At the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival, the legendary Nautilus, penned by Jules Verne, the famous French novelist, playwright, and poet, sailed through time and space into Victoria Harbour. The Sino-French co-produced fantasy play ‘Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers’ (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) had its grand premiere to a full house at the Grand Theatre of the Xiqu Centre in the West Kowloon Cultural District. By invitation of the festival, a delegation led by President Hao Rong of the Central Academy of Drama (CAD) attended the premiere ceremony and watched the performance on March 20. This stage adaptation of Verne's classic science fiction novel not only stunned audiences with its use of black light technology and immersive experience but also marked a significant milestone in cultural exchange as part of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France. It also highlighted the innovative practices of the CAD in nurturing young professionals by integrating industrial, academic, and research resources.
Audience waiting for the premiere
The play, which opened the 19th Festival Croisements, was co-produced by the CAD, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and Tempest Projects. It is the first international collaboration project under the strategic partnership between the CAD and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. The production process took place entirely at the Theatre Centre located in the CAD’s Changping Campus, involving its faculty, students, and alumni who worked closely with artists from the Comédie-Française to explore innovative expressions for ‘black light theatre’ through interdisciplinary integration. Additionally, workshops and lectures were organized for students during rehearsals, embodying the academy’s practice-based education model and injecting new momentum into its international development and the construction of Chinese system of performing art.
The premiere had a full house
The play was directed by renowned French director Christian Hecq, winner of nine Molière Awards, and produced by an outstanding French team and a Chinese team featuring Zha Wenyuan as co-director, Tian Xiaowei as writer, Li Dong as producer and Weng Shihui. It blends French romanticism with Chinese humour, offering a fresh Eastern interpretation of Verne's timeless classic.
Group photo of the production team after the premiere
Stage Stills
Following its premiere, the play will embark on a national tour across various cities including Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nantong, Nanjing, and Chengdu. Specifically, as part of the 19th Festival Croisements, it will be staged in Shenzhen on April 11, followed by appearances at the 2025 Modern Drama Valley in Jing’an, Shanghai from April 25 to 27, and then at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre as an invited play by the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) International Theatre Season from July 11 to 20.
Posters for the national tour
During their stay in Hong Kong, the CAD delegation also visited the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), and met with their President-to-be Prof. Anna CY Chan, and Deputy Director (Academic) Dr. Gordon Munro. They engaged in discussions about future collaborations, cross-disciplinary integration, educational design, campus development, high-level artistic talent cultivation, and the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture.
Photo with Prof. Chan (middle) and Dr. Munro (right)
Furthermore, President Hao delivered a lecture titled ‘How Daoism Influences and Inspires Chinese Theatre Art'. The lecture traces the aesthetic origins of Chinese performing arts from their cultural roots and explores three key aspects: First, why it is essential to develop Chinese performing arts by uncovering aesthetic ideas and philosophical foundations rooted in tradition; second, what constitutes the unique ‘Way (Dao)’ or essence of Chinese performing arts; and third, how Chinese philosophy can contribute to the development of Chinese performing arts to achieve the ideal artistic pursuit of ‘art for life’. The lecture was both profound and accessible, drawing on numerous real-world examples to vividly explain the relationship between theatre and aesthetics, as well as theatre and philosophy. It transformed key propositions from Laozi-Zhuangzi philosophy (or ‘Daoism’) into comprehensible language, providing a philosophical methodological framework to support the development of Chinese performing arts system.
Prof. Hao Rong's lecture at HKAPA
Following this, the delegation was invited to engage in in-depth discussions with Artistic Director Poon Wai Sum, Executive Director Leung Tsz-ki, and other members of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. They also watched a newly staged production by the troupe, ‘Sleep’, a work by Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse. The two parties exchanged views on artistic creation, tours in Chinese mainland, and reciprocal visits, further advancing the deepened collaboration between the Academy and the theatre community in Hong Kong.
Group photo with Hong Kong Repertory Theatre
From the premiere of ‘Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers’, to deepening cooperation in drama education within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Central Academy of Drama continues to build bridges for civilizational dialogue and innovative practice through art. In the future, the academy aims to further its platform for internationalization, empower China’s theatre system through integration of industrial, academic, and research resources, and contribute theatrical strength to the global dissemination of Chinese culture.
