of the Island Country troupe sitting on the other side of Dean Tian, did not look good.

You know, the next performance was their troupe's turn to perform.

But in front of such a radiant "Thunderstorm," what they had was simply not presentable.

What to do if they can't compare at all?!

At this moment, Dean Tian, who had originally been sitting in the front row, had already walked back onto the stage, and the first sentence he spoke left countless people dumbfounded.

"Thanks to Mr. Ye Xuan for creating 'Thunderstorm,' this opening play..."

The audience had not heard the rest of the words clearly.

Everyone's focus was only on one thing.

The script for this opening play was actually written by Ye Xuan?!