As Wuhan University enters the summer of 2022, a series of dramas is performed. When the stage is illuminated during this vibrant and dynamic season, one is absorbed in the play. When the lights turn off, one wakes up to live one’s real life.
Graduation drama The Birthday Party by Zone-in the Drama Society
This drama tells the story of two men coming to a remote seaside town to take a man away. They manage, using some tricks. No one knows when Stanley, a lazy, slack solitary figure, who perhaps can play the piano a little bit, came to this place. No one knows where he was taken to, either. What is known is that Stanley once resisted, but not for long. Petey, Stanley’s landlord, observed what happened to Stanley but was unable to help him, while the landlady, Meg, was still hypnotized in the fantasy weaved by those two men, a revel party held for the victim.
”They won’t stay here for long, Stan. I will bring you a cup of tea in the morning. Today is your birthday, be happy.”
“All of them stayed there for the whole night. Every single one of them. A huge success. Yes, a concert.”
“You know what, Sir. As a man who is going to celebrate his birthday, you are not in the right mood.”
“Same old Stan. Come with us. Come over, kid.”
Graduation drama I Love Peach Blossoms by the Department of Arts
In the Tang Dynasty (618AD——907AD), an adult named Feng Yan, who came from the city of Yan, Yuyang, fornicated with military officer Zhang Ying’s wife. One night when Zhang Ying returned home drunk, his wife hurried to hide Feng Yan. Unexpectedly, Zhang Ying slept on Feng Yan’s Jinze (a traditional headscarf worn by men), which was put on the chair by Feng. When Feng tried to escape, he signaled Zhang’s wife to pull out his Jinze. However, the woman misunderstood Feng’s intention, thinking that he wanted the knife attached to her husband’s waist so that he could kill him. She then stealthily pulled the knife out and gave it to Feng. Seeing the knife, Feng thought the woman as vicious and brutal, so he killed her with the knife.
“Dear, I will buy you the fanciest adornment. Keep it quiet. If neighbors hear that, they may think we have relationship problems.”
“I can’t tell whether a poem is good or not, but I know that you are the best. If we stay together every day, there may be lots of arguments and frictions.”
“What I want is my Jinze, but you give me the knife.
In the past, whenever I think of seeing you, my heart pounded quickly.
“But today, I feel panic when thinking of you.”
Graduation drama Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Shakespeare In WHU
Hamlet was a prince from Denmark. His father died suddenly, and his mother was remarried to the new king, the old king’s younger brother and Hamlet’s uncle. Hamlet thought it was the new king who plotted to usurp the throne by killing his father and taking away his mother, so he pretended to be crazy and waited for an opportunity to take revenge. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s old schoolmates, both with tongue-twisting names, were sent by the new king to escort Hamlet to England. They were thrown into Hamlet’s universe by unknown forces and involved in the strife. They kept tossing coins and making bets only to vainly explore their destinies and the world they lived in; they curiously pried into the unknown secrets hidden in the palace only to lose their lives at the behest of fate.
“Here comes a messenger. We are sent here by someone else.”
“It means nothing without Hamlet.”
“Predestination is absurd while absurdity is like predestination; in the end, absurdity is not absurd, but predestination haunts forever.”
“It is an ordinary story. A story about waiting, about existence and about absurdity.”
Every night at Wuhan University, various wonderful plays are performed on different stages. In the plays, we have the opportunity to see others’ life experiences; outside the plays, we can taste different flavors of our own life.
Rewritten by Shen Le
Edited by Zhou Chuangyu, Sylvia, Xi Bingqing
